Recommendation/guidance for a stero system

[shrumpage]

Got permission to upgrade our company's weight room audio system.

I could go to Wal-mart and grab the biggest shelf they have but I'd rather go about this in a more professional manner and get a quality audio system. But this is where i run in to trouble: I'm familiar with home theater setups, but I'm not sure where to start when configuring a plain ol' stereo system.

Right now I'm looking for any guidance in picking and setting up this type of system. Also any recommendations for receivers, speakers, speaker configuration (2, 2.1) would be appreciated along with what to avoid.

The room is 25'x37' With a very high ceiling. I'm not looking for anything super loud, but can fill the room with good quality sound.

thanks.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

What are you upgrading from and what's your budget?

Weak points of the old system that you want to improve upon?

 

[shrumpage]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
What are you upgrading from and what's your budget?

Weak points of the old system that you want to improve upon?

the old system is a $20 boom box from walmart - pretty much anything will be better.

I have about 1k to work with.

 

[sdifox]

what kind of ceiling do you have? Is there a drop ceiling? I am thinking ceiling speakers given room size.

 

[Tiamat]

That's a pretty large room. I'm thinking, either a multitude of ceiling speakers or perhaps, PA's like this

 

[shrumpage]

Originally posted by: sdifox
what kind of ceiling do you have? Is there a drop ceiling? I am thinking ceiling speakers given room size.

its not a drop ceiling, and it is at a minimum of 30' up - not ideal. Plus i don't want to climb that high to install 'em.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
That's a pretty large room. I'm thinking, either a multitude of ceiling speakers or perhaps, PA's like this

PAs are harsh for people near it. Ceiling speakers are more sensible.

 

[shrumpage]

Originally posted by: Tiamat
That's a pretty large room. I'm thinking, either a multitude of ceiling speakers or perhaps, PA's like this

I think those might be a little over kill.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: shrumpage

Originally posted by: sdifox
what kind of ceiling do you have? Is there a drop ceiling? I am thinking ceiling speakers given room size.

its not a drop ceiling, and it is at a minimum of 30' up - not ideal. Plus i don't want to climb that high to install 'em.

so, warehouse? you can install speakers with wall mounts then.

 

[Tiamat]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Tiamat
That's a pretty large room. I'm thinking, either a multitude of ceiling speakers or perhaps, PA's like this

PAs are harsh for people near it. Ceiling speakers are more sensible.

True. I was thinking of mounting them high up on the walls on a shelf or something, kinda like in the college-aged bars that are common in major cities like Boston (for example).

Perhaps getting 4 smaller powered monitors running mono signal to each of them, 1 speaker on each wall?

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: sdifox

PAs are harsh for people near it. Ceiling speakers are more sensible.

Ceiling speakers have little or no bass, and good PA speakers are often not harsh at all. They're also quite a lot more durable.

I would recommend a Tapco J800 power amp ($230) regardless of what speakers you use. Connect one to an iPod's output via some sort of el-cheapo DJ mixer/fader unit and you have a reliable, high-quality, and cheap form of amplification.

For speakers, I'd try and get a pair of great big Klipsches, which are far closer in design to PA speakers than the sort of thing you'd normally find around your house. While the cheap Klipsch stuff is rubbish, their high end gear featuring horn tweeters with dome tweeters or real compression drivers will work very nicely. It's also known for longevity - many Klipsch products are still working after twenty or thirty years.

If you don't want to deal with the hassle of buying used speakers or the price of buying new ones, Yamaha does some decent PA speakers at a not unreasonable price.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

Originally posted by: sdifox

PAs are harsh for people near it. Ceiling speakers are more sensible.

Ceiling speakers have little or no bass, and good PA speakers are often not harsh at all. They're also quite a lot more durable.

I would recommend a Tapco J800 power amp ($230) regardless of what speakers you use. Connect one to an iPod's output via some sort of el-cheapo DJ mixer/fader unit and you have a reliable, high-quality, and cheap form of amplification.

For speakers, I'd try and get a pair of great big Klipsches, which are far closer in design to PA speakers than the sort of thing you'd normally find around your house. While the cheap Klipsch stuff is rubbish, their high end gear featuring horn tweeters with dome tweeters or real compression drivers will work very nicely. It's also known for longevity - many Klipsch products are still working after twenty or thirty years.

If you don't want to deal with the hassle of buying used speakers or the price of buying new ones, Yamaha does some decent PA speakers at a not unreasonable price.

Harsh in terms of SPL. In order to fill the room, you need to crank them up, which makes it very uncomfortable for the people near it. Think along the lines of a stadium concert and standing in front of the monster driver array.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: Tiamat

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: Tiamat
That's a pretty large room. I'm thinking, either a multitude of ceiling speakers or perhaps, PA's like this

PAs are harsh for people near it. Ceiling speakers are more sensible.

True. I was thinking of mounting them high up on the walls on a shelf or something, kinda like in the college-aged bars that are common in major cities like Boston (for example).

Perhaps getting 4 smaller powered monitors running mono signal to each of them, 1 speaker on each wall?

Given the budget I would go with passive speakers and just run speaker wires. That way you get more speakers.


Humm, maybe I'll try to draw Rubycon's eyes to this thread...

 

[Rubycon]

Two Electro Voice ZX1-90 and an entry level amp (QSC, Yamaha, Crown, etc.) will suffice fine. You can wall mount or mount on the ceiling. These are not big speakers but have pretty big sound and get loud so that should be no problem over talkies and grunters.

 

[shrumpage]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Two Electro Voice ZX1-90 and an entry level amp (QSC, Yamaha, Crown, etc.) will suffice fine. You can wall mount or mount on the ceiling. These are not big speakers but have pretty big sound and get loud so that should be no problem over talkies and grunters.

thanks for the advice.

I originally had envisioned a CD player paired with stereo receiver outputting to two decent speakers which would be wall mounted, angled down. After doing some research home speakers are generally listed in three types: floor, bookshelf, and surround. I was trying to find a type that would fill the gap between the floor and bookshelf. A mountable speaker with sound output of a floor model. PA style speakers seem to be that niche I'm looking for.

If i went the PA speaker route with a dedicated amp. What would be the best way to deliver the sound input to the amp? Just RCA outputs from a CD player, or would i need to pass the sound through a small mixing board?

Another issue that i should have elaborated on is the 'easy of use.' The system had to be setup that anyone could walk in put a CD in or plug an mp3 players and start their work out.

 

[Rubycon]

Pro Audio amps use balanced inputs. You will want (at the very least) a DI box to accept your unbalanced phono (RCA) inputs from CD players, etc. The balanced lines from here can go to your amp over long distances without fear of noise leaking into the signal.

If you want to have inputs near workout areas these need to be coupled in a similar manner and sent to a basic mixer. You can get powered mixers that double as a mixer and PA amp as well.