Any suggestions for a sound system?

Any suggestions on setting up a sound system for a small 800 sq feet restaurant/bistro?

• Only instrumental background music to be played...so I don't need great sound but I also don't want a tin-can-ceiling-speaker-type sound, if you know what I mean? I also want to keep the cost down. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Alternatively, if you know someone I an speak with, that would be great also. I don't want to hire a sound consultant...I am just starting up the business and need to spend my money on the more important stuff - like kitchen equipment, plumbing, air-con, decor, etc.

• Answer:

  If the dining room is 800 sq ft. then you will need 6 or so speakers to cover it. This assumes that it is a roughly rectangular shape, 40' x 20'. If that 800 sq ft includes the kitchen than you should be able to get away with fewer speakers. Also, a lot of setting up any sound system depends on room acoustics but I'll assume that since you are more or less looking for "acoustic wallpaper" that the acoustics won't be too awfully important. Were I doing this I'd start with a CD changer - one of the units that will hold 20 plus CDs. I don't like the idea of an Mp3 player for this use. They all seem to be portable or semi portable - too easy for someone to walk off with plus they just don't seem like the tyoe of component that will hold up in the long run. Quite frankly the sound quality isn't very good either. Definitely go with a brand that is known for good quality in such a unit. I have Sony CD players and they, with Philips, invented the CD. Pioneer and Yamaha are also brands to consider. From there I'd go with a stereo receiver or stereo Integrated amplifier. I emphasize stereo over surround or home theater. You do not need 5 + channels even though you will have numerous speakers. We'll get to that later. Two channels is actually preferable for this use. If you think you might to tune in radio broadcasts, perhaps after hours when the staff might want to listen to a ball game or music, you may want to consider a receiver. However if you think that you might want to discourage this kind of thing or just want to get a better unit for your money where the build quality went into parts besides a radio tuner you might consider an integrated amplifier. They are not too awfully common but they are out there. They also tend to have the aforementioned superior build quality as they are intended for a pickier customer. Just enter integrated amplifier into a Google search box and hit "shopping." Preferred brands are Marantz, Onkyo, NAD, Yamaha. I'd steer clear of brands like Technical Pro. Offhand I'd say that you will probably get by with 65 to 80 watts but don't be afraid to go higher particularly if you have a large number of speakers. You won't be blasting it (hopefully) so theoretically a more powerful amp will run cooler and last longer. The receiver or integrated amp will hook up to a compensating speaker selector. This will allow you to power several pairs of speakers from two channels and not have to worry about what might be coming out of surround channels on any given sound field setting and maintain a proper load on the amplifier. Without the compensating circuit using multiple pairs of speakers would add up to a very low impedance load and the amplifier would either blow an output device or go into protection mode. Partsexpress.com sells some nice speaker selectors with outputs for up to 16 speakers. As far as speakers go I'll admire you for not wanting the typical ceiling mounted types. I'll also advise you to avoid really tiny ones like those Bose Jewel Cubes. They are highly overrated and if you want to avoid tinny you want to avoid them. I'd go with a simple 2 way design with at least a 5" woofer and a small tweeter. The aforementioned Partsexpress has a line called Dayton that are nice sounding and inexpensive. They sell brackets too so you can mount them on the walls. Others would probably recommend brands like B&W, Klipsch and Polk. However you aren't going for audiophile quality, you want bang for the buck so you can spend your money on espresso machines and the like. Definitely avoid really cheap speakers though. Use a good gauge of speaker wire too. 16 AWG at the least. It doesn't have to be specifically made for speakers either. The stuff they sell as lamp cord at home improvement stores will work just fine.