Setting up a Residential System

[champagnesam]

Hi guys,
A tech noobie here from India.
I am trying to set up a pro setup at my home for PA use cases that include live Music, Lectures and recorded music. I have purchased Bose DM3SE speakers (3) and QSC AC-C8T-nb (10) to support them. I will be using these for the PA system mostly and need a powerful, yet budgeted system to run this. What do I need in terms of capable hardware and what do I need to make sure to get the best out of my system?

 

[staticV3]

It sounds like you bought the speakers without a solid concept in mind.

I'm not sure if/how one can turn 3x 25W wall mount and 10x 6W ceiling mount speakers into a well performing PA system.

Scattering your sound sources all over the room is not usually a good idea, unless you have sophisticated DSP to control them all.

Instead, I'd probably use two column/CBT speakers in a more traditional stereo arrangement, plus a few subs for bass reinforcement.

 

[champagnesam]

Hey, Thank you for the reply. I have just purchased the wall mount speaker and my purchase of in-ceiling speakers is yet to be completed.
I have shared a probable placement plan too, if you are interested in guiding me in approaching this problem. The wall mounts are to be placed in the temple area and the rest are in-ceiling speakers as I have a false ceiling available.

 

[staticV3]

Hey, Thank you for the reply. I have just purchased the wall mount speaker and my purchase of in-ceiling speakers is yet to be completed.
I have shared a probable placement plan too, if you are interested in guiding me in approaching this problem. The wall mounts are to be placed in the temple area and the rest are in-ceiling speakers as I have a false ceiling available.

Ahh I see!

Your description of lectures and PA had me assume that you had like a small, multi-purpose, lecture theater-ish room in your home in need of Beschallung.

In that context, your choice of speakers was a bit confusing.

But since it's a typical, domestic multi-room system, your speaker choice makes a whole lot more sense and should do just fine.

 

[LTig]

I am trying to set up a pro setup at my home for PA use cases that include live Music, Lectures and recorded music. I have purchased Bose DM3SE speakers (3) and QSC AC-C8T-nb (10) to support them. I will be using these for the PA system mostly and need a powerful, yet budgeted system to run this. What do I need in terms of capable hardware and what do I need to make sure to get the best out of my system?

You must use the 100V connections to connect them all in parallel with a rather thin wire (2 x 0.75 mm should suffice for any length in your application). Then the amplifier must be able to deliver 3 x 25W + 10 x 1.5W = 90W but for 100V output. Either get an amplifier of at least 90W with 100V output (Edit: see here) or one with 90W@8 Ohm and a 100V output transformer for 90W or more.

You can also use a stereo amplifier with 2x50W. Then one channel feeds 2 Bose and the other channel feeds the 3rd Bose and all QSCs. You need then two 100V transformers of 50W or more if the amplifier has no 100V output.

You could also use a poweramp which can generate 100 V Rms directly, but that means one which can output 1250W@8Ohm. This sounds strange but a cheap class D mass market poweramp might be cheaper than a custom installation poweramp.

 

[champagnesam]

Ahh I see!

Your description of lectures and PA had me assume that you had like a small, multi-purpose, lecture theater-ish room in your home in need of Beschallung.

In that context, your choice of speakers was a bit confusing.

But since it's a typical, domestic multi-room system, your speaker choice makes a whole lot more sense and should do just fine.

Thank You

 

[champagnesam]

You must use the 100V connections to connect them all in parallel with a rather thin wire (2 x 0.75 mm should suffice for any length in your application). Then the amplifier must be able to deliver 3 x 25W + 10 x 1.5W = 90W but for 100V output. Either get an amplifier of at least 90W with 100V output (Edit: see here) or one with 90W@8 Ohm and a 100V output transformer for 90W or more.

You can also use a stereo amplifier with 2x50W. Then one channel feeds 2 Bose and the other channel feeds the 3rd Bose and all QSCs. You need then two 100V transformers of 50W or more if the amplifier has no 100V output.

You could also use a poweramp which can generate 100 V Rms directly, but that means one which can output 1250W@8Ohm. This sounds strange but a cheap class D mass market poweramp might be cheaper than a custom installation poweramp.

First of all, thanks for your time.
I have run the speaker wires in parallel and 2 zone configurations with wall mount and 1+ceiling speakers. I plan to run it on an 8 Ohm channel and roughly plan for a power amplifier nearing 20-300 W

Right now, I am looking at Lab Gruppen CPA2402 and a Yamaha mixer to use this setup appropriately.
Any other suggestions are welcome. I am in a tier-2 city so I am a bit scared for service and repair possibilities too.

 

[LTig]

I have run the speaker wires in parallel and 2 zone configurations with wall mount and 1+ceiling speakers. I plan to run it on an 8 Ohm channel and roughly plan for a power amplifier nearing 20-300 W

Right now, I am looking at Lab Gruppen CPA2402 and a Yamaha mixer to use this setup appropriately.
Any other suggestions are welcome. I am in a tier-2 city so I am a bit scared for service and repair possibilities too.

The CPA2402 should be fine for this task, provided you use its 100V outputs (using the 8 Ohm output you won't get enough SPL). With its 8 inputs, do you still need a mixer?

 

[champagnesam]

The CPA2402 should be fine for this task, provided you use its 100V outputs (using the 8 Ohm output you won't get enough SPL). With its 8 inputs, do you still need a mixer?

There's also JBL Libra 300 as an option for me, but I think I will go for 2402. MG10XU Mixer was advised to me to fine-tune the condenser mic setup and their outputs.

 

[LTig]

There's also JBL Libra 300 as an option for me, but I think I will go for 2402. MG10XU Mixer was advised to me to fine-tune the condenser mic setup and their outputs.

You need phantom power? The MG10 is certainly good, but depending on your needs (number of channels, ...) a much cheaper/smaller mixer might suffice. I use a Phonic AM-220 which has 2 mic inputs with phantom power for speech, and I was told I sound like a professional TV news speaker in our Teams meetings during the pandemic (the mic was/is a Beyerdynamic MCE 86 SII for €400+, certainly overkill for this task, but I had it already). I got it new for €39 in 2010. It's no longer in production but I'm sure there are others of similar quality.

 

[champagnesam]

You need phantom power? The MG10 is certainly good, but depending on your needs (number of channels, ...) a much cheaper/smaller mixer might suffice. I use a Phonic AM-220 which has 2 mic inputs with phantom power for speech, and I was told I sound like a professional TV news speaker in our Teams meetings during the pandemic (the mic was/is a Beyerdynamic MCE 86 SII for €400+, certainly overkill for this task, but I had it already). I got it new for €39 in 2010. It's no longer in production but I'm sure there are others of similar quality.

No, I don't necessarily need phantom power. Here in India, I can get MG10 for 110-120 euros equivalent, while phonic seems unavailable. Also, I just saw that the available amplifier is Lab Gruppen CA2402 for 60k INR/ 670 euro equivalent and not CPA2402. I wanted to enquire if I could get anything (power amplifier) nearing 30k INR/350 euro. What are some good mics that go well with the setup, suggestions are welcome.
Thanks for your time.

 

[LTig]

No, I don't necessarily need phantom power. Here in India, I can get MG10 for 110-120 euros equivalent, while phonic seems unavailable.

That's a very goid price, just go for it.

Also, I just saw that the available amplifier is Lab Gruppen CA2402 for 60k INR/ 670 euro equivalent and not CPA2402.

Ah yes, the CA2492 has too few inputs.

I wanted to enquire if I could get anything (power amplifier) nearing 30k INR/350 euro.

2x50W would suffice, but you need the 100V output.

What are some good mics that go well with the setup, suggestions are welcome.

Depends on what you need it for: speaking, singing, music instruments (which kind), distance between mic and source.