Before you start plugging, stripping, and connecting wires, it is a good idea to have a clear installation plan. To create your installation plan, you need to consider several design parameters, including what sound sources will be used, whether paging is required, which rooms need sound, whether remote volume control is required, what type of speakers will do the best job for the space they cover, and your cabling plan.
Selecting the Sound Sources
The S-Zone provides four input channels with the ability to connect up to six input sources. Input channels 1 and 2 provide a phantom-powered microphone input for use with condenser microphones. You can connect line-level signals to all four input channels, so you can use signals from CD, media player, tablet, DVD, or karaoke players, audio-video TV monitors, radio tuners, DJ mixers, or any other line-level device as a sound source. You may also be able to connect the output of a home stereo receiver if it has a line level output. For example, in a small to medium-sized restaurant, you may want to play background music from a tablet in one room, disco karaoke in another room, and have the ability to have a hostess call parties to their tables and a chef call a waitress to pick up an order. The S-Zone can do it all with ease.
Creating the Audio Zones
The S-Zone's four output channels allow you to create separate audio environments. Obviously (or maybe not so obviously), we call an output a zone on the unit, but a zone is also the area where you want to have sound. So think about where you want the sound to go. The S Zone can easily do all of this. In addition, the S-Zone lets you easily connect a remote control level for each of the zones, so you can control the volume in the room even if the audio equipment is located elsewhere.
Now take some time to think about where you need sound in your particular installation. Once you have decided where you need to create sound zones, you can consider your speaker choices, but first decide where you want to place your equipment rack.
Locating Your Equipment Rack
Since the S-Zone is a standard 19-inch rack-mount unit, you should consider using an equipment rack. To select a good location for your equipment rack, you should consider several points, including proximity to each of the sound zones, whether users will need to access the equipment, such as to change CD's or adjust a volume level, and whether you have a convenient location for electrical service, to name a few. You will need to consider the length of cable runs and routing required to make connections from the equipment rack to the various sound zones. Depending on the speakers you choose and the length of the cable runs you need to make, you may choose to run speaker level or line level to the sound zones. If you are using passive (non-powered) speakers, you will need to connect the S-Zone to a power amplifier and run speaker wire, but be careful about the gauge of the wire and the total length of the wire run. If you are using powered (active) speakers, you can run long distances using the balanced outputs directly from the S Zone.
Another type of installation is one that uses speakers and amplifiers with 70-volt transformers. The advantage of these systems is that you can run long lengths of wire and connect many speakers to a single amplifier. Because the equipment used in this type of installation is fairly specialized, you'll probably need professional help. Only a licensed and insured professional sound contractor should install 70-volt systems.
Selecting Speakers for Each Zone
When selecting speakers, you need to consider several important issues, such as where you want to place your power amplifiers, whether you want to use powered or unpowered speakers, or whether you need to run a 70-volt distributed sound system. The following sections provide an overview of how to connect passive or active speakers in a typical installation.
Using Passive Speakers
If you are using passive (unpowered) speakers, you must first decide where to place your power amplifier. If the speakers in a particular sound zone are less than 100 feet apart, you can place your power amplifier in the same rack as the S-zone and run the speaker wires from the amplifier to your sound zone.
NOTE: This type of wiring is called "home-run wiring" because you are making a direct connection from the amplifiers in the equipment rack to the speakers located in the sound zone room.
In this case, you would connect the zone output of the S-Zone to the input of the power amplifier and run the speaker wires to the passive speakers. If the speakers in a particular sound zone are more than 100 feet away, you should consider placing the amplifier in the same room as the sound zone. In this case, run a balanced, line-level signal from the zone output of the S-Zone to the input of the power amplifier located in the sound zone.
Using Active Speakers
If the distance is greater than 100 feet, you may consider using active speakers (speakers with built-in power). If you are using powered speakers, you can connect the S zone outputs using the balanced line level signals. In this case, you run a line level signal from the S zone output over the long run of cable to the input of the powered speaker in the sound zone. For more information on wiring balanced signals, see the Wiring Guide on page 20 of this guide.
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