70 V Systems Steve Brooks Atlas Sound Tech

70 V Systems Steve Brooks Atlas Sound Tech Support Manager

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What Are We Going To Cover In This Session? v v v A Few Terms Used In This Industry. How 70 V Systems Work, With a Brief Comparison Of Consumer Versus Commercial 70 V Audio Systems. What Are The Major Components In A 70 V Audio System? What Steps Does One Take In Designing A 70 V Audio System? A Brief Discussion On Loudness, With Some Examples. The Impedance Bridge, Why You Need One.

Let’s Review Some Of The Terminology v v v Constant Voltage A Name Given To A General Practice Begun In The Late 1920 And Early 1930’s Governing the Interface Between Amplifiers And Loudspeakers Used For Public Address Systems. Early Sound System Engineers (Geeks Today!) Looked At this Country’s Electrical Power Distribution System And Used Their Practice Of Distributing Power, Not Voltage.

Constant Voltage The Key Here Is That Power = Voltage x Current. Example - I Want 100 W Delivered to My House. Here Are Two Ways To Do This. 10 V x 10 A = 100 W (Low Voltage x High Current) Large Cable Needed Here To Carry The High Current!

Constant Voltage Or, I Could Achieve The Same Result By… 100 V x 1 A = 100 W (High Voltage x Low Current) I Can Reduce The Wire Diameter And Still Get 100 W To My House!

More Terminology. . v Commercial Audio System - An audio system used in commercial spaces, typically used for paging, signaling, Voice Evac and background music. v Distributed Audio System - See Commercial Audio System. v BGM - “Background Music”. Music that is played in an office or store at a low level, designed to enhance worker productivity or the shopping experience.

Terminology……. . v 25/70/100 V Audio Systems- Refers To The Maximum Output Voltage Of The Amplifier In The System. - 25 V Systems Are Typically Found In Schools And Prisons. Considered Low Voltage, Conduit Typically Not Required. - 70 V Is The Most Common, May Or May Not Require Conduit For The Speaker Lines. - 100 V Is Used Where Very Long Speaker Runs Are Necessary, The Higher Voltage Results In Lower Current In The Speaker Line, Resulting In Smaller Gauge Wire Needed.

Where Did 70 Volts Come From? v Sometime In The Late 1940’s, UL Stated That All Voltages Above 100 V Peak Will Be Installed In Conduit. v To Get Around This And Reduce Install Costs, We Look At the “RMS” Or Average Of 100 V. v Vrms =. 707 X Vpeak v . 707 x 100 = 70. 7 V!- No Conduit!

Terminology……. . v Transformer Taps- Refers To The Amount Of Power To Be Delivered To A Commercial Loudspeaker, i. e. : 1 W, 2 W, 5 W. The Higher The Number, The Louder The Speaker Will Be. v Auto Former - A Specific Type Of Transformer, Used On Attenuators (Volume Controls) In A Commercial Audio System. Also Available As A Stand Alone Product, Used For Stepping Up/Down Voltage And Impedance.

Consumer Versus Commercial v A Typical “Consumer” Home System 8 Ohm loudspeakers CD Player Integrated receiver This System Has 2 Speakers Connected, Usually Up To 4 Maximum Assuming This Is A 100 W Receiver And It Is Delivering Maximum Power, We Would “See” About 28 VAC At The Speaker Terminals. Remember This Number.

Consumer Versus Commercial A Typical Commercial BGM and Paging System Paging Microphone CD Player-BGM Source Commercial Grade 70 V Mixer Amplifier This Amplifier Is Rated At 120 W. At Maximum Power, We See 70 VAC At The Speaker Terminals. Commercial grade 70 V ceiling speakers

What’s The difference? • The Home System Can Only Have A Few Speakers Connected. • The Home System Can’t Work With Long Speaker Wire Runs Without Using Very Large Diameter Cable, Due To Voltage Drops In The Cable. • The Commercial System Can Have Lots Of Speakers Attached To The Amplifier. • The Commercial System Can Use Smaller Speaker Wire.

So, How Do We Accomplish This? By The Use Of Step Up And Step Down Transformers………………… We “Step Up” The Voltage/Impedance (Audio Signal) Which Lowers The Current Coming Out Of The Amplifier, And “Step Down” The Voltage/Impedance (And Raise The Current Back Up) To The Loudspeakers! Power Companies Do This Everyday, They Step Up The Voltage On The Power Lines For Distribution, Then Step It Back Down At Your Home! Let’s Take A Closer Look At Transformers!

Loudspeaker Transformers Typical 8 W 70 V step down transformer, usually mounted on the loudspeaker Primary High Voltage, Low Current From 70 V Amplifier Taps Set The Amount Of Power The Speaker Will Draw From The Amp Secondary Low Voltage, High Current To Speaker

70 V Amplifier With Internal Transformer Shown Internal 25/70/100 V Transformer To 70 V Loudspeakers

One Final Word About Transformers v Besides Stepping Up/Down The Voltage, They Also Step Up/Down The Impedance Of The Amplifier’s Output And Speakers. v By Raising The Impedance, We Can Now Attach Lots Of Speakers In Parallel, Without Causing The Amplifier To “See” Too Low Of A Load At The Speaker Terminals.

Next Up Now Let’s Take A Look At The Major Components In A 70 V System….

Amplifiers/Mixer Amplifiers 70 V Power Amps Small Mixer Amps Large Mixer Amps Power Amps And Mixer Amps? ? What’s The Difference?

Here Is The Difference. . v Power Amplifiers Typically Don’t Have A Microphone Preamp And Accept Line level Signals Only. Usually Have Multiple Channels. v Usually Have A Separate Mixer Connected To The Inputs. -----------------------------------------v Mixer Amps Have A Preamp and A Power Amp Section And Typically Accept Multiple Line Level And Microphone Level Signals. v Mixer Amps Usually Have Tone Controls (Bass/Treble) Included.

Loudspeakers 4” Ceiling Speaker With Tweeter Surface Mount Speaker High Power Ceiling Speaker “Pendant” Type Speaker Paging Horn High Power Stadium Horn

Attenuators Since We May Need A Way To Control The Loudness Of the Speakers, We Install Attenuators. 70 V Attenuators Are Wired Into The Speaker Line, And Are Rated On How Much Power (Speaker Qty. x Tap Setting) They Can Deliver To The Speakers Connected!

While We Are On The Subject v How Do We Wire Attenuators To Control The Volume Of Just One Speaker On A 70 V Line?

Wiring A 70 V Attenuator One Loudspeaker

Wiring A 70 V Attenuator Two Volume Controls

Questions?

Designing An Audio System v Some Things To Consider. . § SPL - How Loud Does It Really Need To Be To Overcome The Ambient Noise Levels? § Coverage - Where Does The Page Need To Be Heard? § Frequency Response - Paging or BGM or Both? Background Music or Foreground Music? § Power - How Large Will Our Amplifier Need To be? § Important! What Does The Customer Want Or Expect?

Selecting A Loudspeaker v Will They Be Installed Inside or Outside? v Will They Be Installed Flush or Surface Mounted? v What Is The Ambient Noise Level The Speaker Must Overcome? v How Far Will The Speaker Be From The Listener? v What Type Of Sound Quality Is The Customer Expecting?

Choosing A Loudspeaker Paging Horns - Used Indoors And Out, Very Efficient, Voice Only Surface Mount - Used Indoors, Voice & Music Ceiling Mount - Used Indoors, Voice & Music

Choosing A Loudspeaker Coaxial Indoor/Outdoor Speaker - Voice & Music

How Many Loudspeakers Do I Need? We Have Chosen The Amplifier And The Loudspeaker, Now, How Many Will I Need? Always Measure The Dimensions Of The Spaces Needing Audio. - Room Length? - Room Width? - Room Height To Ceiling? - Will Occupants Be Seated Or Standing?

What Is One Of The Most Important Things To Consider When Designing An Audio System? A. The Customers Ability To Pay For It? B. Can I Get 60 Day Terms From My Vendors? C. Proper Loudspeaker Spacing? D. Does The Customer Get The Keys To The Equipment Rack? Answer…. Proper Speaker Spacing!

Loudspeakers - How Many? Here Is The Hard Way To Calculate. 6” Speaker in a 10 ft ceiling r = (10 -5) tan 110/2 r= 7. 14

Don’t Have Time To Do The Math? Most Speaker Manufacturers Provide A Ceiling Speaker Calculator On Their Website! Make Use Of It!

We Should Look At Three Accepted Ceiling Speaker Spacing Scenarios Each Type Has Its’ Own Pros And Cons Let’s Start With……

Edge To Edge Ceiling Layout -6 d. B Down Point For The Loudspeaker Or ¼ The Power Notice The Large Gaps In The Coverage? 14’ On Center

Minimum Overlap Speaker Layout See the overlap between adjacent speakers? 10’ on center

Edge To Edge Layout Lots Of Overlap Between Speakers Our customers may not want a system with this much density, nor would they want to pay for it! 7’ On Center

A Typical Ceiling Speaker Layout

How Loud Does The System Need To Be? v The System Only Needs To Be Loud Enough! v Typically, We Shoot For Minimum 6 d. B Above Ambient Noise Levels, 10 d. B Is Better. v It Is Much Easier To Turn Down The System At The Amplifier Than It Is To Go And Re. Tap All The speakers Up!

Let’s talk About Loudness This One Goes To “ 11”!

SPL Design Goals Typical 8” Ceiling Speakers Here, Tapped At ¼ to 1 W. Paging Horns Required Here Be Careful If SPL Is Above 100 d. B!

Now Let’s Look At Wire

Loudspeaker Wire v 70 V Speakers Are Always Wired In Parallel, (+) To (+), (-) To (-). v Use Stranded Wire, Do Not Use Voice And Data Wire (CAT 5). Solid Core Data Wire Is Too Small And Can Be Unreliable When Twisted v Typically, 2 Conductor, Stranded Of Sufficient Capacity For Speaker Lines v 18 Gauge, 2 Conductor Stranded Is Most Common For Small To Mid Size Systems. Shielded Cable Is Unnecessary!

Calculating The Proper Size Wire If You Are Unsure, Or Have An Install With Many Loudspeakers And Long Speaker Runs… Then… We Need To Determine The Wire Size For This Job. It’s Best To Calculate The Total Speaker Load That The Amplifier Will Be Required To Drive AND The Total Wire Length.

Calculating The Load Impedance v The Formula For Calculating The Total Load Impedance Comes From Ohms Law. v Zt=E² / P v Zt Is The Total Impedance You Are Looking For v E² = 70. 7 X 70. 7 or 5000 v P = The Number Of Speakers X The Tap Setting

Let’s Look At An Example: • A system has 50 speakers, all tapped at 5 W each. So, 5 X 50 = 250, this is “P” in the equation, and we already know E² = 5000. So, divide 5000 by 250, and the answer is………. . 20 Ω impedance! • Zt = E² / P • The Total Speaker Load That The Amplifier “Sees” Is 20Ω.

Now We Factor In The Speaker Wire. . v Load Impedance = 20 ohms v Speaker run is 200 feet, and wire specified (14 gauge) has a resistance of. 0025 ohms per foot. So, multiply. 0025 X 200 X 2 = 1 ohm. The 2 in the equation is for the “loop” length, out and back. Add The 1 Ohm To Our 20 Ohms = 21 Ohms v v Looking at the wire gauge chart, I see that we will have -. 4 d. B loss, which is acceptable with this wire and speaker load!

Wire Calculator Run 200 ft Z Zsource 21 0. 01 AWG Sq mm R per foot Loop Resistance d. B Loss Status 8 8. 36 0. 000628 0. 2512 -0. 1 Okay 10 5. 26 0. 000999 0. 3996 -0. 2 Okay 12 3. 31 0. 001588 0. 6352 -0. 3 Okay 14 2. 08 0. 002525 1. 0100 -0. 4 Okay 16 1. 31 0. 004016 1. 6064 -0. 7 18 0. 823 0. 006390 2. 5560 -1. 0 20 0. 517 0. 010152 4. 0608 -1. 6 22 0. 325 0. 016142 6. 4568 -2. 4

Speaker Zones How Many Zones Will There Be? • Are The Zones Volume Zones Or Content Zones? Each Content Zone Requires A Separate Amplifier! Each Volume Zone Requires A 70 V Attenuator!

Questions? ?

Selecting The Proper Amplifier v What Are The Power Requirements? • We Know That Our Total Speaker Load Is 21Ω (Zt) • So How Do We Know How To Choose The Correct Amplifier Size? • As A General Rule Add 20% To The Total Load And The Closest Available Amp Size (Always Round Up) • 5000 Divided By 21 Ohms = 238 W • 238 W * 20% = 47. 6 W (+ 238 W) = 285 W • Choose An Amplifier Rated At 300 -350 W / Channel

The Impedance Bridge What Is It, And Why Is It Often Missing From Most Toolboxes? The Impedance Bridge Is A Meter For Measuring The Impedance Of A 70 V Speaker Line. It Measures Impedance At A Specific Frequency Using An AC Signal. Gives A Reading In Ohms Or Watts. VOM’s Do Not Do This! The Bridge Cannot Measure Voltage Or Current, And Is Typically Not Used Everyday By Installation People.

The Impedance Bridge If One Calculates The Expected Impedance (Remember Taps X Speaker Count? ) And Then Measures The Loudspeaker Line, The Numbers Should Be Close. If There Is A Big Difference, It’s Time To Figure Out Why. The Impedance Bridge Connects To The (+) And (–) Connections Of The Speaker Line. It Measures The Impedance At One Or Several Frequencies, Much Different Than Using A Standard VOM Set For Resistance!

Typical Impedance “Sweep” Of An 8 Ohm Loudspeaker

Using The Impedance Bridge Let’s Go On A Service Call And Do Some Troubleshooting With Our Impedance Bridge. We Have A Paging System That Was Working Well Until Yesterday. The System Has 8 Speakers Tapped At 1 W, A 70 V Mixer Amp and Paging Is Done With A Desktop Microphone. The Customer Says The Amp Is Running Hot And The paging Is Distorted. We Check Out The Equipment And Wiring In The Rack And Everything Appears OK. Next Step…. .

Impedance Bridge Continued. . We Calculate The Load… 8 Speakers X 1 W Tap = 8 W, Impedance = 5000/8 = 625 Ohms. We Disconnect The Speaker Line And Connect The Bridge Measures <8 Ohms, Where We Expected Around 625 Ohms! What Could The Issue Be Here?

Impedance Bridge Continued. . 8 Speakers, All Tapped At 1 W 120 W Commercial Grade Mixer Amp

Impedance Bridge Continued. . Connect Bridge To Speaker Line Someone Installed An 8 Ohm Speaker On The 70 V Line! 8 Speakers, All Tapped At 1 W

One Last Tip For You! You Have A Customer Who Wants To Upgrade Their Current System…Add More Speakers, Maybe Some Volume Controls In Each Room And They Are On A Budget…. They Have A Consumer Grade Stereo Receiver That They Want To Re-Use! How Can We Convert A Consumer OR Non 70. 7 V Amplifier To Run 70. 7 V? ?