PA System Advice For Horse Ranch Needed

[Grant Guerrieri]

We have a 40 acre horse ranch with (4) separate arena.
1. We require music to be playing most of the time
2. We require control over what channel the announcers voice is being played
3. We would like wireless microphones


We are looking for the following advice:

* What type of speakers would be most efficient for our use
* What controlling device would be best for our use
* What microphones should we use

On a budget but also realize you get what you pay for. Any advice help. We are located in the Sacramento, CA area. Thank you.

 

[highfigh]

There's no way this can be designed without a lot more information. Find a local contractor to design the system- nobody will do this without charging you because there's a lot more a design of this type, if done correctly and in great detail (and details will make or break this project), can take many 8 hour days.

There's no way I would expect my next comment to be taken the wrong way, but-

A horse ranch with 4 arenas that wants a PA system "on a budget"? That's a bit like a country club asking for a discount on a similar project.

Expect the design to cost 3-5% of the total project budget.

Also, be aware that wireless mics have a definite range and outside of that, they just don't work well, if at all. You may need to locate receivers for the mics in places that aren't good for the equipment, but are dictated by the allowable range. This means you'll need cabling that may need to cross open areas and this is one of the reasons it's not possible to design this system without at least a full set of plans and a map of the grounds.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

Highfigh is right. If you’re talking about a permanent installation, this kind of thing requires a professional pro-audio installation company that is familiar with what equipment can reliably be used and permanently located outdoors. This includes special wiring suitable for direct burial, sunlight exposure, etc.

Don’t expect to do this on the cheap, especially since you’re talking about four stand-alone systems. For instance, good-quality wireless mic rigs cost in the neighborhood of $4-500 each. Cheaper one typically have all kinds of shortcomings and are generally a waste of money.

Now, if you’re talking about something portable that can be set up and taken down as needed, that’s a whole different thing and could be done cheaper than a permanent installation. But even then a professional should be consulted to make recommendations based on all kinds of factors, such as where the audience is (e.g. isolated to a specific location, or spread all around arena perimeter?) and all kinds of other things an amateur can’t even imagine.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[TLS Guy]

As others have said, we can't possible design a complex system that will be required for your application on a forum like this.

Generally systems for these applications work very poorly as even the pros get it wrong. To be fair to them they are usually up against budget restrains. To make a system like this be truly functional is very expensive.

Basically what you will need is a 70 volt Pro PA system. You will need lots of horn loaded compression speakers, and good mics. They key to these systems is digital delay between speakers to make sure that everyone hears as many speakers as possible at the same time. This is the biggest challenge as people hear lots of speakers at different times and understand nothing. These systems are difficult to design and set up, and require lots of time and measurement in set up.