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Followup To
Question -
I was wondering what i need to put in a outdoor speaker system. I want nice quality but somewhat cheap. This is what i want to do. Have the main system(amplifire,cd player,tape player, and so on)in a work shop by the pool. I want 3-4 speakers by the pool, 1 in the work shop, 2 in one garage and another 2 in a second garage. Also i want to be able to have different volumes in each area and be able to change it in that area instead of walking to the work shop. One more thing do i need to worry about amps or volts with the speakers? Thanks for all your help
Answer -
Dear Adam,
The overall answer to your question depends on the number of speakers that your receiver/amplifier can handle. If it's an A/V receiver with two stereo/front channels, a center channel, and surrounds, the answer is "two". If you have a receiver with A/B stereo channel outputs, the answer is "four". After than you need to add another output amplifier or two to get what you want.
I suggest first that you assay the capabilities of your receiver/amplifier. Okay, that accounts for at least two speakers, let's say in the workshop. (Forget about one speaker vs. 3-4, 2, and 2 etc. elsewhere unless you want to run the whole system in mono vs. stereo--which is fine and may be preferable outdoors where stereo signals get quite literally lost in the wind.) If your receiver/amplifier has a "pre amp out" or two, you connect those to your additional amplifier's (--s') inputs to which you connect your additional speakers. The output amplifiers will not have volume controls, so you'll need to wire your speakers through wall switch rheostats, which will raise and lower your individual volumes. There are outdoor models. You might check out output amplifiers with volume controls, but those are pretty expensive. Normally, volume controls are in the preamplifier section of a receiver. Output amplifiers don't have preamps, but some are really integrated amplifiers (amp plus preamp) which will have sound source inputs as well as volume and tone controls.
For the speakers that are indoors (workshop, garages), you only need speakers. For the pool installation, you'll need outdoor speakers. Google "outdoor speakers" and you'll get a slew of hits. I have no specific recommendation, although for mono applications the ones camouflaged as rocks seem to work pretty well if you want to put 'em on the ground. Marine speakers (Boston Acoustics, Cambridge SoundWorks, and others) work well in outdoor applications because they're designed to resist moisture, weather, and temperature fluctuations. However, they need to be mounted on structures.
You don't have to worry about amps or volts. You may have to worry about watts RMS, as in the power output of your amplifiers. Most are designed to power only the number of speakers for which there are outputs. If you double up (you'll be tempted), you'll halve (or less) the impedance the speakers present to the amplifier, max out the amplifier's power, and send the amp into thermal circuit protection mode: translation--it'll shut down before you can hurt it.
Speaker impedance is expressed in ohms. An 8-ohm speaker load--two of 'em--will work just fine with most amps/receivers, but if you double up, say, connect two of each to an output meant for one, the impedance drops to 4 ohms or less and the amp will have to generally double its rated power output. A 100-watt amp played loud will generally need to pump out 200 watts to drive that kind of arrangement, which it will do only for a short period before pooping out. Impedance is inversely related to power; the lower the impedance, the more power the amp has to put out; some can do it and some will struggle. Be smart; get additional output amps.
Finally, I'd suggest taking your layout to a good dealer, one you'd trust with your first born, and see how they would attack it. Sometimes, they have good ideas. Just remember that you'll need the extra amplification, which can get expensive. However, for something like this, you don't need new equipment. Shop around for used, servicable amplifiers and receivers with "preamp in" connections (not all have them) for the additional amplification.
Good luck. And thanks for choosing allexperts.com!
Kindest regards,
Kevin
Kevin,
How does a restuarant have 10-12 speakers? I have a friend that has a resteraunt. He does not know very much about his system but he knows he does not have several amps. What could he have? Would it work for my situation? Thanks Adam
AnswerDear Adam,
Commercial applications are similar to what you propose. However, your friend probably has one or two "zone amplifiers". These are amplifiers which feed the same signal without any volume or tone controls to a number of speakers. The catch is--and why I didn't mention them--that they're very, very expensive, because they're like having 4-5 separate stereo amplifiers. I find them either in commercial or custom home applications.
Niles and Runco both make them.
Kindest regards,
Kevin
