New here, Need help (sound system setup)

[sgalvin07]

Grab a cup of coffee guys, this might be a little long. Stay with me. This might be a little out of your realm, but you never know where you might find help. Worth the copy and paste

Background: I'm a DIY kind of guy. i can usually do everything myself, and what i don't know i go to the google machine and I search and search until I learn how to do whatever it is that I couldn't do. So i've spent hours searching, mostly getting overwhelmed and then giving up. My wife owns a dance studio that is rapidly expanding. She started it two years ago with 20 kids and is now up to 200. This meant the purchase of a new building (12,000 + sqft). Which ultimately means that purchase of new audio gear to fill the new rooms.

In the current studio I set her up with an I pod, CD deck, 2 channel mixer, running a pair of active PA speakers (Behringer). This was good for the time as she downloaded the songs she wanted in iTunes, could plug her iPod into the mixer and had great sound in her small studio. Now we're on to bigger and better things, and it seems as though her business venture is going to pan out into a career. So this means that her equipment needs to be better, the process needs to be smoother, and the "whole package" needs to fit a growing business.


So essentially she is going to have 3 dance rooms in this new studio, each with a sound system. In my head I believe the best idea is to run a NAS (network attached storage) on the network and have a computer in each studio attached to the network so that the playlists are available in each room.
Can multiple computers access iTunes at the same time from a folder located on a NAS?
I've always been a PC guy, but the wife bought me an iMac for christmas, and i'm slowly falling in love with it. Especially when it comes to cutting all of her music, and how easy it is to work with iTunes. On the current network at the studio are two PC's due to the dance program they use to control the billing/accounts. It's not available for a Mac platform. So in the new studio they will continue to run at least one PC on the network, but I almost feel like a Mac / iPad would be better to use inside the dance rooms to connect to the network and use iTunes for the music end.
Suggestions? Will a MAC and PC be able to use the same NAS to share files and back up data?
Is there anyway that i will be able to cut the music from home, connect to the network through VPN, and drop the new song on her work network and have it show up on their computers (I know that question is far outside the realm of this forum, but I'm cross posting this on multiple sites).
Last question I believe. And probably the only real question that is geared towards this site. What components (speakers, mixers, etc.) would you guys suggest. Clearly this new studio is a LARGE investment, required a large downpayment and a huge mortgage. So the cash for the sound system isn't quite budget friendly for the HIGH END stuff. However, I also don't want to put paper cones in there and tell her to live with it. What kind of components do you guys suggest that will make connecting easy, be able to tolerate hours on end of music, and be able to handle the bass relatively well for her hip hop classes? I've been pleased with the Behringer speakers, but are there other options out there that won't break the bank?


Sorry for the novel, but I hate when people post questions without giving any background or any detail into what they are really looking for. Any input/ advice would be appreciated. I have about 2 months to get prepared and have a plan.

 

[TLS Guy]

Grab a cup of coffee guys, this might be a little long. Stay with me. This might be a little out of your realm, but you never know where you might find help. Worth the copy and paste

Background: I'm a DIY kind of guy. i can usually do everything myself, and what i don't know i go to the google machine and I search and search until I learn how to do whatever it is that I couldn't do. So i've spent hours searching, mostly getting overwhelmed and then giving up. My wife owns a dance studio that is rapidly expanding. She started it two years ago with 20 kids and is now up to 200. This meant the purchase of a new building (12,000 + sqft). Which ultimately means that purchase of new audio gear to fill the new rooms.

In the current studio I set her up with an I pod, CD deck, 2 channel mixer, running a pair of active PA speakers (Behringer). This was good for the time as she downloaded the songs she wanted in iTunes, could plug her iPod into the mixer and had great sound in her small studio. Now we're on to bigger and better things, and it seems as though her business venture is going to pan out into a career. So this means that her equipment needs to be better, the process needs to be smoother, and the "whole package" needs to fit a growing business.


So essentially she is going to have 3 dance rooms in this new studio, each with a sound system. In my head I believe the best idea is to run a NAS (network attached storage) on the network and have a computer in each studio attached to the network so that the playlists are available in each room.
Can multiple computers access iTunes at the same time from a folder located on a NAS?
I've always been a PC guy, but the wife bought me an iMac for christmas, and i'm slowly falling in love with it. Especially when it comes to cutting all of her music, and how easy it is to work with iTunes. On the current network at the studio are two PC's due to the dance program they use to control the billing/accounts. It's not available for a Mac platform. So in the new studio they will continue to run at least one PC on the network, but I almost feel like a Mac / iPad would be better to use inside the dance rooms to connect to the network and use iTunes for the music end.
Suggestions? Will a MAC and PC be able to use the same NAS to share files and back up data?
Is there anyway that i will be able to cut the music from home, connect to the network through VPN, and drop the new song on her work network and have it show up on their computers (I know that question is far outside the realm of this forum, but I'm cross posting this on multiple sites).
Last question I believe. And probably the only real question that is geared towards this site. What components (speakers, mixers, etc.) would you guys suggest. Clearly this new studio is a LARGE investment, required a large downpayment and a huge mortgage. So the cash for the sound system isn't quite budget friendly for the HIGH END stuff. However, I also don't want to put paper cones in there and tell her to live with it. What kind of components do you guys suggest that will make connecting easy, be able to tolerate hours on end of music, and be able to handle the bass relatively well for her hip hop classes? I've been pleased with the Behringer speakers, but are there other options out there that won't break the bank?


Sorry for the novel, but I hate when people post questions without giving any background or any detail into what they are really looking for. Any input/ advice would be appreciated. I have about 2 months to get prepared and have a plan.

We need a budget and the room dimensions. As far as I know a NAS unit with hard wire connection to the router, should be accessible in multiple room via radio Ethernet.

Now you need good DACs in the computers, or better, since I think you are getting into the realm of pro audio, external DAC,s.

I don't know why you need a mixer as such. I would use RME DACs, that also will dub as a mixer. I would use wide or double screens on the computer. This is a typical screen of a RME unit and a picture of mine.

The screen on the right is mainly the screen on the right. The bottom and right side of the right screen is WaveLab which you would not need.

The left screen is Wave Lab.

So you would have your files one side of the screen and the RME control screen on the right say.

Pro audio is PC based and not MAC, so I would strongly advise you set this up PC based.

So you can come out of the RME unit straight to active powered speakers.

The speaker selection will depend on bass and budget. You are in the pro audio realm and will need active speakers. These need to be pro auditorium speakers I suspect and not desk monitors. You will need at least two good subs in each room.

For your situation forget domestic equipment. Whatever you do, go pro, from start to finish, or you will always have you hand in your pocket along with seriously sub optimal performance.

The design of a system like this is not simple, but with good engineering practice results can be impressive. You pretty much have to forget everything you ever knew about domestic audio. Unfortunately you will have to allow a pro budget.

I have experience in pro and domestic audio.

Your information is much too sparse to design a system for you. Depending on your knowledge base you may need professional advice.

I'm not surprised you did not get what you wanted by surfing the NET.

Remember if you have a large business and high cost professional dance studio, like it appears you have, then audio is a big part of the equation.

So the audio needs to be to professional standard also, and should have been part of your original plan and Budget, not the after thought it seems. So it seems to me you are behind the curve already and seeking help late in the day.