70v, a fistful of IC-5Ts and a new retail space

[Jabberwocky]

Noob to this forum/boards as of about 5min ago, i'll take my shoes off at the door and find somewhere unobtrusive to humbly submit my help request.

I've eyestrain from staring at my monitor, poking around the Interwebs for waaay too many hours in attempt to find a sweetspot for my gals between aural reality and fiction.

A glass or two of GlenFiddich in me so this might ramble...

 

First, some context, as i've find myself "helping" but also obligated as am the husband and son-in-law...

 

Wife and MiL are going to open a business together after MiL has O/O her own eclectic, brick&mortar for about 30yrs. MiLs husband passed summer last year and she's long wanted to relocate back to where the bulk of the family was born/raised.

Sold the house this winter, got a hip replaced/convalescing as-i-type in our home, found/soon(ish) closing on an appropriate dwelling, attempting to foot-in-rear w/new landlords on buildout of 1335sqft, small square "entry" expanding into roughly 35'x31' rectangle (boxy!), commercial structure in order to make the date on promised downstate landlord would be out/new landlord promised she'd be in transition of self, stuff and a modicum of stress.

 

It's within that framework that i've finally been able to pin them down on what it is they'd really like to do other than "just play music in the store" that "doesn't cost a lot", "isn't too complicated" and "sounds good but not like we're having rock concerts."

 

after a lot of deliberation and even more overcoming the obstacle created when pre-conceived notions misalign with reality (sorry ladies -- taking a boombox or a $300 shelf stereo you found on Ama...poking a couple of nails in the wall...no, FOUR nails in the corners to put 4 speakers cos if 2 is good then 4 has to be better...) I decided to explore a constant voltage system, for reasons I'm imagining many of you here can see.

 

Currently awaiting (all used by way of online auction/buy it now type site):

 

- TOA DA250FH Amp

- TOA  M-900MK2 modular power mixer/amp

- DBX 215s 15-channel EQ

- CyberPower20A powersupply/surge suppressor, all

- to be racked in a two-sided, 6-RU/EIA-310 built into a modded/hacked IKEA Rast end table.

 

(input sources are still being discussed...no, 8-tracks are no longer an option...but your CDs ARE digital...seriously it will be better if each speaker is fed the same mono-summed material vs having one speaker there and another waaaay over there and...)

 

uhhh, okay? that's your problem, noob is about what I'm expecting, but i am also hoping for some sound advice from seasoned Klipsch users.

 

I just TODAY was able to arrange a PU next week of twenty IC-5Ts, all part of the same corporate system, pulled about 1.5 yrs ago (installation date unclear) and boxed/stored inside "a closet" in the new corporate facility. Someone apparently got tired of them taking up increasingly precious space, so someone else got the edict to jettison the lot.

 

$200 for all. some with, most w/o, dog clamps. none with tilebridge.

 

I know about these speakers only what I can glean from the Klipsch spec sheet. I can't even find when production stopped.

Would be SUPER grateful for forum input in any way, shape or form relative to a 70v setup in general, ceiling speakers in particular and these Klipsch in specific.

What to expect of them?

Mounting tips?

Tilebridge required? Dog clamps required? Alternatives?

Thinking of seeing if I can ferret out an ICSW8T2 or two to supplement a big box floor space with some degree of low end when we, presumably, discover that the dynamic range lacks a bit of oomph. Any thoughts there -- but not like a rock concert!

 

This undertaking is a first for me, and as the aforementioned husband, i'd like this to work well in no small part, because...Nah. I don't have to tell anyone here married the WHY's of my interest in this working beyond (their) expectations and below (their) notions of what it costs/is involved in making it so one can playback into a big, boxy space several different audio sources w/o a whole lot of externally influenced variance.

And yes, I'm strongly considering a lockable, smoked-plexi front panel once this is installed and configured. I can hear the phone call(s) already...ALL i did was push some button and now there's no sound...fix it, please?!?!

 

okay. that's far too much rambling. best get to the last of this single-malt glass and a-ramblin' upstairs.

 

tip-o-the-cap in advance.

Edited March 16, 2017 by Jabberwocky

[Schu]

Oh yes obviously... a lockable smoked plexi front panel

[CECAA850]

This should get you started.

 

http://adn.harmanpro.com/site_elements/resources/860_1425410780/Guide_to_constant_Voltage_systems_original.pdf

[Jabberwocky]

Thank you CECAA850 for the Crown 70v link. That'll get marked and associated w/the other 70v info already culled over the various 'Net sessions.

 

As i've re-read my single-malted ramble, please allow me to TL;DR:

 

Hoping more that someone might share insights:

 

-on the IC-5T, especially if anyone is using them en-masse and definitely in a constant voltage system.

-anyone recall the in-production timeline for the IC-5Ts? the Klipsch contact couldn't locate and suggested OoP for 10-15 years.

-suspended ceiling mounting options/alternative suggestions and recommendations when the tile-bridge is no longer available.

 

Interestingly, at least to me, I was also Klipsch-directed to a pair of Bose rails (https://www.crutchfield.com/p_018ICRIK/Bose-drop-ceiling-kit.html?cc=07) and also informed that dog clamps/legs are NOT essential to suspended ceiling mounting.

 

Really?

 

[CECAA850]

Can't use a GENERIC?