Warehouse Speaker System

[MDVill]

Howdy everyone! I work for a construction company and I have recently come to the conclusion that my current speaker system is inadequate for the environment that we work in. I have tried many times to get music out onto the warehouse floor, but to no avail. The receiver keeps on over-heating, turning off, or blowing out a fuse.

I have decided to buy an amplifier to help the receiver out with the burden of powering 16 speakers at once. Here are the specs of the situation:

16 RadioShack Speakers in all
8 ohms

I require a good amplifier to do the job, and I am not sure if I have made the right choice. I have chosen the Bogen C35 Amplifier (Link is http://www.bogen.com/products/pdfs/mixerampspdfs/GS35s.pdf), but I am not positive that may be the right amplifier in this situation.

If anyone else has any good advice, I am all ears!

[markw]

First off, running that many 8 ohm speakers is asking for trouble. You need to run a 70 volt system for this number of speakers.

First off, you need a 70 volt transformer for each speaker. There are two listed on the top of this linked page should do it, depending on how loud you want them.

http://www.proacousticsusa.com/products.php?sId=88

Next, get hold of a dedicated PA amplifier (NOT a home stereo) with a 70 volt output. I'm not goingto search the entirt Bogen catalog for that amp but if it has a 70 volyt output, you should do fine. But they aren't hard to find when scouring the right sites . Even Rat Shack should have these.

You can now "daisy chain" that 70 volt output to the primaries of each of the sixteen 70 volt transformers.

[Rock789]

I have another question on this...
what are the ambient conditions where this receiver is sitting?

being a service engineer at my last job... I saw many many rigged audio systems on plant floors where they for sure wouldn't hold up... due to heat, humidity, dust, carbon particals...
their solutions were to buy the cheapest thing that was loudenough to hear over the equipment they were running... that way when the thing died... they simply spent another $20 or so on more junk to last a month or so...

how are you wiring these? I see how markw read your description, but when I first read yoru description, I read it as you have 16 speakers wired for an 8 ohm load...

with a home amp, this is an option... just wire the speakers for a suitable impedance per channel... but using a pa system as markw stated would be a better idea ...

[MDVill]

HTD's MA-1235 looks like something that I might consider getting...what do you guys think? (http://www.htd.com/12-Channel-Amplifier#)

[Resident Loser]

HTD's MA-1235 looks like something that I might consider getting...what do you guys think? (http://www.htd.com/12-Channel-Amplifier#)

...are attempting to sustitute a home stereo (it's multichannel capability notwithstanding) for a commercial/PA installation...Do you also use it as a PA or just for entertainment purposes? With the real deal you can use it as a paging system and it's actually a business expense as I see it, depreciation and all that...As markw has stated, 70v/Muzak-style gear is your best bet...look to Bogen, maybe Russound or Niles...

jimHJJ(...otherwise it's just gonna' be one band-aid after another...)

[MDVill]

Your right, I found a fairly nice Russound for around $600.00 (http://www.russound.com/r850mc.htm). I think that will work perfectly. Do you think that it is enough to not burn up on me for a while? (2 speakers per channel) Or should I get a larger-channel amp?

[Resident Loser]

Your right, I found a fairly nice Russound for around $600.00 (http://www.russound.com/r850mc.htm). I think that will work perfectly. Do you think that it is enough to not burn up on me for a while? (2 speakers per channel) Or should I get a larger-channel amp?

...let's start from scratch...

While that unit would probably do OK, you have 16 speakers, you do the math...even switched to mono, you have only have eight connectors, which means resorting to series/parallel wiring arrangements, outboard terminal strips or wire nuts etc. Rube Goldberg would be proud. What is the impedance rating for your existing speakers?...if 4 Ohms, you may have a problem with any sort of non-standard wiring scheme.

ADDENDUM TO ABOVE: Just noticed there are a total of 16 connectors, but we still have that loudspeaker impedance to contend with.

A better choice might be their R1250M with twelve, still not 16 but...Russound doesn't provide a spec for a 4 Ohm load in the bridged-mono mode (either model, that means a mono source to the inputs, Y-connectors, etc.)...Also you will be paying for features you don't really need...checking out the .pdf owners manual for the unit, it also has multi-zone functions, 12v triggering connectors, etc. and would seem to be optimized for easy interface with specific Russound head units.

Do you only play one source at a time? If so, the zones are overkill...

Does it need to be stereo? A mono mix in a warehouse would seem to be sufficient as I doubt folks are going to be looking for a "sweet spot" for that just right soundstage...

Do you want PA/paging?

While it might be do-able, I'd rather see you spend your coin (and time) on a more suitable unit...perhaps a Bogen "C' series mixer-amplifier in the traditional, more commercially oriented, 70v configuration...do it right once and your done with it.

Not trying to be a downer but these are things you really have to think about, unfortunately while it ain't rocket-science, there are things to be taken into consideration.

jimHJJ(...like Norm says: "Measure twice, cut once"...)

[MDVill]

Hey guys, thanks for the help! I have finally decided on buying the ma-1235 from HTD. It is a 12-channel amp. Hopefully it will work out in the end.