[mmmjgm]

Hi ICE Gurus.

Have a query, we are planning an office, need piped music or music throughout the office with two zones. One is a conference room and the other is the common area within the office.

Question here is that there would be six to eight speakers in the common office area.

These are car audio speakers to be placed flush with the surface of the false ceiling. Naturally i do not want bass or heavy thumps coming from the speakers.

Please suggest on the following lines.

1) Cost effective equipment for clear instrumental music (Mozart/Beethoven/Tchaikovsky).
2) Wiring topology - Serial/Parallel ?
3) Precautions for a long life install. (by the interior decorator).
4) Is there a need for a car amp as I will be using pcs/laptops & Ipods to connect the sytem to the speakers. (intermediary amp required).

Would a standalone amp suit or can i make do with a car amp ?

Cost effectiveness is of essence, durability should be of a high nature.

Please advice

regards

M M

[Sam Kapasi]

Since your application is 230V, a car amplifier is out of the question.

What you actually should be using are ceiling speakers, not car speakers. Car speakers are designed for cars, lol. Companies like Bosch, Philips, Bose and JBL make ceiling speakers.
Of these, the most cost effective is philips.

I am a bit surprised that you would choose to play Tchaikovsky in the office, but ah well to each his own. While the Philips will be cost effective, do not compare the fidelity to (for example) the JBL in-ceiling. But then that is 10times more expensive. (JBL ceiling speakers cost 5000/- each, Philips can be got for 700/-)
Also do not forget that almost all car speakers are 4 ohms.

But yes, car speakers would work too.

If the common office has 8 speakers you will need to either buy transformer coupled impedance matching speakers, or if you use regular car/ceiling speakers, you will need to make a series/parallel combination, resulting in not less than 4 phms effective imedance seen by the amplifier.

You can use one amplifier for 8 speakers if you make a correct series parallel connection. perhaps you could use another amplifier for the second zone.

An excellent stereo amplifier that is cost effective would be Studiomaster (an Indian brand) and the model number is DJ100. It would cost about 9000/- for a stereo amplifier. It is really slim )About an inch and a half high), 19" rack mountable and you can stack them.

[filcord]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

I am a bit surprised that you would choose to play Tchaikovsky in the office...,

Why are you surprised, why, why?

Wonderful choice, uplifting, lots of high violins that sound very soothing in an office without needing much amplification.
In fact, Tchai and Mozart is what i put in my own office. try it.
More to the point, mmmjgm, of course you should not look at car audio. 230V power supply means you will need a good amp, and good ventilation, since this will be on for ten hours a day at least.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by filcord

In fact, Tchai and Mozart is what i put in my own office. try it..

Me? No I prefer David Gray in the office or Daft Punk, depending on the mood.

Mozart I can clearly understand Tchaikovsky not.
But then to each his own.

[mmmjgm]

Hi Sam, filcord,

Thanks for the info, will proceed accordingly. Am not too technical into the ohms and impedance, have always bought pairs of speakers and hooked them into amps.

This is a unique proposition where the office design mandates piped music, the music would barely be audible in the entire area. Choice of music is determined by the ambiance we require in the office.

On the other hand Mark Kamen's orchestra scores are good too.

cheers
M M

[cooldude1988765]

Sam you forgot about the most cost effective brand AHUJA

[navin]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Companies like Bosch, Philips, Bose and JBL make ceiling speakers.
Of these, the most cost effective is philips.

If the common office has 8 speakers you will need to either buy transformer coupled impedance matching speakers

You can use one amplifier for 8 speakers if you make a correct series parallel connection. perhaps you could use another amplifier for the second zone.

Studiomaster (an Indian brand) and the model number is DJ100.

Philipis used to make a very nice 7" fullrange (with whizzer) called the 9710. See if you can get them today. Another option was the 5200M (which was a bit dispersion limited). I liked the later as it's high Qts allowed it to be installed free air in suspended ceilings and the did bass very well esp if used in stacks of 4 in a line source. All Philips speakers have a AD prefix.

Next expensive is a new Bosch speaker called the 3500 (I think the prefix is MCS or MSC) if you want something cheaper the 39xx range works well to but they are really more suited for voice (annoucements etc..) than Tchaikovsky. Beet's and Tch's dynamic range will be diffcult for most of these speakers to cope with. Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Debussy, Vivaldi, Smethna, etc.. they can manage. The Bosch speakers are nice because installing is pain free (each speaker has it's own auto transformer).

When you move to JBL and Bose you are talking a bigger budget (depending on the number of speakers you need). Why not take a trip to Lamington road and visit Narian, Ramesh Trading, Gupta, Choudhry, Precious, etc.. you'll see many options. At one time Narain had a box of Fostex fullrange drivers (I think they were 8") they would have been excellent for such an application.

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by mmmjgm

Am not too technical into the ohms and impedance, have always bought pairs of speakers and hooked them into amps.
M M

Well, this time you better be careful since we arent just talking about a pair of speakers. You could easily fry the amp if you try undertaking this with your electrician.

Car speakers are similar to ceiling speakers, except they do not have any mounting options other than screwing on, and that they rarely come with white grills.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

Well, this time you better be careful since we arent just talking about a pair of speakers.

if you have a multimeter just ensure that the final impedance of your combination of speakers (the 2 wires that connect to the amp) is above 4 ohms and less than 16 ohms.

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

An excellent stereo amplifier that is cost effective would be Studiomaster (an Indian brand) and the model number is DJ100. It would cost about 9000/- for a stereo amplifier. It is really slim )About an inch and a half high), 19" rack mountable and you can stack them.

Narain sells a amp called a DJ 151 for about 9K too.

[akbaree]

I need some help with building a audio system for a small 300 Sq Ft juice shop. Any pointers, especially speaker brands, that can be used, will greatly help. The shop is based in Ahmedabad.

Note to Mods: I started a new thread as I did not find any thread on the topic.

[absynthguzzler]

My 0.5bhp advice.

I'd suggest a Soundbar . They are designed to fill up the area much like a surround sound speaker set. Tonal quality may not beat the independent speaker options, but that's hardly a requirement at a juice shop. Good quality output should suffice. There are even Bluetooth and wireless playing options for same .

[::CMS::]

If your shop has false ceiling, better go for in ceiling speakers from sonodyne or something similar with enough reinforcement at the speaker locations.