What speakers for restaurant/bar use?

[dae3dae3]

You should really consider going someplace where they specialize in pro-audio applications. They may have totally different options available that most people aren't even aware of. They will also have knowledge of setting up large numbers of speakers like you are considering. The one chain store that I know of is Guitar Center but I there must be a local place if you don't have one of those. They will sell pro amps that can handle low impedance loads that you are likely to produce by daisy-chaining speakers together. They will also have some more options available in speakers that are more rugged for professional use.

Just try to look for the guy who looks like he isn't in high school. It may be hit or miss but if you find a good guy they will probably know exactly what you need.

 

[Gatorchong]

Having some experience with purchasing commercial audio equipment for one of the businesses I have worked for I would recommend spending your money on commercial audio gear, especially the amps. They tend to last much longer with constant use than even the high quality consumer stuff. (i.e. denon) Unless you're planning to sell the business down the road I would spend the money on stuff you won't have to replace or repair too often. If you're going to have one of the rooms at consant high volume I would go with some speakers made for commercial use as well. With low volume ambience type music you can save the money, but in your sports bar area I would spend a little more on speakers that are designed to be played loud for long periods.

 

[zumbo]

nice nice. How old is it? Did you get it before MBQuart was bought by RF?

They were owned by Rockford Corp. at the time. The speakers are stamped "Handmade In Germany". The MB Quart company remained it's own identity and manufacturing remained as it was. I have owned many MB Quart systems in car audio, and these have the same sound characteristic. Maxxsonics now owns them, and claims the product will remain top-quality and continue to be manufactured in Obrigheim Germany at the MB Quart plant. http://www.maxxsonics.com/ They also plan to take advantage of the plant to help improve the quality of their products as well. Who knows? I am just glad I got mine when I did.

You said "it", so I wanted to be clear. I have four of these:
http://photobucket.com/albums/f174/zumbo02/?action=view&current=MBQ830.jpg

And one of these:
http://photobucket.com/albums/f174/zumbo02/?action=view&current=MBQ330ctr.jpg

 

[Deathwish238]

You should really consider going someplace where they specialize in pro-audio applications. They may have totally different options available that most people aren't even aware of. They will also have knowledge of setting up large numbers of speakers like you are considering. The one chain store that I know of is Guitar Center but I there must be a local place if you don't have one of those. They will sell pro amps that can handle low impedance loads that you are likely to produce by daisy-chaining speakers together. They will also have some more options available in speakers that are more rugged for professional use.

Just try to look for the guy who looks like he isn't in high school. It may be hit or miss but if you find a good guy they will probably know exactly what you need.

There are many Guitar Centers around here...I didn't even think about them. I will check them out thank you.

Having some experience with purchasing commercial audio equipment for one of the businesses I have worked for I would recommend spending your money on commercial audio gear, especially the amps. They tend to last much longer with constant use than even the high quality consumer stuff. (i.e. denon) Unless you're planning to sell the business down the road I would spend the money on stuff you won't have to replace or repair too often. If you're going to have one of the rooms at consant high volume I would go with some speakers made for commercial use as well. With low volume ambience type music you can save the money, but in your sports bar area I would spend a little more on speakers that are designed to be played loud for long periods.

The business is brand new and I plan to keep it for a long long time so reliabillity is definately very important. In the sports bar area...the speakers will still be playing background music and not sound from the TVs as there are several.

They were owned by Rockford Corp. at the time. The speakers are stamped "Handmade In Germany". The MB Quart company remained it's own identity and manufacturing remained as it was. I have owned many MB Quart systems in car audio, and these have the same sound characteristic. Maxxsonics now owns them, and claims the product will remain top-quality and continue to be manufactured in Obrigheim Germany at the MB Quart plant. http://www.maxxsonics.com/ They also plan to take advantage of the plant to help improve the quality of their products as well. Who knows? I am just glad I got mine when I did.

That's good to hear that they sound as good when owned by RF as they did before. I got lucky and bought a set of speakers right before they were bought by RF. I'm honestly rather doubtful if their quality will remain the same ax maxxsonics doesn't own the best brands(their best being HiFonics).

 

[zumbo]

That's good to hear that they sound as good when owned by RF as they did before. I got lucky and bought a set of speakers right before they were bought by RF. I'm honestly rather doubtful if their quality will remain the same ax maxxsonics doesn't own the best brands(their best being HiFonics).

You mean, their best being MB Quart!

At the time I purchased my system, Rockford also owned NHT. My sub is a NHT SW-12. It looks as though they no longer own NHT either.

 

[bigpapa]

Use commercial grade amps and speakers

For brand, try Bogen, Crown, or QSC amps. This is definetly a 70v mono application. All three make 70V amps for your application.

I use 70v JBL's for BGM applications. These kinds of speakers aren't very expensive, and yes, I many of them to evenly disperse the sound. More speakers at lower volume work really well. You can fill the room with sound, yet not drown out people talking to each other.

Despite what some may say, the sound quality can be very good if designed right. But, you won't get any imaging. I don't know if I'd want that anyway, it's above my head

Many commercial amps come with integrated cards for inputs, and some come with output cards... taking care of your zone volume needs.

For basic BGM use, you need at least 10W a speaker. If you want to host a Super Bowl and play it on every TV, you'd probably want to pipe it to your speakers too Just make sure you feed some audio to your amp. I'd think 30w a speaker would be more than loud enough to sound good above a loud crowd, yet enable people to still have a conversation through the noise. It's not a nightclub system, but more than enough power to do what you want.

Good luck brah.

 

[Deathwish238]

Wow thanks for the help. I found a few amps that look like they'll work. Okay so I have an amp...say either the Bogen M-Class or Black Max Series. But what do I do for inputs? I need to be able to have atleast two inputs and three independent zone outputs. Any ideas? This is brand new to me.

 

[bigpapa]

Wow thanks for the help. I found a few amps that look like they'll work. Okay so I have an amp...say either the Bogen M-Class or Black Max Series. But what do I do for inputs? I need to be able to have atleast two inputs and three independent zone outputs. Any ideas? This is brand new to me.

I'm thinking Vector series for you, but with two smaller Vectors for your other zones. The M-Class might be a little bigger than you need, but I'm not a commercial engineer.

Off the top of my head, I'm thinking that you'll have the main amp/mixer with some input cards (you can go up to 8 with Vector series, you'll have two... buy 3, you'll change your mind later and add something).

No need to play separate audio in your other zones, so you'll just need a summing output card from the main unit. I'd likely get some smaller amps for your two other zones, big enough to match the power output of the larger amp/zone relative to the amount of speakers in the zone.

You might want to get some real engineering consultation here. Compile the following data;

1. Cubic volume of the space of each zone, how many speakers you intend to use in each zone

2. How high the speakers will likely be above the listeners

3. Your requirements; BGM music in a restaraunt to a football crowd watching TV, or whatever variation you decide.

4. Input cards and output cards

That's really it. If you want or need to use noise cancellation or filtration, hire a consultant to help engineer. I think you can get by without it though.

Have you found someone to sell this stuff to you? The distributor will likely have a design/sales staff available to help you. This shouldn't be more than a 1/2 hour phone call for D/E and cost analysis, especially if you have the info I mentioned.

Good luck brah.

 

[bigpapa]

Oh, and I forgot...

Run some balanced audio cables (twisted pair 22gauge minimum, with shield) out to where any live musicians may play... plug em in to your sound system so everyone can hear it. If they use any mixing gear, it should have a summed audio output at their board for piping out.