AMP to drive 8-10x BA SoundWare XS SE Satellite Speakers?

[SupaMonkey]

Hi Guys,
*noob alert*
Dad tasked me with getting speakers / amp for a rather small restuarant/bar area in his guest house.
Im quite set on the speakers (most affordable I can get) being the Boston Acoustics SoundWare XS SE Satellite Speakers:
Tech Specs Here
I'll need 4x for the restaurant, 4x for the lounge and then 1-2x for a separate lounge.
This will all be soft/background music.

What Denon AMP/Receiver should I get that can drive these?

Thanks in advance!

 

[ID.]

I think I'd want to get a professional to install a suitable system.

It's not really something you can bodge together from stereo amps or home theatre amps made for home use (well, you probably could, but there are better ways to go about it). There are systems designed specifically for these kinds of installations with mutliple speakers, often spread over a number of rooms.

I think you need to do some research

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-05cxKNx0vWq/learn/introduction-to-commercial-audio-systems.html

And look at products made for the application

http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/global/en/applications/installedsound/restaurant/

http://www.yamahaproaudio.com/global/en/applications/installedsound/restaurant/

http://www.genelec.com/installation-speakers

This is far from comprehensive. It's just from a quick online search for products made for your requirements.

I'm not sure that many people here have much experience or expertise in these kinds of installations, so I'm not sure how much the forum can help you, but it's probably best to start looking in the right places and maybe talk to people who sell/install these kinds of products about your budget and requirements.

 

[SupaMonkey]

Thanks. Commercial quotes I've gotten break the bank - was looking for something more affordable :/

 

[davedotco]

Back in the day we (my retail shop) was asked on a number of occasions by our hi-fi obsessed clients to provide such systems, they deemed 'commercial ' setups to be lacking in sound quality.

We did a couple of restaurants, wine bar, a design studio and a handful of shops. We used the budget Rotel amplifier of the day, the RA820 driving 4 'original' Wharfedale Diamonds, 2 per channel with further similar amplifier and speaker sets linked via the tapeout/line in, the amps and speakers being cheap enough to use several sets thus giving a good sound distribution without undo strain. The Wharfedales were used on wall brackets and given that there were several pairs in play simultaneously, the sound was quite balanced with decent enough bass.

The downside was that each amp/speaker group had its own volume control, inexperienced staff would quickly get the balance all wrong by turning amps up and down at random. We soon twigged this so provided a source with a built in master volume so that the individual amps could be set correctly than locked away out of sight.

So, get a source with a master volume, a couple of entry level Denon or Pioneer integrated and 4 pairs of inecpensibe speakers, Q Acoustics 2010i and 2020i models have been available quite cheap of late, something like that.

 

[ID.]

Back in the day we (my retail shop) was asked on a number of occasions by our hi-fi obsessed clients to provide such systems, they deemed 'commercial ' setups to be lacking in sound quality.

We did a couple of restaurants, wine bar, a design studio and a handful of shops. We used the budget Rotel amplifier of the day, the RA820 driving 4 'original' Wharfedale Diamonds, 2 per channel with further similar amplifier and speaker sets linked via the tapeout/line in, the amps and speakers being cheap enough to use several sets thus giving a good sound distribution without undo strain. The Wharfedales were used on wall brackets and given that there were several pairs in play simultaneously, the sound was quite balanced with decent enough bass.

The downside was that each amp/speaker group had its own volume control, inexperienced staff would quickly get the balance all wrong by turning amps up and down at random. We soon twigged this so provided a source with a built in master volume so that the individual amps could be set correctly than locked away out of sight.

So, get a source with a master volume, a couple of entry level Denon or Pioneer integrated and 4 pairs of inecpensibe speakers, Q Acoustics 2010i and 2020i models have been available quite cheap of late, something like that.

as I said, you could but it's a fair bit of faffing about. I've heard some decent setups with active speakers, particularly Genelecs, but of course they're compromised by positioning and the loss of stereo effect.

 

[davedotco]

I also have experience in 'proper' commercial quality installations in my other life on the 'pro' side of the devide. There is no doubt in my mind that a commercially designed and installed system will be superior, particularly when it comes to consistency, reliability and ease of use, but this costs.

Hi-fi equipment is usually used to save money, though the excuse that it sounds better is often used. For small installations it does not much matter SQ wise and if it is what the owner wants then someone will supply it. I was often asked to 'take a look' at a setup that wasn't working properly, sometimes I did, but the moment I explained what was really needed to do a proper job and what it would cost, I rarely heard from them again.

The systems that we did do, those mentioned earlier, met with mixed success. If the operator was not the buyer/enthusiast but just 'regular' staff members, it had to be simple and pretty much foolproof, we learned that pretty quickly.

If the OP is comfortable being called out in the evenings because the 'stereo isn't working' then it is a simple enough setup, if not, best get in the professionals.