Commercial Audio Systems Introduction

Have you ever heard of the expression “uncomfortable silence”? Whether it’s awkward lulls during a conversation or the eerie stillness in an unnaturally quiet room, the majority of humans find silence unpleasant. That’s why most businesses employ some sort of audio system in their public-facing spaces — it simply makes for a comfortable customer experience. And a comfortable experience keeps customers inside their businesses and makes them want to come back. In this article, we’ll dive into commercial audio systems, discuss the components of these systems, and explore how to install and deploy them.

Why You Need a Commercial Audio SystemBefore You Get StartedAnatomy of a Commercial Audio SystemAmplifierSpeakersZone MixerMatrix ProcessorWireWall Control PlatesSound Sources & PlaybackSystem Configuration & InstallationTransformer Taps & Amplifier PowerConnectorsSpeaker Types & PlacementEstimating CoverageAcoustic Treatment

Why You Need a Commercial Audio System

Why do you need a commercial audio system? If all you need is background music, then can’t you just play Spotify through a Bluetooth speaker? Well, as we stated in the introduction to this article, commercial audio systems simply make for a better customer experience. As for streaming Spotify for your guests, this would be inadvisable. There are possible consequences if you play licensed music publicly without permission (more on this later). You’ll also have a difficult time getting the right sounds to the right people — especially in a multi-room space. You’ll have to really crank the volume, even in a small room, which is guaranteed to annoy the customers close to the speaker. And if you turn it down, customers far away from the speaker will be unable to hear the music.

With a properly configured commercial audio system, you’ll not only be able to play background music without any licensing concerns, but you’ll also ensure that every customer will be able to hear what they’re supposed to hear at an appropriate volume for their location within your business.

Before You Get Started

The first thing you need to do when considering a commercial audio system is evaluate your needs. A dentist’s office desiring soft, calming background music will require a vastly different system configuration than a fitness center, whose customers demand chest-thumping bass to get them pumped up. You’ll need to take into account the size of your space, how many rooms you’ll be routing sound to, and what level of control you’ll need for each location. And, for long-term viability, we suggest you invest in the best quality of system you can afford.

If installing your commercial audio system involves significant remodeling, construction, or electrical work, then be sure to check with your city or county code department for information about obtaining a permit. You don’t want to be in the middle of your installation and have the code department shut you down for a violation. Also, if you’re not a seasoned builder or electrician, then we highly recommend you enlist the services of a professional contractor to ensure a properly installed commercial audio system.

Anatomy of a Commercial Audio System

A well-designed commercial audio system will ensure that both music and announcements will come through loud and clear throughout your entire business. It will provide independent volume control for each room or listening zone and enable you to route specific audio sources to specific locations.

Most commercial audio systems include combinations of six components: an amplifier, speakers, a zone mixer, a matrix processor, wire, and wall control plates.

Amplifier

Commercial amplifiers are specially tailored to distribute power to multiple speakers in multiple listening zones. The amplifiers used in commercial audio systems are different from the amplifiers (often called “receivers”) that are used in consumer playback or home theater systems. Home entertainment setups use low-voltage, high-current power. If you add more speakers to a consumer-grade system, then impedance issues come into play, which could require you to add more amplifiers to power the added speakers properly.

Commercial audio uses what are known as distributed, or 70-volt, systems. The amplifiers used in these setups provide high-voltage, low-current power. 70-volt systems are specially designed so that you can daisy-chain multiple speakers together — efficiently — with zero impedance issues.

Speakers

Since they’re the element that your customers will actually hear, speakers are among the most important components of a commercial audio system. The speakers used in commercial audio systems are built to be rugged and versatile and deliver audio with the utmost clarity — especially in crowded environments. These speakers are available in a wide range of innovative form factors, such as in-ceiling, pendant, and surface-mount options, which allow you to install them in a practical and inconspicuous manner. After all, you don’t want a bunch of freestanding speakers and subwoofers cluttering up your business space.

And, as we mentioned previously, you can daisy-chain more speakers with very little difficulty, allowing you to expand your commercial audio system as your business grows. With a 70-volt system, you don’t need to keep adding new amplifiers to your setup to accommodate more speakers, and you don’t have to start from scratch with each expansion either.

Zone Mixer

Most businesses have multiple sound sources — such as music players, microphones, and streamers — that they want to integrate into their commercial audio system. What’s more, they’ll need to be able to adjust the volume for each source independently. That’s where a zone mixer comes in. Zone mixers receive electronic signals from your various sound sources and route the signals to the speakers at their appropriate destination at a suitable volume.

When selecting a zone mixer for your commercial audio system, you’ll need to ensure it accommodates enough channels for all the sound sources you want to connect. You’ll also need to be sure that the mixer’s inputs can be configured to accept your desired input formats. Some zone mixers incorporate matrix mixing and digital processing, which equip you with enhanced routing capabilities, along with EQ and other effects. Sweetwater stocks zone mixers in a variety of form factors, including tabletop and rackmounted options.

Matrix Processor

Large, complex systems will benefit from a standalone matrix processor. These units offer many of the same functions as a DSP-loaded zone mixer but in a much more robust package. Matrix processors add signal processing at a point between your sound sources and the amplifiers, arming you with extra effects and features, such as EQ, compression, notch filtering, auto gain, feedback suppression, gating, and de-essing. Matrix processors also include onboard routing matrices, granting you greater control over where your signals are sent. Some matrix processors incorporate microphone inputs for paging applications, complete with priority override and ducking capabilities.

Wire

Unlike consumer-level systems, which use thick, expensive speaker wire, 70-volt systems typically use thinner, less expensive wire. This makes 70-volt systems much more cost-effective in large, multi-room applications. Beyond that, since you’re able to daisy-chain speakers, you’ll be using less wire overall than you’d use in a multiple-amplifier configuration.

Here at Sweetwater, we recommend you use plenum-rated wire for installations of commercial audio systems. Plenum speaker wire, which is intended to be used above drop ceilings or below raised floors, is designed to meet specific safety standards for commercial applications. Plenum-rated wire is coated with a fire-retardant material. Thus, when installed properly, plenum-rated wire minimizes the spread of smoke and flames during a fire.

Wall Control Plates

Many multi-room commercial audio systems include wall control plates, which permit remote control over volume, source selection, and other parameters. These control plates install onto a wall (much like light switches) and allow individuals to adjust the system in real time and locally from within each zone without physically touching the zone mixer, which is likely installed in a different location. Some wall control plates are simple analog attenuators that allow users to change volume levels, while others are full-blown digital controllers with touchscreens that allow users to access and adjust parameters in their system’s matrix mixers and matrix processors.

Sound Sources & Playback

Once your commercial audio system is up and running, you’ll need to hook up your sound sources and playback devices. Computers and laptops are commonly used playback devices, as are more portable options like tablets and smartphones. Other businesses prefer dedicated rackmount playback devices.

Regardless of which playback method you choose, it’s important to understand that licenses are required to play copyrighted music inside your business. The easiest way around this is to work with a specialized business music provider, like Soundtrack.

What you can’t do is use your personal Spotify or Apple Music account or your personal media collection to play music in a commercial environment. Doing so is truly playing with fire, as if (when) you get caught, you’ll be subjected to a litany of fines and other penalties.

When playing background music in your business, it’s vital that you tailor it to maximize the customer experience. This means that the type of music and volume of the music should be in line with what your clientele prefers and expects. For example, if you’re running a clothing store targeting younger customers, a current Top 40 playlist would make more sense than a classic rock one. Similarly, patrons in a yoga studio will probably favor relaxing, low-volume ambient music rather than a metalcore meltdown playlist blasted at rafter-shaking levels.

System Configuration & Installation

When configuring a commercial audio system, you’ll need to determine how many speakers you’ll require as well as which amplifier you’ll need to power them. You’ll also need to specify which speaker form factors will work best for your business. Moreover, you’ll want to remain cognizant of how the acoustics of your space will affect the system’s playback.

Transformer Taps & Amplifier Power

Unlike consumer-level speakers, which feature a static power rating, commercial audio speakers include a transformer tap, which enables you to select how much power is allocated to each individual speaker in your system. Simply put, the higher you set the wattage tap, the louder the speaker will play (and, consequently, the more power it will draw).

When selecting an amplifier to power your commercial audio system, first determine how many speakers you need. Then, determine how much power will be allocated to each speaker. Once you figure out the wattage settings for each speaker, you’ll know how much amplifier power you’ll need. After that, you’ll select an amplifier with enough power to accommodate the speakers.

It’s important to remember that it doesn’t matter how many speakers are daisy-chained within your system, provided their total wattage doesn’t exceed the power output capacity of the amplifier. For example, a 100-watt power amplifier can (theoretically) handle up to 25 speakers tapped at 4 watts or up to 100 speakers tapped at 1 watt. That said, we strongly recommend that you don’t spec your wattage at its full-rated power. Rather, you should shoot for the total wattage your speakers require plus an extra 25% as a buffer.

70-volt Systems Made Easy

Connectors

Most commercial audio systems make use of Euroblock connectors. Each of these pluggable connectors has a pin for each cable connection. Balanced speaker connections are made via bare wire attached to plastic Phoenix-style connectors with a matching number of poles. The best thing about Euroblock connectors is that they provide a snug, solid fit for reliable connection.

Although Euroblock connectors are most commonly used for 70-volt systems, you may also see RCA, XLR, and speakON connectors on some amplifier models to provide you with added flexibility. Bare wire is also sometimes used with clip-style speaker connectors or binding posts, but since bare wire can become frayed and unreliable, many installers prefer to attach banana clips to ensure a long-lasting, rock-solid connection.

Speaker Types & Placement

Commercial audio systems employ a variety of speaker types, including in-ceiling and in-wall, pendant, surface-mount, horn, and outdoor speakers.

In-ceiling and in-wall speakers:

In-ceiling and in-wall speakers boast a low-profile design for discreet installation with a minimal impact on your room’s aesthetics. These speakers are typically installed into a cutout in the drywall or into a tiled drop ceiling. When installing an in-ceiling or in-wall speaker, it’s recommended that you create a cutout that’s the exact size you need to make the speaker fit snugly. Moreover, be sure that you have enough space to accommodate the speaker’s depth.

Pendant speakers:

Pendant speakers, which are designed to hang from a ceiling joist or track lighting rig, solve the challenges presented by large rooms with high ceilings. Most pendant speakers employ a circular driver array that points downward toward the listener, delivering sound at a conical coverage angle. To install a pendant speaker, anchor a steel suspension cable into the ceiling and then attach the speaker to the cable via a locking clip.

Surface-mount speakers:

Surface-mount speakers attach securely to a wall or another flat surface. Unlike in-ceiling and in-wall speakers, surface-mount speakers are conspicuously visible. That said, since they can be installed on any flat surface, they allow for extremely flexible placement. What’s more, these speakers are typically installed using an adjustable bracket that permits you to tilt, pivot, and otherwise aim them for optimal performance.

Horn speakers:

Horn speakers provide high-volume paging and announcements in super-loud environments. A horn speaker is a great choice for broadcasting an announcer’s voice during sporting events. These speakers typically deliver a narrower frequency range than other types due to their horn design. That said, they yield incredible clarity, lending extra clarity to mission-critical messages in both indoor and outdoor applications. Simply put, horn speakers sound worse for music playback but are the perfect solution for intelligible announcements.

Outdoor speakers:

Outdoor speakers, also called “landscape speakers,” boast weatherproof designs and can be hidden on a patio, in a garden, or by a pool. These ultra-rugged, waterproof speakers can withstand full-on exposure to moisture, sunlight, dirt, and all the other rigors of outdoor placement.

Estimating Coverage

It takes a mere 1 to 2 watts to deliver intelligible announcements or background music from a speaker at 10 feet — you don’t need a loud, large-sized speaker to fill a room with sound. In fact, you’ll be better off using several lower-powered speakers rather than a small number of higher-powered ones. Using too few speakers will deliver too much sound in some areas and not enough in others, and cranking the volume to cover more space will make the areas close to the speakers uncomfortably loud. What’s more, to achieve consistent, even coverage throughout your business, you’ll likely need to use more than one type of speaker. You’ll also need to take the geometry of your room into account.

When deploying in-ceiling speakers, there are a whole host of factors to contend with, including decibel levels, dispersion patterns, and ceiling height — there are no one-size-fits-all solutions. A low ceiling will necessitate closer spacing of speakers to prevent dead zones between the speakers — areas where it’s difficult to hear the midrange and higher frequencies that provide clarity and intelligibility. Higher ceilings, alternately, allow for larger distances between speakers, as the greater distance between the speakers and listeners yields wider sound dispersion.

Augmenting in-ceiling speakers with wall-mounted surface-mount speakers is a great way to fill in dead zones, as wall-mounted speakers can be aimed directly toward the listeners. That said, you’ll have a difficult time achieving even coverage in a large room if you rely solely on surface-mount speakers since there will be no way to place speakers in the middle of the room.

If you’re unsure as to how to best estimate coverage for your space, then call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer.

Acoustic Treatment

No matter how great your commercial audio system sounds, if sound waves are reflecting off the hard surfaces in the room, then it can make music sound muddy, announcements sound unintelligible, and everything in general sound echo-laden and chaotic. That’s where proper acoustic treatment comes in. These specially made panels, along with intelligently placed rugs and soft furnishings, will deaden the excessive echoes and reverberations within your space.

Trust Sweetwater for Your Commercial Audio Needs

Our Sales Engineers receive ongoing training in all things audio, including commercial audio systems. What’s more, we have extensive experience in designing, building, and installing everything from studios to stadiums. Give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700 today to get started!
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