Speaker Systems for
Background Music and Paging
T
echnical Guide
Installed Sound
TA-2
Version 1.2
April, 2002
Distributed loudspeaker systems for paging and background music are
among the most important “bread and butter jobs in sound contracting. In
most cities, new restaurants, hotels, health clubs and clinics are continually
sprouting up. Each one has needs that can be met by a distributed system,
and each represents a potential client for the enterprising contractor.
The overwhelming majority of paging and background systems are relatively
small, however. With the margin on many installations running in the $400
to $600 range, there’s not much room for error or misunderstanding, since
the cost of a single callback can eat up most of the profits. To succeed with
distributed sound systems, the professional contractor needs to be able to
count on his jobs going in smoothly and efficiently.
In this article, we’ll explore some of the “nuts and bolts” issues that affect
profitability in the distributed sound system market, and offer suggestions
for improving your chances of success in the business.
The Site Survey
Every system specification begins with a survey of the site. The sales
engineer, whose job is to ask the right questions and gather all the
information necessary to complete an accurate bid, normally performs the
survey.
At this stage, it is most important to form an accurate picture of the
customer’s needs. Will the system be used for paging, background music, or
both? Do pages originate from a single location, or from multiple locations?
Must the system be tied into the customer’s telephone network? Should the
system be divided into multiple zones with separate volume controls? If so,
should pages be routed to all zones, or should zones be separately
addressable? Should zone controls be located at the rack, or is local control
required? The answers to questions like these will determine major aspects of
the system design.
Talking to individual users of the proposed system will help to flesh out
important design details. Is the maitre d’hotel’s station located directly under
a speaker? If so, then an independent local volume control should be
provided for that speaker, so that it can be adjusted to allow conversation
