Forte Too Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I am looking for advice on a Gym / auditorium speaker setup. I have several extra pair of Klipsch speakers and want to donate one set to my girl’s school for a loud system. This is for a school gym where they have musical programs. I imagine attaching eye bolts to the speakers and hanging them from the rafters. This is a full size basket ball size gym with 25 to 30' ceiling. Any advice? Will heresy's be enough? Will LaScalla's be too much? Will Forte's fall apart if hung from eye bolts? Surely there are enough of you out there that have hung these in similar settings. Thanks!!![8-)] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 19, 2011 Moderators Share Posted May 19, 2011 I would think Lascalas would work. One big caution......if one falls it will kill someone and that may make a parent or two mad ? You may want to get advice from someone who installs speakers like that to be safe, before your neck is on the line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Hi Forte Too, I have done this in two school gyms. I sent you a PM. Please call me and I'll be glad to share my experience. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runninshine Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 La Scalas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tragusa3 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Bill, I'd enjoy hearing of your experiences. Do you mind keeping the conversation public? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 you definitely can not hang stock lascala's using eye bolts. the joints on the cabs can't handle the weight. you need a metal cage solution that wraps around the cabs vertically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 It is good to see Sherman and Peabody. Nice avitar. Let me advise that it looks like you are starting from a home situation of equipment and going to quite another. It is a big, big change. By way of experience. In high school I had Heathkit type AR type speakers and a Heathkit 10 watt amp. I dragged them to the school cafeteria and expected good sound. Nope. Maybe in modern situations it was like bringing a boom box out to the park and expecting a rock concert. Filling large, open venues, like a gym require very powerful amps and efficient speakers, or many of them. The LS is a good choice. But you're not going to get the bass reinforcement as a small room provides, in a gym. As mentioned by others: The LS is not made so that you can put some eye-hooks into the top and suspend them. I have seen one where it looks like that was done and the top plate of plywood disconnected. If you are going to "fly" the LS or any speaker, you have to have a good appreciation of all the load bearing mechanisms involved. I'd say you have to support the speakers from their bottom, as a start. You have to have a good idea of the suspension system and it's load capacity. Chains? Also, you have to know the load capacity of whatever you are suspending these from. And you you have to know the the load capacity of anchors, bolts, etc, that pass the load into the ceiling or wall.. For example, even if you have nominally good anchors, the wall or whatever could be crumbly and degraded. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Bill, I'd enjoy hearing of your experiences. Do you mind keeping the conversation public? I'll be happy to. #1 Gym Elementary school with traditional wood-floor basketball court with a stage for music and "drama" performance at the end. Folding chairs are set up on the court floor to watch the performances. Bleachers remain folded. Portability was desired to serve additional rooms or venues. In this case, we used a pair of KP-4000 woofers with KP-3002 on poles on top of the woofers. The woofers coupled nicely with the floor for great low end and the poles raised the HF cabs to just about the right height for elementary kids standing on the stage. The parents were shocked how good the Klipsch speakers sounded. They said they could never understand what the kids or teachers were saying before the Klipsch arrived. Several families headed for the local Klipsch dealer for home systems. #2 Gym Middle School gym with traditional wood-floor basketball court. No built-in stage. Portable stage sections and riser are used near center court and opposite the bleachers. The bleachers are only on one side of the court. Speakers needed to be flown. I will not feel comfortable flying a home-use cabinet overhead. I will use only cabinets designed for flying with all the internal steel bracing. In this case, we flew Ki-362's overhead. #3 Gym Multi-purpose basketball court/gym in a church. Very thin commercial carpet is used for the basketball court and to reduce acoustic reflectivity. Folding chairs are used for the audience with portable stage sections and risers. In this case, we use KP-682 subs on their side with 2 Ki-362's on stands on each side of the stage. This room is wide and shallow. Coverage and intelligibility is great with this portable system. #4 Multi-purpose This facility originally used a portable set like Gym #1. A pair of KP-4000 woofers with a pair of KP-3002 HF mounted on poles on the woofers. THEN, we decided to install a flown system which is, by far, the best of all of these. With Roy's counsel, we flew left and right Ki-362s, PLUS, a center cluster of 2 Ki-362's with a Ki-215 between them. 2 KP-682 subs are built in on the left and right side of the stage/platform. All the speakers are powered with Crown XTi amps and the mix came out absolutely perfectly. Intelligibilty is great with uniform coverage and a nice kick from the bass when desired. Floor covering is thin commercial carpet tiles. There you go. Four systems, two portable, two flown. All Klipsch, all great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Ki-362 with Ki-215 http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/ki-362-overview/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 There is a performance auditorium at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, with, IIRC, two LSI bass bins over the stage and some horns above. They work well for the space, but mostly for vocals or MC duties. Most performances are plays or music groups (chamber music, orchestral), so the P.A. application is not used. For speech, obviously, the lack of bass is not a problem. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Ya, definitely don't use eyebolts in a home audio speaker. If the speaker isn't preconfigured for flying, then you need to build flying hardware around the speaker. At the end of the day, it may be cheaper to sell something to fund the purchase of something like Bill did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted May 20, 2011 Moderators Share Posted May 20, 2011 Could you just make a shelf for the sides of the stage ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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