Advice on sound system for a gym?

[boomerang]

Not a home gym a commercial gym of about 5000 sq. ft. although the size is a variable at this point.

The sources would be XM and an optical input of some variety. XM will be used primarily for background music at a volume level where people can easily speak. The optical would be for group activities.

Rules of thumb on number of speakers and equipment required would be helpful as would be any links. Budget is unknown as I have no real idea what a setup like this would cost. Simple to operate is a must. There will be a number of people that would have to operate this and it needs to be simple and intuitive.

 

[alcoholbob]

One of the biggest mistakes is people buying entry-level AV receivers with weak amp sections and then hooking it up a multi-speaker switch and burning up the speakers.

I would definitely invest heavily on the amplifier(s). Sound quality is not going to be your concern I assume so you probably don't need the greatest speakers.

I would look at pro amps that use active cooling--Crown is a good brand. Make sure to use thick cable, like 10 gauge when wiring around the gym.

 

[Chronoshock]

I'm guessing your priorities will be durability, simplicity, and volume (and less sound quality). My recommendation would be to look into active PA speakers. Conceivably, you could hook your system up using wireless transmitter/receivers, simplifying setup further..

 

[sdifox]

5000 sq ft is one space or divided?

what are your wiring constraints?

 

[vi edit]

A 6" in ceiling should provide decent sound to a 15x15 area, an 8" would be even better. That's a little over 22 speakers for the 5000 sq/ft.

You probably want to go with dual voice coil speakers that can take both channels of sound and not mess with stereo imaging.
Like this: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-412

Something like this will let you run two pairs of speakers per channel for a total of 24 speakers:
http://www.htd.com/Products/multi-channel-amplifiers/DMA-1240


From there you just plug in your XM tuner and let 'er rip. It's pretty easy to work. You can lable the zones on the front and just hit the button to turn that area on or off if you want it.

It's speaker wire that will be the expensive part. That's A LOT of wire. You'll be running something like 16/4 to each speaker. Monoprice is your friend for that.

 

[vi edit]

Oh, saw the "optical" requirement...what does that mean? If it's an optical input (TOSLINK) you'll need something that can handle that connection. Either a pre-pro infront of the amp or some sort of adapter. Very few, if any multi channel amps can use that type of connector.

 

[boomerang]

5000 sq ft is one space or divided?

what are your wiring constraints?

One space. There would be two small offices, two to three bathrooms and perhaps two spaces for tanning, but they would be against outside walls not floating out in the middle of the space. I would want a speaker in each tanning room with a volume control though. The offices and bathrooms can go without. So essentially one big space. (My typical long answer that could have been short ).

As far as wiring constraints, I don't understand what you mean due to my ignorance. I need more of an explanation.

 

[boomerang]

Oh, saw the "optical" requirement...what does that mean? If it's an optical input (TOSLINK) you'll need something that can handle that connection. Either a pre-pro infront of the amp or some sort of adapter. Very few, if any multi channel amps can use that type of connector.

Input but it doesn't have to be TOSLINK. I'm talking a CD/DVD player. Something for trainers to play their own music on for things like Zumba and the like.

It could actually be an interface for an iPod. That may actually be better now that I've put some thought into it. A means for them to broadcast the music they want for the activity they're leading.

I saw the hardware at some site I neglected to bookmark.

 

[boomerang]

A 6" in ceiling should provide decent sound to a 15x15 area, an 8" would be even better. That's a little over 22 speakers for the 5000 sq/ft.

You probably want to go with dual voice coil speakers that can take both channels of sound and not mess with stereo imaging.
Like this: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-412

Something like this will let you run two pairs of speakers per channel for a total of 24 speakers:
http://www.htd.com/Products/multi-channel-amplifiers/DMA-1240


From there you just plug in your XM tuner and let 'er rip. It's pretty easy to work. You can lable the zones on the front and just hit the button to turn that area on or off if you want it.

It's speaker wire that will be the expensive part. That's A LOT of wire. You'll be running something like 16/4 to each speaker. Monoprice is your friend for that.

Thanks for this post with the links. The components needed are my main concern from the standpoint of educating myself on prices should I decide to sub this out to a local firm.

The parent company has approved vendors for this equipment but I've talked to several owners who recommended going with someone else. The local club we belong to has what looks like two amps, an XM tuner, a CD/DVD player, an equalizer (is this overkill?) and what I would term a small mixer board or whatever. This installed by a "buddy" of theirs. I'm showing my ignorance on the components because audio stuff is not my thing.

 

[Modelworks]

5000 sq ft is 100x50 ft roughly so you need a good amp and speakers . Also remember gyms are noisy so have to overcome that as well.

If I had to send sound to multiple locations like in a gym and needed to keep control of the volumes at different locations too then I would go with a 70 volt sound setup . It does away with the worries of having wires too long, impedance mismatches and controlling volumes at different areas.
http://www.parts-express.com/resources/70-volt-system.cfm


Cost is about $600 for the amp and about $100 per speaker , in wall volume controls are about $40 each .

 

[sdifox]

One space. There would be two small offices, two to three bathrooms and perhaps two spaces for tanning, but they would be against outside walls not floating out in the middle of the space. I would want a speaker in each tanning room with a volume control though. The offices and bathrooms can go without. So essentially one big space. (My typical long answer that could have been short ).

As far as wiring constraints, I don't understand what you mean due to my ignorance. I need more of an explanation.

what kind of ceiling, what kind of wall. Do you care about seeing the cables, etc.

Burying wires in cinder blocks is kindda hard

 

[boomerang]

what kind of ceiling, what kind of wall. Do you care about seeing the cables, etc.

Burying wires in cinder blocks is kindda hard

I see now.

But, I can't answer your questions because the property hasn't been found yet. The search is on. I like the open ceiling look, but a property with a drop ceiling in good shape may be used as is. Can't say anything with any certainty at this time.

Some of the answers have got me pretty sure I need to just shop with the local pros, get their thoughts and prices and go from there. This is more complex than I thought it would be.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

 

[sdifox]

I see now.

But, I can't answer your questions because the property hasn't been found yet. The search is on. I like the open ceiling look, but a property with a drop ceiling in good shape may be used as is. Can't say anything with any certainty at this time.

Some of the answers have got me pretty sure I need to just shop with the local pros, get their thoughts and prices and go from there. This is more complex than I thought it would be.

Thanks to everyone for their input.

lol, figure out location first, then look at hardware.

put in dynamo cycles, treadmill, etc so your clientèle generate power instead of just consuming it. You can claim to be green and sell more membership that way.

 

[rdp6]

Look into a 70V audio system. Probably exactly what you want: cheap to wire and you can add as many speakers as you want: no concerns for impedance matching.

First reasonable Google Search result:
http://www.epanorama.net/documents/audio/70volt.html

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

well, while you're hunting down a piece of property, here are some links to some pieces of equipment that you'll need. Something along these lines:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...fier_with.html


and without knowing the building (structurally) I don't know the mounting options, but you could pair a 70v amp system to the aforementioned. Ashley makes some nice stuff, (think $1500 range or more depending on what you want). Here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/cont...eaker_for.html (the 3-ways are $560 each!! The main thing is to avoid ceiling mounted speakers and large PA type speakers (too much sound becomes an issue acoustically). I don't think the music at the gym is even a good investment. I know it can either get a fraction of the people pumped up, or it can really adversly affect their workout, depending on what is played. Most people have iPods, so all you really need is a paging system that integrates with the telephones, and then a good stereo for the dance room that can be used with a lavalier mic for the instructor if necessary (a cabinet mounted rack with a rack mounted CD/USB MP3 player and a rack mounted power amp, wired to some larger (8" of good quality) speakers (ideally securely mounted to the beams of the building up off the floor and out of the way).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...specifications

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0_USB_and.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc....html#features

+ a wireless mic (lots to choose from and I'm not the best to ask about those)

For a rack mounted amplifier, QSC and Crown are the industry standard high-end brands for live music venues, which would be nice, but not really needed. Samson makes some very nice affordable amps. I wouldn't bother with any of the Class-D bullshit, or anything power friendly - just a regular audio amplifier that's built like a tank. You don't want to annoy people with the music, you want them to enjoy every minute of their workout, and the sound system is often overlooked, but humans rely on sound and vision tremendously. (and the best way to kill speakers besides obviously blowing them up is to feed them a distorted signal AKA a cheap power amp working too hard.)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...specifications





(...and no I don't work for B&H, but I sued their site to find examples because it was convenient for me)

 

[0roo0roo]

i'd worry about bad accoustic effects creating annoyances