Good Outdoor Sound Solution?

[Evernight]

One of the things I am looking to improve this year is the overall sound for our trail portion of our event - We are looking for a good way to run sound along the trail for overall "Ambient" sound, is it better to use powered weatherproof speakers - or buy a system with with a high amp output and go with standard weatherproof speakers?

This is a fairly long trail - and is definitely exposed to the elements of Northern Michigan....Rain...Snow...Hail.....You name it.

Any suggestions,tips, links to equipment would be great.

Thanks!!

[Evernight]

Good suggestion!

Thanks for the suggestion - This looks like it could be a good solution especially if we decide to use different sounds in different areas as well. I see they have higher watt units as well.

Thanks again!

[Bmoore14]

If you are just wanting to run ambient sound I personally would invest into a 70 volt system. With a 70 volt system you can run as many speakers as the amp can handle without worrying about you ohm load. For example, if you have a 200 watt amp you can run 20 speakers at 10 watts a piece. With saying that, I would not run 20 speakers because you want some head room for your amp. The issue with is that 70 volt amps can get very expensive. With this type of system you will be running one sound track to the whole trail, or could split left and right on some amps to have two tracks.

This is a link to a 70 volt amp that I have had very good luck with.
http://http://www.parts-express.com/rolls-ra2100b-power-amplifier-2u-rack-mount-2-x-100w-at-4-ohms---200w-at-70v--245-1132

I would try to stick with a name brand. JBL, QSC, Atlas and Bogen are all very good brands.

These are some speakers that would work well also. They also have a 5 1/4 size speaker. If you look at the back you can see a turn knob. That is what is called the "tap". You can select how much wattage you want that speaker to use. More wattage=Higher DBL


Also, all you need for a 70v system is 18 gauge wire and you can daisy chain each speaker together in parallel.

[Bmoore14]

If you are just wanting to run ambient sound I personally would invest into a 70 volt system. With a 70 volt system you can run as many speakers as the amp can handle without worrying about you ohm load. For example, if you have a 200 watt amp you can run 20 speakers at 10 watts a piece. With saying that, I would not run 20 speakers because you want some head room for your amp. The issue with is that 70 volt amps can get very expensive. With this type of system you will be running one sound track to the whole trail, or could split left and right on some amps to have two tracks.

This is a link to a 70 volt amp that I have had very good luck with.
http://http://www.parts-express.com/rolls-ra2100b-power-amplifier-2u-rack-mount-2-x-100w-at-4-ohms---200w-at-70v--245-1132

I would try to stick with a name brand. JBL, QSC, Atlas and Bogen are all very good brands.

These are some speakers that would work well also. They also have a 5 1/4 size speaker. If you look at the back you can see a turn knob. That is what is called the "tap". You can select how much wattage you want that speaker to use. More wattage=Higher DBL


Also, all you need for a 70v system is 18 gauge wire and you can daisy chain each speaker together in parallel.

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-...black--310-016

I forgot the link to the speakers..

[Dark Tiki Studios]

I hear ya, man... We're in Mount Pleasant, MI. We need a system that can run in rain or snow.

We've been using these with some old MP3 players/phones:
http://www.amazon.com/iMainGo-Portab.../dp/B00429ZTCE

But they're not very weatherproof, they have terrible bass response, and they are definitely not loud enough. On the plus side, they're small enough to stick under or inside something weather-proof, they're completely autonomous, and they hold a charge well.

One of the things I am looking to improve this year is the overall sound for our trail portion of our event - We are looking for a good way to run sound along the trail for overall "Ambient" sound, is it better to use powered weatherproof speakers - or buy a system with with a high amp output and go with standard weatherproof speakers?

This is a fairly long trail - and is definitely exposed to the elements of Northern Michigan....Rain...Snow...Hail.....You name it.

Any suggestions,tips, links to equipment would be great.

Thanks!!

[eanderso13]

Outdoor sound

How about a waterproof outdoor box to put an SD-card player/amp in and then route it to weatherproof speakers? This is my plan for the woods expansion this year.

Outdoor Enclosure for Router, Switch, Power Supplies; Waterproof Case

[Lcox]

How about a waterproof outdoor box to put an SD-card player/amp in and then route it to weatherproof speakers? This is my plan for the woods expansion this year.

Outdoor Enclosure for Router, Switch, Power Supplies; Waterproof Case

Thats what we do for our Corn walk, our trail, and our hayride. Have a weatherproof box with the amp and controller. We use Carvins PM5 speakers. They're not quite loud enough on the hayride but in the forest and corn they're great. Really nice sound quality. For ambient sound, we put them pretty far away from the path and spread them out. you can get a nice spread that way. Not too cheap, but they've held up for us over the years.

[Evernight]

Mrfoos Suggestion -

So I went ahead and ordered the parts that mrfoos suggested - I upgraded the Lepai Amp to the 4 speaker model: Fentac Lepy LP-269FS 4 x 45 Watts Mini Amplifier with Remote

Just got all the part in today - Hooked it up, popped in a SD card with a track.....and poof works like a charm, and even with 4 speakers at full volume it sounds great - I have ordered 8 more setups for our haunt this year both for our trail and to get rid of our big bulky stereo setups that we have used in the past. We could have gone for an all in one systen for the amount paid for everything...but I really like the 12volt power and how easy it will be to use these wherever we want - and that they auto start once the power is switched on.

Thanks for the suggestions!!