ALLIED CABLE

Audio

Allied offers a large selection of audio systems that are designed specifically for each customer's requirements.  Healthcare applications where medical staff need to have constant communications with patients. Industrial/business applications where overhead paging is required. Broadcast music or announcements for a stadium or auditorium. Emergency audio evacuation systems for the manufacturing floor. The se are just a few of the many Audio


Solutions that Allied can design and implement.

 

PAGING

Which Speakers do I Choose?                                                                                        

Valcom offers a wide variety of speakers. Many systems                           
require more than one speaker module to accomplish                           
different tasks and perform in different areas.  To choose
the correct speaker for each area, answer the following
list of questions:

How Many Speakers Do I need?       

Use the chart below to determine the quantity of speakers you will need.  This chart has been developed specifically for Valcom speakers and meets the acoustical requirements of most applications.

Which Horns Do I Chose?
How Many Do I Need?

One Way Systems
Ambient noise level is the determining factor in your selection of Valcom one-way horns. The chart above indicates the appropriate horn. If your noise level varies substantially (such as being very loud when equipment is running, and quiet during other times) then you should choose the horn adequate for your maximum decibel levels. Install a V-9932 Noise Sensing Volume Control to lower or increase horn volume to adapt to changing noise levels.Valcom One-Way Paging Systems range in size from one or two speakers on a single zone, to a multi-zone system with hundreds of speakers and horns.  You can connect up to 150 speakers on each one-way paging zone (and more with the V-1094A Page Port Expander). Balancing the sound in different areas is easy because the volume of each speaker can be adjustable.

TALKBACK PAGING

Benefit:  Employees are able to respond immediately to a page. 
Talkback paging allows the person being paged to answer immediately by talking directly into the speaker!
This saves time and energy by not having to stop production in order to respond to each page!

Example:  Car Dealerships
Mechanics are often paged by the customer service  requesting the status of a car being serviced. With Talkback paging installed, the mechanics simply respond to a speaker in close proximity to the mechanic's bay.  This totally eliminates the need for the mechanics to stop what they are doing, get out from underneath the car and walk to the nearest phone or to the Customer Service Department to respond.  This feature, coupled with multi-zone paging, allows the receptionist to page only the required department without constantly disturbing the customers in the showroom or in the parking area.

Using Talkback Speakers

Valcom Talkback Paging Systems are designed differently than One-Way Paging Systems for two reasons:

  1. The speaker must be close enough to the paged person for his or her reply to be heard. Talkback speakers should
    not be placed near noisy machinery, air conditioners, etc..
  2. A talkback zone can acc ommodate one or two talkback speakers. Connecting more than two in one zone could make the reply from the paged person unintelligible.

What is The Maximum Reply Distance For Talkback?

NOISY
Machine Shops, Heavy
Industry. Above 80 dB
Not Recommended.

MODERATE  
Shipping & Receiving
Light Manufacturing.
65-80 dB.

QUIET
Waiting Rooms
50-65 dB

 

One-Way and Talkback speakers can be mixed on a zone, as long as you do not exceed two talkback and forty one-way speakers for each zone. The number of one-way speakers may be increased by 150 speakers per zone with the addition of each V-1094A Page Port Expander. The volume for talkback speakers is set at the control/interface.        

SOUND SYSTEMS

POWER MAD!

POWER! It seem that power is the name of the game these days, in politics, business, relationships and in Audio Systems. You go check out those ads in the newspaper for a receiver or amplifier for your audio system, the one feature that sticks out is the power. One receiver has 50 Watts-per-Channel (WPC), another one has 75, and still another has 1000! The more watts the better right? Not necessarily.Most people think that more watts means more volume. An amplifier with 100 WPC is twice as loud as a 50 WPC right? Not exactly. Let's explore some answers to the above questions.....

DECIBELS
Sound levels are measured in Decibels (db) In essence, our ears detect differences in volume level in a non-linear fashion. Our ears become less sensitive to sound as it increases. Decibels are a logarithmic scale of relative loudness. A difference of approx. 1 db is the minimum perceptible change in volume, 3 db is a moderate change in volume, and about 10 db is an approximate doubling in volume.

To give an idea of how this relates to real-world situations the following examples are listed:

                          0 dB is the threshold of hearing
                          Whisper:  15-25 dB
                          Background noise:  about 35 dB
                          Normal home or office background:  40-60 dB
                          Normal speaking voice:  65-70 dB
                          Orchestral climax:  105 dB
                          Live Rock music:  120 dB+
                          Pain Threshold:  120 dB
                          Jet aircraft:  140-180 dB

In order for one amplifier to reproduce sound twice as loud as another in decibels you need 10 times more wattage output. An amplifier rated at 100 WPC is capable of twice the volume level of a 10 WPC amp, an amplifier rated at 100 watts per channel needs to be 1,000 watts per channel to be twice as loud. In other words, the relationship between volume and wattage output is logarithmic rather than linear.

DISTORTION
In addition, the quality of the amplifier is as (or more) important than just the wattage output. An amplifier that exhibits excessive noise or distortion at loud volume levels can be unlistenable. You are better off with an amplifier of about 50 WPC with a much more powerful amplifier with high distortion levels.For Example, an amplifier that has a distortion rating of 10% at full power output is unlistenable (perhaps even at lower output levels as well), however, an amplifier that outputs a .01% distortion level at full power output level would be imperceptible at all listening levels. Distortion specifications are expressed by the term THD (Total Harmonic Distortion).

SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO (S/N)
Also, another factor in amplifier quality is Signal-To-Noise Ratio (S/N), which is the ratio of sound to background noise. The larger the ratio the more the desirable sounds (music, voice, effects) are separated from acoustical effects and background noise. In amplifier specifications S/N ratios are expressed in decibels. A S/N ratio of 70 dB is much more desirable than a S/N ratio of 50 dB.

CONTINUOUS POWER
An additional factor is this equation is the ability of a receiver or amplifier to output its full power continuously. In other words, just  because your receiver/amplifier may be listed as being able to output 100 WPC, doesn't mean it can do so for any significant length of time. Always make sure that, when you check for Specifications, that the WPC output is measured in RMS terms. This means that the listed power output is sustained output at a specific volume level.

DYNAMIC HEADROOM
Last (for the purposes of this discussion), but not least (by any means), is the ability of your receiver/amplifier to output power at a significantly higher level for short periods to accommodate musical peaks or extreme sound effects in films.  This specification is very important in audio applications, where extreme changes in volume and loudness occur.  This specification is expressed as Dynamic HeadroomOnce again, Dynamic Headroom is measured in Decibels. If a receiver/amplifier has the ability to double its power output for a brief period to accommodate the conditions described above, it would have a Dynamic Headroom of 3 dB.

CONCLUSION
This has been a very brief overview of some of the factors to take into consideration when buying a Receiver/Amplifier. Don't base your buying decisions from a single specification, such as a Watts-Per- Channel rating. A single spec, taken out of context with other factors, does not give you an accurate picture of the receiver/amplifier true capabilities. There are many other factors to take into consideration. For more details on how ALLIED can secure your Sound System needs please call or email us for a free, no obligation quotation.

SOUND MASKING

WHAT IS WHITE NOISE?  
Sound  masking is based on the phenomenon that when background "White Noise" is added to an environment, intruding speech and noises are less distracting. White Noise is a type of noise that is produced by combining sounds of all the different frequencies together. If you took all the imaginable tones that a human ear can hear and combined them together, you would have white noise.
Because white noise contains all frequencies, it is frequently used to mask other sounds. If you are in a room, and voices from the room or cubicle next door are leaking into your room, you could turn on a fan to drown out the voices. The fan produces a good approximation of white noise.

HOW DOES IT WORK?
The system is effective in drowning out annoying voices and sounds, by adding a non-structured noise in the area with you, to mask over other sounds. While the system covers over much, or all of the unwanted sounds, the White Noise it generates soon blends into the background, because your brain doesn't focus on it.For example, when the air conditioner in an office or house comes on, you will notice the sound of the air rushing through the vents. But, in seconds, your brain will tune it out, as if it weren't even there. Why? Because, White Noise has no structure, and your brain doesn't focus on non-structured noises. The system sounds like a gentle whoosh of a high quality HVAC system.

Please call ALLIED today fro a free quote on a system.

INTERCOM

Common Applications For School Intercoms

Common Applications for Factory & Office Intercoms

PLEASE CALL FOR A FREE, NO-OBLIGATION QUOTE ON AN INTERCOM SYSTEM.

ALLIED CABLE

 

Phone:(440)582-0111
Fax:(330)598-1114
Corporate Headquarters
800 W. Liberty
Medina, Ohio 44256

sales@alliedcable.com