Small cafe style sound install advice

[Impact Pete]

I'm trying to give some install advice to a charity run cafe that is approx 10m x 15m with a 3m high roof, within this room there is a kitchen 5.5m x 4m creating a rather fattish 'L' shaped room.

 

Typically the budget is low but they want a small install to play back music mainly but they on occassions want to run a mic and accoustic guitar down the system.

 

Someone is suggesting putting a few cheap small type boxes like http://www.soundking.com/en/en-p1-2.php?tid=170&nowid=173&pid=3109 or http://www.studiospares.com/installation-speakers/studiospares-forte-bg205-speakers-x2/invt/248600/ or http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/1C-BK.aspx in but I think this will be dissapointing in quality and depth.

 

Has anyone got any good ideas?

 

much appreciated

[Doug Siddons]

As its a smallish room and a charity cafe to be honest I would tell them to swipe the next domestic sound system which comes into their charity shop, and if someone wants to sing with a guitar tell them to shout! I know this sounds harsh, but looking at it realistically, and spending what you would on the soundking or studiospares system, you would find that a domestic sound systems from your local electrical retatiler is going to do the job better .

[revbobuk]

I've installed the Behringer boxes, and they compare quite well with Control-1 Pro. Either box (and I prefer the JBL) needs plenty of power and good eq to sound presentable.

 

Otherwise you may also want to look at the Yamaha StagePAS systems.

 

And whatever they do they will need to budget for a licence from PRS. Even charity shops need one of these for background music.

[J Pearce]

I've said it before, but I have some Apart Mask6s at work that blow the socks off Control1s. They'll happily do background music, but equally happy at loud levels. They'd probably do quite well on simple live music. AC list them at £66, but that might be for a pair, so ring and ask! They'd be quite happy on a budget amp, or maybe even a cheap hifi amp like one of the cambridge audio offerings.

 

You might want to consider some signal segregation so that if you have speakers on every wall (as would be typical for a muzak installation) the live inputs only come from either side of the stage. Hearing the singer from behind when she's in front of you can be rather disorientating!

[Jivemaster]

The zero cost option is the Charity Shop, after that I'd have a look in Richer Sounds for cheap speakers.

 

Budget for the PRS licence unless you can be certain that it will all be original material!

[Impact Pete]

I've installed the Behringer boxes, and they compare quite well with Control-1 Pro. Either box (and I prefer the JBL) needs plenty of power and good eq to sound presentable.

 

Otherwise you may also want to look at the Yamaha StagePAS systems.

 

And whatever they do they will need to budget for a licence from PRS. Even charity shops need one of these for background music.

 

 

PRS not an issue paid every year, this is just a new install in a new part of the building.

 

I've said it before, but I have some Apart Mask6s at work that blow the socks off Control1s. They'll happily do background music, but equally happy at loud levels. They'd probably do quite well on simple live music. AC list them at £66, but that might be for a pair, so ring and ask! They'd be quite happy on a budget amp, or maybe even a cheap hifi amp like one of the cambridge audio offerings.

 

You might want to consider some signal segregation so that if you have speakers on every wall (as would be typical for a muzak installation) the live inputs only come from either side of the stage. Hearing the singer from behind when she's in front of you can be rather disorientating!

 

 

Good point