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Commercial Sound

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 2:51 pm
by oddioguy
I expect this topic will be slow, to say the least, but any and all inquiries regarding commercial distributed audio are welcome.
I probably won't be posting much in the way of "how to" here, as I doubt there is much interest, but it is very much part of the audio world.

PostPosted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 10:01 pm
by Alain Benoit
Is 70 volts enought to kill you? :twisted:

PostPosted: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:27 am
by oddioguy
U1176 wrote:Is 70 volts enought to kill you? :twisted:

Why yes...yes it is. That is why you must leave the installation and repair of these systems to ME! :lol:

PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:03 pm
by Radio man!
I personally prefer the High Power, Single Point method of distributing audio commercials :lol:

PostPosted: Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:17 pm
by oddioguy
Radio man! wrote:I personally prefer the High Power, Single Point method of distributing audio commercials :lol:

All you radio guys are the same... ;-)

PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2007 4:46 pm
by oddioguy
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:43 am
by oddioguy
My boss and I just pulled off a bank job.

Pics up soon.

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 10:29 am
by oddioguy
Day one:
We arrived and set up camp. A Genie lift was graciously supplied for our use,
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so we got to work removing the old speakers... seen here from 25ft below.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:25 pm
by oddioguy
Base camp #1 - We took over the cloak room for tools and supplies.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:27 pm
by oddioguy
Taking down the original speakers...

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:32 pm
by oddioguy
Our plan was to retrofit the new JBL speakers into the existing holes. Whereas the new speakers were smaller, I thought I'd make use of the old grills as trim rings, seeing as they were already painted.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:34 pm
by oddioguy
....but as you can see, the old plastic grills were so brittle that an accidental bump cracked the first one that I had assembled...

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:36 pm
by oddioguy
Time for Plan B.

I ran down (okay....I drove...) to my favourite electronic supply shop and picked up 6 metal grills. I then cut the centres out of them to make new trim rings.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:39 pm
by oddioguy
The old back boxes provided much needed support in the drywall ceiling, so I cut the backs off of them to accommodate the new deeper JBLs.

Never did get a pic of that particular operation.

PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:40 pm
by oddioguy
Then we slapped all the new speaker assemblies up into the ceiling.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:42 pm
by oddioguy
We supplied a nice Middle Atlantic rolling rack...

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 15, 2007 12:43 pm
by oddioguy
With an optional smoked glass door...

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...and loaded it up with:
1) Shure ULX hand held wireless
1) Tripplite surge suppressing power strip
1) Spare rack shelf
1) JVC 5 disc CD player
1) Behringer (moist PRO) feedback exterminator
1) Crown 1160MA commercial amp

Sounds great and will last for years.

PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 10:02 am
by oddioguy
Since the original install, we were called back to add a 2nd mic input so guests can plug in an addtional wireless or wired mic, as well as a line out for media box feeds or whatever.
They also added a lavalier mic, and may soon want a 2nd wireless installed.

PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 2:55 pm
by oddioguy
Back yet again to add a 3rd mic level input. That's it...we've loaded up the inputs on the mixer/amp.
Next logical step would be a rack-mount mic/line mixer....if it ever comes to that.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 9:13 pm
by oddioguy
Did another retail install last night.
All the hardware was provided, as these clients are want to do, so we showed up with wire and tools.
When we were approached for this job, it was made clear that we would receive speakers (8), a residential type tuner/amplifier, and a speaker selector switch. We would then make 8 home runs from the individual speakers back to the selector switch, and finally tie the whole mess to the amplifier.

Fuck that.

I proposed to my employer that we bring 3 conductor wire and tie the speakers in 2 home runs of 4 speakers each in a series parallel configuration. End result is the same...amplifier sees 8 ohms...all is well in the cosmos.
This would result in less material cost, less labour cost, and the client can recoup the cost of the speaker selector.
Long story short, 5 and a half hours later we have a fully functioning flush mounted in-house music reproduction system.

This morning my employer drops by the site to ensure that all expectations have been met or exceeded:

Foreman - "Where's the speaker selector?"
Us - "We didn't need it."
Foreman - "What do you mean you didn't need it?"
Us - "We wired the speakers series/parallel."
Foreman - "Oh...but every other *name* store has a speaker selector."
Us - "Wait...I'll call Montreal and see what they have to say."

*dial dial...ring ring*

Montreal - "What do you mean you didn't need it?"
Us - "We wired the speakers so that the amplifier sees 8 ohms, without the need for a speaker selector."
Montreal - "How did you do that?"
Us - "Series/ parallel."
Montreal - "What?"
Us - "With 4 speakers per side, you can wire them so that the amplifier sees the correct load."
Montreal - "But the speaker selector is part of the package. You have to use it."

So we did. We inserted the selector between the amp and the speakers. We did not run any additional wire...just 2 pairs in, 2 pairs out. The selector does nothing except degrade the signal and add more potential for future problems.

Moral:

1) The first solution installed by some junior flunkie that actually produces sound should not become the future model for a whole chain.
2) If a method of saving money and time is demonstrated, don't fight it... Embrace it. Take it to the bank.

Series/ parallel was a concept taught in the first week of Electronics 101. Hello!...McFly!
Figure it out people. It's not rocket surgery.

PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 7:02 am
by oddioguy
We're completely redoing the audio in a local high schools auditorium.
Stay tuned, peeps...

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 4:46 pm
by Mathieu Benoit
Who's involved in the install?

PostPosted: Thu Sep 04, 2008 6:01 pm
by Malcolm Boyce
oddioguy wrote:We're completely redoing the audio in a local high schools auditorium.
Stay tuned, peeps...
HVHS?

PostPosted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:47 am
by oddioguy
Yep.

PostPosted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 7:48 am
by oddioguy
Drumwaiter wrote:Who's involved in the install?

yt....