Speakers in adverse conditions

Mike Diack

Mike Diack

Sophomore
Jan 12, 2011
135
0
16
New Zealand
I have an install in possibly the worst situation ever imagined. What I have is a timber deck, 150x50mm planks 5mm gaps, and client wants sound coming up through said deck in 8 different places (4 differing stereo pairs). There is no roof over the deck and high tide ocean 1.2 metres under the deck. Rain above, sea below and sod all room for the sound to come out. I'm fighting for grilles but everyone is concerned about stilleto heels. I'm thinking of smallish rain resistant speakers (like JBL C28s or Proel 207s) pointed 45 degrees downwards off the underside of the deck with reflector plates to bounce the sound upwards but allow the rain to drain away. What it's going to sound like after squeezing through a 5mm gap is anybodys guess. They also want a grunty subwoofer (I'm thinking of something like half a labsub, where the driver is as far away from the mouth as possible). Is this an impossible quest ?. Any better ideas ?.(It has to survive for years)

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M
 
Re: Speakers in adverse conditions

You've got a salt environment, so rain isn't your biggest problem. Ideally, you want something that would be fine for a swimming pool environment (salt air and chlorine are similar in what they attack) - think fiberglass and plastics. To that end, Technomad has a decent reputation for building speakers that survive.

As far as the grille question goes, I can't see how gratings with less than a 5mm hole opening would be any worse for stiletto heels than the gaps between the timbers. And from a sound quality point of view, that should be fine - many loudspeaker manufacturers are using about that hole diameter in their speaker grilles.
 
Re: Speakers in adverse conditions

My concern is what levels and fidelity they are envisioning. I also don't get the stereo pairs, with four stereo pairs it seems like only four people will be able to get the desired effect and that only if there is no one standing next to them or anything else affecting their hearing either channel.

This reminded me of the ''aural designer'' who proposed a multi-channel, enveloping audio experience for a corporate client. We noted that since the proposed location for this was in a circular rotunda space with primarily glass walls, a marble floor and a domed glass ceiling, just about any sound in there would be enveloping and the idea of multiple discrete audio sources would be impossible to maintain. The concept, as good as it might have been as a concept, simply didn't fit the application.
 
Re: Speakers in adverse conditions

Brad Weber wrote on Wed said:
My concern is what levels and fidelity they are envisioning. I also don't get the stereo pairs, with four stereo pairs it seems like only four people will be able to get the desired effect and that only if there is no one standing next to them or anything else affecting their hearing either channel.

This reminded me of the ''aural designer'' who proposed a multi-channel, enveloping audio experience for a corporate client. We noted that since the proposed location for this was in a circular rotunda space with primarily glass walls, a marble floor and a domed glass ceiling, just about any sound in there would be enveloping and the idea of multiple discrete audio sources would be impossible to maintain. The concept, as good as it might have been as a concept, simply didn't fit the application.
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Mine is not to reason why, mine is just to do and die...
(Apologies to Tennyson)
Thanks for all suggestions, am investigating Technomads.

Cheers
M
 
Re: Speakers in adverse conditions

I have had good success with the SB900T speakers from Martin Sound Products (MSP) in Ohio, The 900's are 2 way 8" speakers in a composite enclosure.I have used these outside including at a public swimming pool.Can be wired 8ohms or 70volt. When I originally asked them if these speakers hold up under adverse conditions,they told me they are used on fishing boats in Alaska.They also make smaller versions of the same series.
 
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