Review: Community Professional DS Series Speakers

Feb 10, 2012 4:59 PM, Reviewer: John McJunkin

Quality surface-mount speakers for the commercial market.

I put quite a few different kinds of signals through the system to get a handle on how they sound. I listened to a variety of classical, pop, and rock recordings from various eras, and the only processing I applied was equalization—primarily the light scooping of mids. I also listened to some straight-up human speech to get an idea of performance in paging and announcement operation. My impression was that the frequency response of the entire system presents a broad bump over the midrange, and I would attribute this to two things: the prominence of the DS5’s LF driver, and the lack of speaker management processing in my listening process. Listening to these speakers, I’m very certain that proper equalization and dynamics processing would facilitate great-sounding and smooth energy dispersion over the entire frequency range. Another minor issue that would be resolved by such processing is the relative weakness of the subwoofer in comparison to the full-range speaker with equal power applied to each. For that matter, a completely separate amplifier would also help to solve the issue.

Otherwise, the full-range speaker has a broad dispersion pattern, covering a wide area, particularly if mounted 10ft. to 12ft. above the floor in a downward-firing orientation. The high end is clean and otherwise unremarkable—definitely not harsh or splatty, even with a substantial EQ bump. This is important in a speaker used for paging and announcements—the intelligibility frequencies in the 1kHz-2kHz range need to be somewhat pronounced, but with no distortion or brittleness, and these speakers definitely pull it off. At higher SPLs I heard some distortion, as you would expect in a coaxial two-way system. My overall perception if one of smooth, clear reproduction across the frequency spectrum; with some moderate speaker processing—EQ and dynamics—a really clear and musically pleasing signal that will please your clients and their customers can be presented at good solid SPLs. And considering the quality of these speakers, I am truly amazed at the pricing as well. If you’re in the market for good-quality surface-mount speakers, these should be on your short list.

Product Summary

Company: Community Professional Loudspeakers

Product: DS5 and DS8SUB

Pros: Excellent price/performance ratio

Cons: Substantial weight

Applications: Swimming pools, sports facilities, fitness clubs, houses of worship, retail, cruise ships, educational, corporate AV, bars and restaurants

Price: $165 (DS5), $332 (DS8SUB)

Specifications

Loudspeaker Type:

Full-range coax: 5in. standard

Operating range (±10dB): 65Hz-22kHz

Max input power rating (continuous/program): 100W/250W

Sensitivity (1W/1M): 93dB SPL

Available 70V Taps (watts): 60-30-15-7.5

Nominal impedance: 8Ω Dimensions (excluding IAB bracket): 12.9”x6.3”x7.5” (HxWxD)

Subwoofer: 8in. subwoofer

Operating range (±10dB): 42Hz-200Hz

Max input power rating (continuous/program): 200W/500W

Sensitivity (1W/1M): 88dB SPL

Available 70V Taps (watts): 200-100-50-25

Nominal impedance: 8Ω

Dimensions (excluding IAB bracket): 18.5”x9”x10.1” (HxWxD)

John McJunkin is the principal of Avalon Podcasting in Chandler, Ariz. He has consulted in the development of studios and installations and provides high-quality podcast-production services.