Many businesses first open and install a simple home audio system. The type that you can buy at any store with 2 speakers. Good enough, isn’t it? There are actually some major flaws with these systems that we will uncover and show you why a commercial audio system is worth the investment.
Store-bought audio systems
When buying an audio system at a store, there usually is quite a bit of selection. Most of them have two speakers, might have a subwoofer and have a variety of connection methods to connect multimedia devices for music. Unfortunately, those systems really are only meant for light use, such as home use. The speakers are very cheap and the amplifier is matched to the speakers. With the cheap speakers, they are easily blown after turning the volume a little louder on the unit, which is oftentimes required in noisy environments. The amplifier is usually fine for the included speakers, but once those speakers are blown, matching new speakers to the unit can be hard. In that case many people hook up speakers that they randomly found. With those the Ohm ratings or the wattage of the speakers most often doesn’t work together and as such will blow the amplifier.
All in all buying an audio system at a store is good for some light use at the desk or in a fairly quiet workspace, but not for a commercial environment. Over time more money will be wasted for new “cheap” audio systems than a commercial system would have ever cost.
Why is a commercial audio system better?
Commercial Audio systems run on 70V. Instead of having Ohm ratings on the speakers, the speakers simply go by wattage. Making it much easier to simply swap speakers should they ever fail. The advantage on most 70V speakers is the ability to set the maximum wattage of the speaker. This way, even if 10W are supplied to the speaker, the speaker will cap at the pre-set wattage. Blowing a speaker becomes virtually impossible with these units. The wattage will be set at installation and will be matched to the environment. It can be changed at any time if the unit needs to be louder for any reason.
The amplifier is also another advantage compared to a cheap unit. These amplifiers oftentimes come in multiple variations for Zone numbers. This means that the back of the building can have louder music, while the customer area has background music. Even basic amplifiers come with 3 zones to allow for that feature to be used. The amplifiers are very easy to use, and also cap the wattage sent to each speaker, safeguarding your speaker yet again. These amps also visualize the audio that is pushed through the system and will advise you if the limits are exceeded.
What does it take to install?
Commercial Audio systems are great to install. They look much cleaner than most store bought units ever could. Wiring can be adjusted to the distance of the speaker from the main unit, instead of depending on the pre-cut wiring that comes with the store bought units. Commercial Audio speakers come in a variety of different form factors. From in-ceiling or in-wall speakers to pendant (hanging) speakers and normal surface mount speakers. These units can be integrated as much as is needed, and can blend right into the design of your location. The speakers can also be daisy chained, which means only a single wire has to be run form speaker to speaker instead of running a wire for each speaker to the amplifier. This makes the initial installation much quicker and future expansions are extremely simple.
Sound
The sound on a commercial system is much fuller than a standard store bought system. Since the unit is actually built to suit the building. The speakers themselves can be modified to provide the correct sound for the venue as well. There are a variety of different speakers available to provide the perfect sound. Matched with the correct amplifier the speakers will have the perfect sound for your building.
Get in Touch
Looking to upgrade your audio system, or install a new system for your building? Let us help you through the process. Feel free to contact us with any questions or comments. You can call us at any time at (403) 477-4800 or email us at info@authorizedsecurity.ca.