Sound System For Gym

[joehkt]

Hi All

 

I am looking for some advice.  I am a bit of a novice in this area, so any help is appreciated.

 

i have a warehouse gym that I run.  It's roughly around 300sq meters. Made out of brick, but it is a completely open warehouse. 

 

I am needing a sound system that will be loud enough but also reliable and sound decent.  

 

I dont want to spend thousands upon thousands for this, so what would you all recommend I look at purchasing

 

TIA

 

Joe

[bzr]

sonos

 

[bzr]

 

[rand129678]

One warehouse gym I was a member of had something like this up in one corner of the warehouse: http://usa.yamaha.com/products/live_sound/speakers/passive_speakers/concert_club_v_series/s115v/?mode=model

 

It may have been a JBL but similar sort of professional loudspeaker.

 

Just the one was more than enough to fill the massive space and didn't sound harsh at all when it was playing loudly. If you can get a pair, perhaps in opposite corners that would be even better. Nothing complicated with driving just a pair of speakers either.

 

You could get fancy and try to get similar volume at every space of the gym but that means more speakers and perhaps fitting them in the ceiling of the gym isn't easy. Another gym I was at had a ceiling and in-celing speakers spread across the entire gym and that sounded great. That wasn't a warehouse though.

 

I'm no expert in installations though. Just commenting as a gym-er and what I thought sounded fine in the past. There are experts on this forum though who should be able to give better advice.

 

 

Edited December 1, 2016 by Em84

[Kaynin]

I highly doubt the Sonos will fill the space with volume at good quality in that environment and size of area.

 

I'd be looking at an integrated amp with a pait of bookshelves, maybe even outdoor speakers like PSB CS1000's.  Those Yammies in the previous post are closer to what I'd be looking at.  I'd also avoid in-ceiling unless you want to buy lots of them, and have to drive them too.

[betty boop]

PA style system ? Likes of JB Hifi have seen some cheap powered jbls going that would probably work.

 

gym I go to have some Omni directional pendant type things off the ceiling no idea who makes them but works 

[blybo]

how loud is "loud enough"? It's not a nightclub.

 

I run a Sonos play 1 in one of my shops and although not played loudly when open, it would surprise a few by what it is capable of. I'm sure Bluenode or Helos (sp?) would also prove adequate. I wouldn't call it great quality but most wouldn't notice or care. My warehouse is just shy of 300sqm and double story open span and even a little Bose Mini sound dock can fill the place when I'm working in there.

 

The classified sale above would more than fill 300sqm with reasonable quality background, bop along music, depending on how noisy equipment and gym junkies are? I think ambient noise and slap echo could potentially be a problem more than the sound equipment.

 

 

  

Edited December 1, 2016 by blybo

[joehkt]

Thanks for the info guys.

 

The gym is fairly noisy during sessions.  Its like a crossfit gym, so a lot of people being loud and also a lot of noise with weights and so on.  So would a pa system be better?  What sort of wattage output should I be looking for with speakers as well?

[powerav]

You probably need what is in Clubs and Pubs a amplifier like this. 

and a lot of 100V speakers all wired up together so you get a even spread right across, can even plug in a mic and make announcements.

[Ooogh]

I say no Christmas present for Jim. I hear he has been bad all year.  If any-one deserves sound system it is Bob. Yes, definitely sound system for Bob.

[bzr]

My store is 400sqm & the Sonos does very well at nights when cleaning up after closing. The other thing you might want to consider is if will you play music that everyone likes or will it be at a slightly lesser volume so people can hear each other talk. If the punters don't like the music they will stop going......One of my pet hates in a gym is "loud" music I don't like, usually guarantees I go elsewhere. 

[Nigel]

Sorry Joekht that people have responded with brand names that they think will solve your problem.

First you need to think about the way sound will reverberate around the area.

If it is one big open area with say, a concrete floor and glass walls, then that is a completely different situation to having sections/walls and carpeted floors. 

So can you give some detail re the gym, construction (walls, floor, ceiling and materials) , zoning ?

Notice that input above about the system having potential for announcements/microphone - that may be important.

 

 

[blybo]

13 minutes ago, Nigel said:

Sorry Joekht that people have responded with brand names that they think will solve your problem.

First you need to think about the way sound will reverberate around the area.

If it is one big open area with say, a concrete floor and glass walls, then that is a completely different situation to having sections/walls and carpeted floors. 

So can you give some detail re the gym, construction (walls, floor, ceiling and materials) , zoning ?

Notice that input above about the system having potential for announcements/microphone - that may be important.

 

 

 

Ummm...

 

On 30/11/2016 at 7:31 PM, joehkt said:

 

i have a warehouse gym that I run.  It's roughly around 300sq meters. Made out of brick, but it is a completely open warehouse. 

 

 

The obvious choices are a wireless/streaming option like Sonos/Blurnode/Helos etc, a PA based system or traditional amp and speakers. I just happen to think the streaming type makes the most sense, assuming there will already be a computer there that can hold the music, or even get commercial Spotify/Pandora etc etc option and could reward members with nights or hours where one of them gets to control the beats.

 

Re announcements, you could also record your various normal announcements as files and staff can play them when they wish, no need for a mic or to potentially make employees uncomfortable. I used to be the senior front of house at a multiplex cinema in my 20's and I was happy to make announcements to 100-200 people at once but hated having the mic shoved down my throat when we were REALLY busy. No body wanted to use the mic so something to keep in mind.

[Nigel]

ok - I did not specify adequately.

Is there any partitioning in the big Open warehouse, any mezzanine type ceilings (not necessarily floor to ceiling) ? is there any ceiling or just the roof ? How high ? Are the floors wood, concrete, carpet ? Windows / Glass walls?

 Do you want the same sounds (music/ silence) in all areas at the same time ?

[Tasebass]

I think you need a "weighty" sound.....

 

going now...

[bzr]

2 hours ago, Tasebass said:

I think you need a "weighty" sound.....

 

going now...

Definitely got the heavy lifters giving us the knowledge....

[CryptiK]

Whatever you end up purchasing, all sound tests should be conducted by playing 'nutbush' at 110db

[Tasebass]

1 hour ago, CryptiK said:

Whatever you end up purchasing, all sound tests should be conducted by playing 'nutbush' at 110db

 

Billy Ocean......"When the going gets tough.."

 

[joehkt]

On 02/12/2016 at 0:49 PM, Nigel said:

ok - I did not specify adequately.

Is there any partitioning in the big Open warehouse, any mezzanine type ceilings (not necessarily floor to ceiling) ? is there any ceiling or just the roof ? How high ? Are the floors wood, concrete, carpet ? Windows / Glass walls?

 Do you want the same sounds (music/ silence) in all areas at the same time ?

Hi Nigel,

 

The warehouse is very open.  No partitioning, all walls are made from brick.  There are no windows at all.  Just a roller door,  which we keep open during sessions.  I usually keep it open at about 2m high.  No ceilings, just the roof which is approximately 10 - 12m high.  Flooring is all rubber matting.  Would like to have the same sounds in all areas at the same time. 

[Nigel]

Hi Joe,  thanks for the extra detail.

 The good news is the rubber matting, the open garage door and the high roof (hopefully angled).

 The bad news is the hard, reflecting brick work. No matter how good the sound is when it leaves your speaker,  a reverberant room will spoil it.

 The best thing you can do for sound quality, is not the quality of equipment but by deadening the room.

 Without deadening the room (soft wall / curtains / wall hangings?) then there is no point in getting good gear and you will understand why nearly every gym has THAT sound, which you want to improve upon.

Room treatment follows the laws of diminishing return, so super expensive if you try for perfection (overkill) and I suspect that you are looking at >$1k, before looking at equipment.  Unless you have materials that can be made to look good also then. Sorry for the bleak news.

The other benefit of a deader room is that all sounds will be quieter, including the sounds of weights dropping on toes, etc. 

 

 Unless everyone inside the gym is facing the same direction and centrally located, which would be impractical for a gym, then stereo doesn't work either, so good quality mono would be best, no mater the room issues.

 

 

  

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by Nigel

[Powerglide]

Something like this would work great

 

http://eaw.com/docs/2_Legacy_Products/Loudspeakers/CP_Series/CP466/CP466_SPECS_rev1.pdf

 

they are for large open areas, reception halls, conference centres and designed top be hung flat up at roof level, if you ran them in mono you would get a consistent sound and volume everywhere, I'm no expert but probably the best spot to utilise your rubber matting.

 

I have a pair in my 1000 SQM workshop and they are easily driven, Loudly, by a nineties 80W Yamaha mmmmmm that natural sound 

[shogun2]

There are some Australian pro audio trading sites in fb that will have suitable gear. Ones called Audio Trading Australia. There are a couple of systems on there right now. A big JBL system with power amps and another with four 400 watt self powered Yamaha speakers.