There are 2 100 watt Whelen SA315P up for auction, and I was considering bidding on them. I am currently running a Code 3 MicoCom 2 200 watt amp with 1 Whelen 100 watt sa314B (bought both the amp and speaker used is the reason for the mix). I would really like to get 2 speakers hooked up to it and get the 200 watts out of the siren. Tried searching on here and Google for opinions/reviews on the SA315P, but didn't get much info. Soooo question is...Are they any good when it comes to sound, output, reliability, durability? Is there something better I could go with for used speaker? Since what I have now works, I can't justify to myself to go out and spend $300+ on 2 new speakers. So again will be going used if I do anything. I have found a lot on here about 1 speaker vs 2 and 100 watt vs 200 watt speakers and so forth, so just looking for some opinions here on the SA315P and if its a good idea to run 2 for my MicoCom.. Thanks!
whelen SA315P questions..
- Thread starter fireman1
- Start date
TritonBoulder47
Member
fireman1 said:
Just as durable as everyone siren speaker on the market...
fireman1 said:
If your siren head is a 200 watt head, then yes, you can run BOTH SA315P speakers from it. As far as "something better" for the most part, a siren speaker is a siren speaker... Whelen, FedSig, C3, Feniex all have good speakers...
TritonBoulder47 said:
So your telling me out of the hundreds of different types, styles, and brands of speakers out there, that there is no benefit of having one in particular over the other??... There are reasons one would chose to buy one brand and model over another one or there would only be one speaker from each manufacture on the market....
I thought maybe a member on this forum had a certain speaker and replaced it with the one that I'm interested in and could give my their opinion on it and if it's worth buying..but once again it appears that you have to know someone on here to get any help.
TritonBoulder47
Member
Yes, there may be "hundreds" of types of speakers, but there are only a couple types of speaker drivers that are shared between multiple different bell designs...
The "Flat" speakers will be more of a "narrowed" sound output, where the "Bell & Cone" style will give a wider sound dispersion... But as I said, a siren speaker is a siren speaker... The biggest determining factor of the speaker you choose will be its mounting location and the space available...
Sorry for trying to help and you not being able to interpret it...
The "Flat" speakers will be more of a "narrowed" sound output, where the "Bell & Cone" style will give a wider sound dispersion... But as I said, a siren speaker is a siren speaker... The biggest determining factor of the speaker you choose will be its mounting location and the space available...
Sorry for trying to help and you not being able to interpret it...
PJD642
New Member
fireman1 said:
I had a Sho-Me speaker installed on my Explorer that was prone to freezing in the winter. Brand new speaker, mounted properly, drain plug was clear. I replaced it with two SA-315Ps and upgraded to a 200 watt siren at the same time. Since then I've hit a deer at about 50 mph and destroyed the front end of the Explorer. The SA-315Ps were mounted directly behind the grille and took the brunt of the impact, to the point where the mounting brackets were bent and the "bell" (outer) portion of the speakers were cracked and/or broken. Both speakers continue to work great to this day, a year and a half later.
Boulder is correct, speakers from any of the major manufacturers will work fine. Whelen, Federal Signal, CPI, Feniex, Code 3, etc. Sirenet and some other places have speakers made by the big names that are "store branded" for them as well. The important thing (in my opinion) is to A) buy a decent quality speaker, and B) get one that has the longest "bell" that will fit in the area you're mounting in. The longer the bell, the better "throw" the speaker has to project the siren noise forward. CPI in my personal experience makes very high quality speakers that project very well. You may also want to consider a Federal 200 watt speaker - may be cheaper than purchasing two 100 speakers.
And you don't need to know anyone to get a reply - Boulder answered your question correctly. Why are there hundreds of different vehicles available, when two or three could get you from point A to b? Because people want variety. Same thing with speakers, LED brands, etc. Stick with the reputable manufacturers and there really is no significant difference.
I have been using the 315 for about 5 years and it produces great sound. It is quality built and I have never had any problems with its operation. The only drawback I have seen is that it can be kind of tricky to mount. I have used it in 3 different vehicles and each one has been a challenge. The shape does not leave you much room to work. But as far as operation goes, it is great. Sorry I can't speak for running 200 watts.
Sigma Safety
Member
PJD642 said:
We were doing some research for a large ambulance customer (450 ambulances). They wanted to ensure all their siren systems met SAE specifications. At that point, they were running a bunch of everyone's speakers, including CPI. When I called CPI's engineers, they told me that they don't test the speakers. At all. They said they tested the driver itself , but didn't test the driver once it was in their housings. Personally I think that's silly as the speaker housing can dramatically affect the output. That turned me off CPI in general. I had to pass that along to the ambulance service, and so they dropped CPI because they couldn't guarantee that their speakers met SAE. That was probably 5-6 years ago so it may have changed.
There are only a few places that manufacture drivers. FedSig makes their own in the US, Whelen buys theirs from Taiwan, and I believe Atlas still is making drivers. A number of manufacturers buy from Atlas and a couple buy from Federal Signal, then put their own housing and label on it.
That same ambulance service mentioned above has 2 x SA315's on the front bumper of most of their ambulances. They had a >30% failure rate (I don't know the actual rate, but it was in excess of 30%) with them. I can't imagine that all SA315's have that same failure rate otherwise no one would buy them, but that's what their fleet guy told me.
The MS100's used to have major reliability problems back in the early 2000's, but those have long since been solved, and the ES100's have proven to be very good. The ES100's are a compact speaker so they still meet SAE but they are a couple dB quieter than the AS124's. The AS124's are just fantastic - we almost never hear of a failure, and they are extremely loud (might only be talking a couple dB's , though, so it's all relative). The AS124's are bulkier than the SA315, but they're also less expensive and don't require a bracket to mount on a flat surface like a push bumper. We go through literally tons of them a year and customers love them.
Keep in mind that all siren speakers' volume degrades after a few years in the field. You can lose 3-5dB after 3-5 years , depending on the conditions it is exposed to. We always recommend that customers buy new speakers for new vehicles (don't re-use them from old cars ) just for that reason.
Hope that helps.
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PJD642
New Member
leftcoastmark said:
Wow - I was not aware of that. I believed (avoiding "assumed") that any major manufacturer would naturally have tested their products to ensure SAE compliance. My experience with CPI speakers was simply installing a couple in a few crown vics to replace old speakers. Whether a result of better housing design or the new drivers, there was a noticeable difference in sound levels when finished. And they were tough suckers, albeit seeming twice as heavy as the speakers they replaced.
Retired1
Member
In my limited experience, I have used Whelen 314A, 314P, and 315P 100 watt speakers all with excellent results and not a single failure. I prefer the 314s due to the mounts I use (I get 4 hole mounting of the speaker to the bracket with 314s and 3 hole mounting with the 315s). You will not be disappointed with the 315s.
I currently have two 100 Whelen 314Ps in use with my 200 watt Carson SA-441 dual tone siren and I am very satisfied
That said, Boulders advice is correct and sound (pun intended)!
PS: the only speakers I have ever had a problem with were Federal Dynamax (a high failure rate) and I cannot speak to those currently in production as I stopped using them many many years ago.
I currently have two 100 Whelen 314Ps in use with my 200 watt Carson SA-441 dual tone siren and I am very satisfied
That said, Boulders advice is correct and sound (pun intended)!
PS: the only speakers I have ever had a problem with were Federal Dynamax (a high failure rate) and I cannot speak to those currently in production as I stopped using them many many years ago.
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Black Hoe
Member
I agree with the above post. I prefer the Whelen 314P over the 315. They sound louder and crisper to my ears and are easier to mount. I never had a 314P fail either over the years but I had several speaker failures with the Federal Dynamax speakers and for that reason I don't run any Federal siren speakers in my fleet. I run Unitrol brand sirens on the Whelen speakers, some running dual mode (running two siren amplifiers into two separate speakers). Never had a 314P fail yet!