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Looking for advice on a 4 speaker system in a 3000 sq ft Warehouse

BilboBaggins

BilboBaggins

Addicted Member
A friend of mine has asked me to help him set up his warehouse with good sound on a vintage system. He is looking for 4 speakers to fill up a 3000 sq ft warehouse.

I find it an intriguing challenge as we can only do this once and have to get it right. I'm figuring on a high current power amp with a vintage preamp driving 2 pairs of speakers over long hours. There aren't a lot of choices in that category locally, but I did find a few. NAD seems to be pretty readily available within budget. Also, I know where I could find a Mitsubishi DA-A10DC power amp that I think might do the job.

What are your opinions on NAD, Yamaha, The Mitsubishi DA-A10DC, HK, etc for this purpose?

As I said, I can only find the Mitsubishi and NAD within budget, at this moment in time. I have to leave room for the vintage preamp. And the 4 speakers.

Do you think I am on the right track selecting a vintage preamp (for the vintage look), and an NAD or Mitsubishi power amp? I also like the idea of a nice yammy m or mx series or even a nice hk if I could find one.

What about speakers? I'm thinking some original large advents might be a good choice, but there are none available within budget? Important that the speakers also have the vintage look. The end goal is for very good sound in a large space for under $1000, while maintaining a vintage look.

I was also thinking a vintage receiver with preamp/poweramp jumpers or switches might do. What are you thoughts on using a receiver as a preamp/Tuner comboination?
 
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Personally I'd be looking for some Altec's, they were built for filling big spaces with sound. Until the surround sound thing came along, all your movie theaters used Altec systems. They play loud and clean, just what you need.

BillWojo
 
If it were me:
I'd probably opt for a vintage Kenwood silverface integrated amp w/pre-outs that are then connected to a Kenwood Basic M2/M2A power amp and 4x JBL LX-55 speakers.

I'd be looking for the LX-55's with the walnut vinyl cabs to get the vintage vibe going...

With some careful shopping that should be doable with the stated budget.
And it's all fairly common gear too...

Though admitedly it's not the ultimate be-all/end-all in terms of the vintage aesthetics.
Should fill that large space w/quality sound no problemo though.

JM2¢

Bret P.
 
BilboBaggins said:
A friend of mine has asked me to help him set up his warehouse with good sound on a vintage system. He is looking for 4 speakers to fill up a 3000 sq ft warehouse.

The end goal is for very good sound in a large space for under $1000, while maintaining a vintage look.
Click to expand...
This ^^^^ is what I was keeping in mind w/my recommendations.

While I agree that Altecs would be nice,I have my doubts that he's gonna find four of them within the stated budget.

And then he still needs some sorta preamp and power amp(s).

Ask me it's gonna be a tricky to cover all the stated goals with the stated budget,so every bit is gonna count.

Gonna take some smart shopping and maybe even a good bit of luck.

JMO

Bret P.
 
I agree! I don't see how I will get 4 Altecs and amp and pre for that price. Unless luck is on my side. But I like the idea of JBLs. The Kenwood basic is a good option too, if I could find one. That would definitely be good for the budget! I got one last year for my son and it sure is sweet with his Ditton 44s! And gobs of power!

What do you think of using a vintage receiver with Preouts? That will give him the vintage look and likely be cheaper than most silver faced preamps. I'll keep an eye out for Kenwood integrated on the cheap. That will probably not show up though. But I remember when I found the basic last year, and it was around this time of the year.
 
I was looking at a crown pairing, but the only pair I found is an ic-150 and d-150 and I don't think the power amp will do it. However, I have no experience with crown power amps. I might be able to find a loner amp though for a good price.
 
If it requires long hours at higher levels into (probably 4 ohms - two pair speakers) then I'd suggest a pro amp. There are many that would work fine. QSC, Crown, and others.
 
How high are the ceilings? Why exactly 4 speakers? Are you thinking one in each corner? Is the room square? Are you trying to get some semblance of stereo or will this be a mono system? Background music or do you need higher SPL? What kind of noise levels will you be fighting? Just trying to get a sense of your actual needs.
 
BilboBaggins said:
What do you think of using a vintage receiver with Preouts?
Click to expand...

Look below, really a vintage receiver will get beat down with the long run hours even just using it as a preamp.

A remote control would be best as well as it sounds like a work space. Also being able to turn off or change volume at one end is a plus if there is an entrance end of the building, where customers come in.

Sansui Speakers will fill a space easily something like SP-3500, 90 watts and around 100db

A older Pre Pro/ AVR can work for the preamp and you know you can find these for $20 a pop at the GW. A older one gives you Phono, analog and some digital inputs plus a tuner

Trying to stay in your budget, how about a 1200 watt sub and drive the speakers off the suds amp? Again old subs don't cost to much and really some of this stuff if it dies you just get a readily available replacement.

whoaru99 said:
If it requires long hours at higher levels into (probably 4 ohms - two pair speakers) then I'd suggest a pro amp.
Click to expand...
 
Klipsch KG's, 4's or similar and Crown amps. Also, I don't like them but many guys swear by their Cerwin Vega's. They can certainly go loud.
 
Dunno, but 3,000 sq feet is a lot of area to cover, particularly with vintage equipment that wasn't really designed to fill that much space.

I'd be looking at pro gear and maybe a few more speakers for even coverage..
 
Yeah, I've never tried filling such a large space.

Vintage because that is what my friend wants. But I think we could easily put in pro amps with a quality vintage looking preamp. I get that a receiver might not be the best choice. I thought it might give the look without the cost of a pre. And he gets the tuner. But I do get it.

I'll keep my eyes open for a nice crown amp or something g in that genre. I don't think the d150 will do, but there are a few around.

Also, there is the Mitsubishi DA-10DC. I like that because I know where it is, and it isn't listed yet. What do you think?

I have to say, my Bose 1801s and 4401 with 2 pairs of 901s would be sweet, but mine aren't going anywhere and they are pretty pricey.
 
ggregg said:
Klipsch KG's, 4's or similar and Crown amps. Also, I don't like them but many guys swear by their Cerwin Vega's. They can certainly go loud.
Click to expand...

Good point. I'll keep my eyes out for the Vegas and Klipsch. Not that common around here, but they do show up.
 
I'm not sure there are any audiophile or consumer Audio speakers that can cut the Mustard. The exception being Klipsch. I mean Altec Magnificants, EV Paragons, and JBL Harkness are a start. I don't even think JBL's DD67000 or K2 would be satisfactory, unless you controlled the room acoustics carefully. So I would look for professional Altec and JBL. And I know A7 500 would be really be challenged and as they don't perform well below 50 hz. JBL 4435 might be a start, but the horn is for use in small environments. Now if you choose to just cover a fraction of the s[pace you have a lot more options. Now if you just want noise, Cerwin Vega is the obvious choice. Exactly what do you mean by fill-up? Disco level? Movie Theatre realism? or Just nice levels where conversation can take place. I'm not sure. There is only one choice for consumer electronics and that's older Mcintosh with Power Guard to help you prevent blowing expensive drivers. Commercial, Crown, Bryston, QsC electronics are great choices. And don't forget room processors and electronic crossovers. One way out is a Mcintosh MEN 220 or an equivalent Lyngdorf processor. Professional Altec, JBL, EV, Meyer, Renkus- Heinz are great speaker choices if engineered properly.
 
Folks, don't forget about $1000 budget! All those speculations about McIntosh and JBL Paragons are way-way above that price point.
Besides: to fill 3000 sq feet barn with high quality sound? I'm not saying it's impossible, but pretty darn challenging.
 
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gladiator335 said:
Folks, don't forget about $1000 budget! All those speculations about McIntosh and JBL Paragons are way-way above that price point.
Besides: to fill 3000 sq feet barn with high quality sound? I'm not saying it's impossible, but pretty darn challenging.
Click to expand...

My barn is 2400 sq ft (40x60), and I can get it pretty darn loud with a wall mounted pair of Ohm C2's driven by an Aiwa 22 series mini amp (I think that's 35 watts per channel). I originally thought I'd need a second pair of speakers at the other end, I've got some but haven't felt the need to install them yet.

If it were me, I'd be looking for a pair or two of either Realistic Mach 1's, 2's, or 3's (I love the looks of the Mach 1's), or something Cerwin Vega with a 12" or 15" woofer. Back that up with 100 or more watts and it will get pretty loud and sound pretty good.

Positioning will be more important than normal. If it's a warehouse, filled with shelves and boxes, then putting the speakers on stands 12" off the floor and aiming them at the boxes will not work (and will take valuable floor space). You need to get them well off the floor, on the wall or in the corner. In my case I mounted mine on one of the short walls, maybe 8" off the floor.

Unless you want absolute audiophile grade sound, this shouldn't be too challenging. But I don't think you're going to get audiophile grade sound in a working warehouse, regardless of how much money you spend. So rather than try for a high 'quality' (and high dollar) speaker that you'll probably end up pushing to the limits, I think you'll have better results with something like the above that can fill a large space for long periods of time while operating at a fraction of their capabilities.

My .02,

bs
 
What exactly is the purpose of this sound system? Is this background for warehouse workers? If so is there any noisy equipment. How long would workers be subjected to sound? Does OHSA have any regs. Or is this a warehouse being reposed as a dance hall or other recreational space? Too many unknowns to guess at needed equipment.
 
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