I need advice on setting up PA for a church

johniss0001 · Post by **johniss0001** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 1:39 pm

Dear George or anyone
I am stuck on setting up a pa because I need to wire several speakers between the pews.
How do I go about doing that?
Would I need to use crossovers and bridging?

rjgtr · Post by **rjgtr** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 12:12 pm

I'm not quite sure what you mean by wire several speakers between pews. Does each set of pews have it's own speaker? Are the speakers flush mounted in the ceiling like an off public address system? How many speakers are we talking about?

If you are putting in a lot speakers then a distribution amp might be the best choice. That means a specilized amp and transformer.

A good resource on the net for buying PA gear is Full Compass. I know our church has bought a lot of gear from them.

johniss0001 · Post by **johniss0001** » Thu Jul 29, 2004 6:30 pm

The speakers are hanging from the roof at either side of the pews.
I have to wire 9 speakers to an amp.
Is full compass gear comatible with the power here in the U.K (240).
Would a 350 watts amplifier be ample for a small church?
What wattage would the speakers need to be?
What wattage of distributer amp would I need?

rjgtr · Post by **rjgtr** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:11 am

Full Compass is a supplier of audio equipment. So you'll most likely need a imilar company in the UK. 350 watts for the amp is probably fine. The speaker power handling should ideally add up to more than 350 watts.

Hanging the speakers the way you describe can cause allignment issues. It is better to hang all speakers at a contral point, especially when using one amp. This is because without time allignment, you can get weird echos or phase cancellation problems.

If the church hall is small enough (100 people?) one pair of good speakers in the front would probably do a better job than several pairs of inferior speakers.

I think it might be a good idea to find a good full line music store and talk to the P.A. salesman. He might be able to come out and see what the best solution might be.

Good Luck

johniss0001 · Post by **johniss0001** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 4:10 pm

rjgtr is is not a church as such it is more of a funeral parlour so, there are no high ceilings or wierd echos.
What sort of wattage of speakers do you recommend?

rjgtr · Post by **rjgtr** » Mon Aug 02, 2004 12:55 pm

Assuming you are using a 350 watt amp, you could use two full range cabinets rated for 200 watts each. I think in this kind of installation, you might even think about hanging powered cabinets, like the ones from JBL, Mackie or others. That would simplify some things, like matching speakers and power amps.

Good Luck