Dance/Fitness studio sound system

[soundhalp]

Hi everyone!

My girlfriend has opened up a pole fitness/yoga studio and requires a sound system of sorts. The budget is pretty low $500-$800 since it's a start up business and renovations themselves cost quite a bit.

A bit about the space... the studio is about 1200-1300 square feet with 18 feet ceilings, it has mostly painted concrete walls, one wall has drywall and mirror, aerial yoga hammocks and poles hang/connect at 12 feet. The floor thick engineered laminate. The space is rectangular and one big room. 1/3 of the space is seating/loungy area and the other 2/3 yoga/pole dance area.

We don't want to crank the music up too high since there are neighbouring businesses. Just want something sounds decent and fills the room, other studios have a boombox off to the side and it sound just awful. I've read that acoustics with a plethora of hard surfaces, is a challenge enough for the upper frequencies and to avoid bass which can cause excessive reverberation.

Started looking at some active studio monitors
Canada's Music Store, Musical Instruments - Long & McQuade Musical Instruments

As you can see I have no idea wtf I'm doing. Any help would be appreciated. hyeah:

 

[Rupam]

Studio Monitors are not suitable for Loud thumping music in large area. I would advice you to get a pair of floorstanders and a subwoofer. That will fill the room without being too loud.

 

[bhagwan]

Low Budget :-

Mackie - Thump Series Powered Loudspeakers

+

Mackie - HD1801

Mid Budget :-

TA-500DP Self-powered three-way loudspeaker : Turbosound

or

TCS-1561DP Self-powered three-way loudspeaker : Turbosound

+

TCS-B218 Subwoofer : Turbosound

Always use 4 Tops & 2 Big Subs or 4 small Subs

If your budget is higher - let me know - I will suggest 'better' products'

All this easy to get in Canada - Also @ good prices.
Installation is 'easy'
You may need a Sound Processor to tune the 'humps' in the room - that may need some professional help to equalise - after a room sweep is done.

All the Best !

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I must have heard quite a bit of live music through Mackie equipment (played some too ).

Indeed you need PA equipment for this job, not gear which is designed for a domestic space, and certainly not studio monitors which are designed to be heard close to. The hi of the fi is probably not going to be the big requirement, but buying the right gear will ensure that the music at least sounds like music, rather than the scratchy treble only or the thumping bass only that results when people (all too often) try to use entirely the wrong equipment for the job.

 

[soundhalp]

Thanks for the info. I ended up going with two Electro-Voice ZLX-12P 12in Powered Speakers. They sound decent and easily fill up the room with music.

 

[bhagwan]

Thanks for the info. I ended up going with two Electro-Voice ZLX-12P 12in Powered Speakers. They sound decent and easily fill up the room with music.

Good Call;

Electro-Voice ZLX-12P 12-inch Two-Way Powered Loudspeaker

This is a nice product.

It will do a good job for you;

If you feel the need - buy 2 more & make it a quad set up & may need a bass reinforcement; 150 to 50 hertz.

Look @ :-

Electro-Voice ZXA1-Sub 12" Powered Subwoofer

This will complete your set.

You will truly have a 'club' sound once this is done.

p.s. I still prefer Turbo Sound to EV - but EV is better than Mackie - so a good choice all in all;

 

[vivek.saikia]

I believe in a confined space like a fitness center/gym, the monitors or PA system will sound harsh or too honky. The gyms needs more of a thumping bass sound rather than clarity and all the audiophile mumbo jumbo. Having said that, the best candidate for this particular purpose is.....umm let me say the four letter word.....BOSE *****ducking*****

 

[bhagwan]

umm let me say the four letter word.....BOSE *****ducking*****

Sir,
Excellent Suggestion;

Panaray 802 Series III Loudspeaker - Bose Professional Systems - Product overview

+

Panaray 502 B Loudspeaker - Bose Professional Systems - Product overview

Or

LT 9400 Loudspeaker - Bose Professional Systems - Product overview

+

MB12 & MB12 WR Modular Bass Loudspeakers - Bose Professional Systems - Product overview

You could have chosen these too;
They do sound good.

Nice Suggestion - Vivek :clapping:

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I believe in a confined space like a fitness center/gym, the monitors or PA system will sound harsh or too honky. The gyms needs more of a thumping bass sound rather than clarity and all the audiophile mumbo jumbo.

The last thing one wants in a gym is for the customers to stop their exercise and start enjoying the music in trance-like state hyeah: so audiophile, or even hifi does not enter into it at all. However, this does not mean that the sound has to be bad, which it is in many shops, restaurants and other public spaces. All of us, unless we are some sort of cartoon audio aesthetic protected by earplugs until satisfied with the credentials of the current sound source listen to non-hifi sound, eg from car, radio, tv, etc etc systems and we do so quite happily. I know I do --- and yet, when I have to listen to the sort of problem sound that I mentioned earlier, I get mad, not only that I have to suffer it, but that the installers wasted their money. Well, actually I can do without music in many of those places, and find it annoying and intrusive --- but that's a whole different story.

I don't know the brands --- but I know that soundhalp went for the right kind of equipment for the job. Tangentially... might not some sort of room treatment be in order to correct harshness, which might be caused by the hard-surface environment?

Having said that, the best candidate for this particular purpose is.....umm let me say the four letter word.....BOSE *****ducking*****

Excellent Suggestion

No need to duck. I don't know about 'best,' others tell me that there are better, but Bose in the PA arena is an entirely different thing to Bose in the home.

 

[soundhalp]

Just another update.

Girlfriend had some friends over and they said it have too much treble and not enough bass. I adjusted the settings at the back of the speakers and made it sound more to their liking. Two speakers of these speaker in an area this size is more than enough. Most of the time the music is played at a low volume because she has to carry a conversation with her students. They only crank it up when they are doing freestyle and even then the volume settings we still set fairly low. I also had to adjusted their positions to prevent delays and the sound bouncing off walls.

I still have to familiarize myself on what certain speaker settings do and maybe then tweak some more.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Nice to hear your continuing experience. What is the source for the music?