Need help with sound for outdoor haunted house/maze

cnyk · 15th September 2009

Hello, I'm new here, and sorry if this should go in a nother area, but I'm thinking there are many pros here who know just the solution...
I've been thrown into the position of coming up with a sound system for an outdoor haunted house/maze.

It needs 10 speakers run off 3 separate cd players.
There is shelter for all but the speakers... which i figured some allweather patio speakers would do the trick..
the 3 boom-boxes outputs are all 1/8th" headphone jacks. I need to know whether or not I'm going to need an amplifier, and/or speaker selecter of some sort. I dont want to mix the signals, just run them to several speakers... I appreacite your help sincerely. This thing is supposed to open in a week and I was JUST told they have no sound... Thanks so much.
-Eric

Here's a sketch:

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2458/mazeinfo.jpg

mixedupsteve · 15th September 2009

Are you going to rent gear? What's the budget?

bishopthomas · 15th September 2009

CD player to power amp to speakers. That's your signal flow. Past that it's up to you how you run the cables, mount the speakers, etc. Where are you located?

cnyk · 15th September 2009

hey thanks for the replies guys.. AFTER the speakers are bought.. the budget is a few hundred bucks...

The issue with cd player to power amp to speakers is.. i have 3 different cd players. all with different audio played in different areas.. My idea was this.. Cd player heaphone out to this behringer 4ch heaphone amp, to speakers (instead of headphones).. Would that drive the speakers enough? It doesnt have to be kickin, cuz these will be in the halls of a maze basicallly.. This solution would be cheap enough.. But would it power the speakers loud enough? I tested a 1/8th" out of my ipod directly into speakers and it was "okey".. Not loud, but not bad.. I'd have the additional gain control of the headphone amp though of course if i bought that...

Thanks again! any ideas?

NorseHorse · 15th September 2009

A headphone amp won't be strong enough to power the speakers. (That's why it's a headphone amp instead of a power amp i.e. "speaker amp".

)

You'll need to purchase two 2-channel power amps (or one 4-channel amp). Each boom box will run into separate INPUTs on the power amps. Then you'll take the OUTPUT of each channel of the power amp and run it from speaker to speaker.

Using an ART SLA-4 | Sweetwater.com for instance, you would use:

Boombox One 1/8" out --> Channel 1 1/4" INPUT
Boombox Two 1/8" out --> Channel 2 1/4" INPUT
Boombox Three 1/8" out --> Channel 3 1/4" INPUT

Then...

Channel 1 binding post OUTPUT --> All the speakers that need to play Boombox One
Channel 2 binding post OUTPUT --> All the speakers that need to play Boombox Two
Channel 3 binding post OUTPUT --> All the speakers that need to play Boombox Three

QUESTION: Hey folks, what's the best way to get the stereo 1/8" to balanced mono 1/4" (TRS)? Just use a balanced adapter cable and let the power amp sum both sides to mono? Would that work?

bishopthomas · 15th September 2009

As the Norseman has stated a headphone amp will not work. Especially when you're driving 6 speakers off one unit - you'll just get a distorted mess when trying to turn it up. Buy an amp (or two) and keep your ohms in check.

15th September 2009	#1
cnyk Gear interested Joined: Jul 2009 Posts: 27 Thread Starter	Need help with sound for outdoor haunted house/maze Hello, I'm new here, and sorry if this should go in a nother area, but I'm thinking there are many pros here who know just the solution... I've been thrown into the position of coming up with a sound system for an outdoor haunted house/maze. It needs 10 speakers run off 3 separate cd players. There is shelter for all but the speakers... which i figured some allweather patio speakers would do the trick.. the 3 boom-boxes outputs are all 1/8th" headphone jacks. I need to know whether or not I'm going to need an amplifier, and/or speaker selecter of some sort. I dont want to mix the signals, just run them to several speakers... I appreacite your help sincerely. This thing is supposed to open in a week and I was JUST told they have no sound... Thanks so much. -Eric Here's a sketch: http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/2458/mazeinfo.jpg

15th September 2009	#5
NorseHorse Lives for gear Joined: Jul 2008 Location: DC Posts: 2,095 2 Reviews written	A headphone amp won't be strong enough to power the speakers. (That's why it's a headphone amp instead of a power amp i.e. "speaker amp". ) You'll need to purchase two 2-channel power amps (or one 4-channel amp). Each boom box will run into separate INPUTs on the power amps. Then you'll take the OUTPUT of each channel of the power amp and run it from speaker to speaker. Using an ART SLA-4 \| Sweetwater.com for instance, you would use: Boombox One 1/8" out --> Channel 1 1/4" INPUT Boombox Two 1/8" out --> Channel 2 1/4" INPUT Boombox Three 1/8" out --> Channel 3 1/4" INPUT Then... Channel 1 binding post OUTPUT --> All the speakers that need to play Boombox One Channel 2 binding post OUTPUT --> All the speakers that need to play Boombox Two Channel 3 binding post OUTPUT --> All the speakers that need to play Boombox Three QUESTION: Hey folks, what's the best way to get the stereo 1/8" to balanced mono 1/4" (TRS)? Just use a balanced adapter cable and let the power amp sum both sides to mono? Would that work? __________________ http://www.facebook.com/ArtsLaureate I-95, I-64, I-85

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15th September 2009	#2
mixedupsteve Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2008 Location: Chestertown MD USA Posts: 969	Are you going to rent gear? What's the budget?

15th September 2009	#3
bishopthomas Lives for gear Joined: Oct 2006 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,565	CD player to power amp to speakers. That's your signal flow. Past that it's up to you how you run the cables, mount the speakers, etc. Where are you located?