The home bar sound system

I have read in many posts about home bars the mention of installing a sound system. I was wondering if we could start a thread here with tips or " how to's " or suggestions on doing a sound system. Many home bars have recessed or hidden speakers, wireless and outdoor speakers and other elaborate equipment. Many home bars like mine use the boom box method, not the best but gets the job done. Since the right music can set the mood maybe some ideas of setting up and installing the right equipment can help take that mood to the next level. So any suggestions on types of speakers, wiring, speaker placement and such would be great. I thought this thread should go here as it pertains to getting the bar setup first so you can enjoy the music after. Thanks.

I made a sound system (and CD)that has exotic birds, music and thunder weaving in and out.
I bought a Halloween lightning strobe that is connected to the speakers, that goes on when it is sound activated.
The volume of the thunder on the CD is louder than the other effects, so it only triggers the strobe at that time and with a water pump for simulating rain.
I had to have that effect after my first Tonga Room experience.

i use my mac airport.....place speaker units around the room and pipe in music from my computer located in another room of the house....just mix up a bunch of compilations and let er' rip.....it's all wireless and hassle free.......and the speakers are small enough to hide behind foliage and decor....

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2010-03-13 15:56 ]

IMHO vintage gear is the way to go. Most of it features dark walnut which fits in well with the Tiki milieu. 1960s KLH and Acoustic Research gear is very Mid Century looking. 1970s gear, particularly Marantz, had the colored lights which add to the ambience. Pioneer made a series of excellent speakers with walnut veneer and a lattice pattern.

50s tube gear would take it a step further.

Depending on your dedication to period authenticity, CD players may pose a problem. Kyocera made some highly regarded models that featured walnut and had a quasi-Asian look to them. Presently, Tivoli makes some players with wood cabinets.

And the non-luddites can rest easily knowing that you can plug your iPods into any of this stuff.

I spent a lot of time researching home theater systems with good music playing quality. I finally decide on a Panasonic 5 disk changer. I have the evil TV in the bar, so, it makes life easier.

5 speakers is great. Real surround sound so that I can turn it on low and everyone hear it well. I burned 5 CDs of music I play on random.

For the install, I mounted the speakers up high in the black area of my ceiling to hide them and then used split 1/2" bamboo to conceal the white wires. I mounted a shelf to the underside of the bar to put the unit on so it is out of the way and at my fingertips. It also has an iPod dock so we can change gears and listen to some Ludacris when the mood hits. Put the subwoofer under the couch. The ladies like that rumble seat....

It is all pretty well hidden, which is the ideal. And the small speaker really make the whole room full of music.

This is with a flash. You really cannot see these speakers at normal light levels. I also painted the wire you can see black.

You can just see the shelf with the unit in the upper right.

Swanky, that is a great setup you have there. Thanks everyone for the input.
I may go the vintage route but am not sure yet. This is my Panasonic console in all of it's vintage glory. I have it in the living room now but am not sure if I could make it fit in in the bar. Looks, works and sounds perfect.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2010-03-13 17:33 ]

Nice console Uncle Trav! I forgot to mention those in my post. I think that would be perfect for a Tiki Bar.

On 2010-03-13 17:32, uncle trav wrote:

Your mid-century stereo cabinet is WAY COOL! Unfortunately my Tiki room still uses the boom box method! Thortiki

On 2010-03-13 15:54, Tipsy McStagger wrote:
i use my mac airport.....place speaker units around the room and pipe in music from my computer located in another room of the house....just mix up a bunch of compilations and let er' rip.....it's all wireless and hassle free.......and the speakers are small enough to hide behind foliage and decor....

Ditto. Exactly my setup. The speakers are discreetly mounted on the ceiling and painted to match the ceiling. Music is controlled by me behind the bar with itunes remote app on my iphone. I do spend a lot of time compiling play lists to match various moods. That helps when you have people over and you're trying to gauge their mood and musical tastes and put on music to match. As much as I love looking at vintage hi-fi setups, I just couldn't deal with flipping records when I've got thirsty guests.

On 2010-03-13 13:13, Unga Bunga wrote:
I made a sound system (and CD)that has exotic birds, music and thunder weaving in and out.
I bought a Halloween lightning strobe that is connected to the speakers, that goes on when it is sound activated.
The volume of the thunder on the CD is louder than the other effects, so it only triggers the strobe at that time and with a water pump for simulating rain.

Unga, are you serious? That's great!

Interesting topic since Im mid stream on this for my new room.

I purchased two in wall speakers for one of my walls and two corner mount speakers for the side where Ive got a bunch of windows. (I will post pics soon).

The whole room was gutted during remodeling so I was able to run Cat5 Network Cable, Coax (for the satellite), and phone line for the simple fact that the walls were open and it was easy.

All the speaker wire is inside the walls and starts in the same corner where the bar will eventually be.

Im using an Apple TV to control the the whole thing. That way I can use it as a music relay (if my main computer is on) or it can play music on its own (like an Ipod) OR I can store digitized movies on it like Old Elvis flicks and such.

Ive got an old Denon receiver that will supply power to the whole setup. Im probably going to get a self powered sub so that I can round out the highs with some warm lows.

Unfortunately with all this planning you never know what its going to sound like until you actually turn it on for the first time.

On 2010-03-15 15:58, Monkeyman wrote:
Unfortunately with all this planning you never know what its going to sound like until you actually turn it on for the first time.

True, but the fidelity on all those old exotica and hapa haole records is fairly low, so I don't think it matters too terribly much except with newer recordings. But with the volume low, fidelity is lost anyway. My biggest issue has been keeping the volume of each track relatively consistent so that one song isn't soft and the next one jumps out at you. Itunes is good for that with its ability to set individual track levels and save them. And, for me anyway, getting the volume just right is so important. I want it low enough that people can talk without having to shout, but high enough that they can actually listen to the music if they want to.

I agree with you Gatorob regarding lower volume for conversing but my home tiki environment will be a room for many purposes and I might want to rock out every once in a while....

to be ready for all purposes.

I used Nero to burn all my CDs and there is an option to level out the whole thing. Not sure I trust that to make it sound great, but, it works. My home theater also has a really big volume knob on it that is right at my right hand. I didn't think of it when I bought it, but it has been VERY helpful. I don't have to look to manage the volume. The down side to a changer is the lull between songs. If it only played data DVDs of music, it would make things easier... But it does have an iPod dock which has been good.

Also when my back speakers wires were not long enough, I ended up having to splice in more wire. Since the wire is hard connected at the speaker and has this special Panasonic plug, that's the only choice. then the wires are impossible to tell one from the other and I worried about flipping then and the sound. I either got them right or it didn't matter. Have done 4 now and all sound fine.

[ Edited by: Swanky 2010-03-16 11:40 ]

I like all the Vintage players you guys have, but I just use my iPod and mini speaker dock, sits behind a couple of tikis.

I have a Logitech Squeezebox. It's a wireless media player that essentially streams everything accessible from my computer. It accesses all the music residing locally on the computer via the iTunes database, which includes playlists. I can also access Rhapsody, Pandora, Slacker and any internet radio station. All in a box about 6" x 4". Very sweet.

I tried to get the latest edition of the Squeezebox for the upstairs, but Logitech seems to be having supply issues with all of their media streaming products. Aaargh!

I also have my computer directly connected to my amplifier and speaker system. As I have a 2500 sq ft room it is necessary to have good sound. I have 4 large speakers in each corner of the room. I have created playlists on my computer and play music according to the event/guests in my art studio/lounge.

I have over 4,000 tracks loaded onto my computer and still get tired of the 'sameold stuff' Ha! My solution to that is Live365.com - love it! Live streaming music by type of music. I of course frequently have "Javas Bachelor Pad" playing but also enjoy "The Green Lounge" and "Vegas Vics Tiki Lounge" or "Vegas Vics Rat Pack" another great station I found there is "Sunset Boulevard Mellow"

I have been a member of Live365 for over 10 years and love the uninterrupted, ad free streaming music. I know , I sound like an ad, but I really do enjoy the setup.

The computer to amp system allows me to really "crank up" the music, when I have a large group and in the late night hours, when they're in that dancing mood!

I have a Seeburg SS 160 jukebox in my home tiki bar. I recently came across this web site:

http://www.johnjeanantiqueradio.com/juke.htm

If you scroll down to the SS160, you'll see the owner of this one installed an AM transmitter on his jukebox. Since I have the same model, I'm inspired to do the same. That way the music on the jukebox is playing on the stereo throughout the house. One of my summer projects, hopefully.

anybody have some ideas for a outside hut? The ipod dock sound just dosn't cut it outside well. I did find a old drive-in speaker that I think I'll gut and re-do for that theme park look, but it's the system that has me stumped. Outside stuff is damm exspensive :)

I bought a pair of these on ebay for $70.00 and they look and sound great. (Indoor/Outdoor)

http://tikitoonz.com/

Here are a couple auctions (not mine):

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Pair-160W-Indoor-Outdoor-Tiki-Bar-Party-Speakers-NR-/120578452154?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c13092aba
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-320W-Pair-Weather-Resistant-Outdoor-Home-Speakers-/120577541975?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Speakers_Subwoofers&hash=item1c12fb4757

[ Edited by: Mr. Pupu Pants 2010-06-06 17:55 ]

But you get what you pay for. I shelled out some pretty good money when I bought all-weather speakers for my tiki deck, but after 3 Florida summers and a half-dozen hurricanes, they still are going strong and sound great.

True dat, Bop :)
The ones I bought are still going strong but I would recommend that, unless your speakers are under cover, it's best to bring them indoors during the winter months anyway.
What kind did you get Bop? They sound indestructable :)

[ Edited by: Mr. Pupu Pants 2010-06-07 12:06 ]

I replaced some old patio speakers around 5 years ago with some bose all weather speakers, and they sound great. Worth the extra cash and will play loud or low...

Took a couple of big ol' speakers I've had since 7th grade (graduated HS in 1986) and built little huts over the tops of them. I wrapped the speakers in that black weed prevent material. I got a big spool of cheap wire and just ran it. The wire should be in pipe or heavy duty but it lasted 5 years before I accidentally broke one wire and had to replace a section of it. These are speakers for a loop of jungle noises. The bar stereo system is newer and nicer but still not as fancy as most stuff I've seen mentioned here. I will probably tear it out eventually and get something smaller one day.

Here's my sound system...reproduction, but reminds me of a HiFi my Dad gave me when I was a kid. It is a Crosley and they have good sound. Lift the lid for turn-table and CD does have repeat option, which is very handy when you are a little sloshed and forget to change the CD.

PuPu Pants: I've got a pair of Onkyo speakers. They were recommended to me by someone else who has an outdoor system for his pool. Looks like they've gotten out of the outdoor speaker business, though.

Make sure that you run the highest quality speaker wire out there (thick gauge and good insulation) and some waterproofing around where the wires attach to the speakers. I shrink-wrapped the wire/terminal connection and covered the whole area with duct tape (they are wall-mounted, so it doesn't show). Ask somebody with salt-water boat experience -- the harshest environment imaginable for electronics.

At the moment this is my sound system - soon to be added to with a Valve Ipod dock...

I got this behemoth from 1964 living in the basement lounge. Not conducive to the escapist vibe at all. I thought at one time of having transparencies made for it to make it fit in but now I think it's time for it to go. Almost looks like a control station in the engine room of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Hi guys, first post, although I read the forum often. Here is my stereo set up:

Great first post Rudy...welcome to TC!!!

Nice velvet Elvis. I'm a believer in at least one Elvis item should exist in every home tiki bar. Nice sound system too.

On 2010-06-09 16:03, uncle trav wrote:
I got this behemoth from 1964 living in the basement lounge. Not conducive to the escapist vibe at all. I thought at one time of having transparencies made for it to make it fit in but now I think it's time for it to go. Almost looks like a control station in the engine room of the U.S.S. Enterprise.

I LOVE THIS!!!!! It's like something out of a disco version of Tron.

I just use an old stripped down gateway pc hooked up to a 5.1 system with small speakers. I run all my music off a 500g portable hard drive so I can easily add to my music selections. The pc is very small so that when the bar is finished I can install it and the 5.1 receiver into the bar and hang the lcd monitor on the wall as a picture frame with constantly rotating images.Add a cordless mouse to control the music and a remote to control the volume and taa-daa: low maintenance jukebox(that you can play Pac-Man and Burgertime on).

bump

Any updates on systems that were being planned/installed at the time this thread was born?

Or any other tips?

I'm planning the sound for the bar, patio and pool area now. I've got vintage gear, record players and big old timber speakers but also use mac airport and apple remote etc. I'll be looking for a system that has individual vol controls for each area (bar, patio, pool)and a 2 or 3 way source mixer to seamlessly go from record to iPod etc. would also love to have a jungle/exotica/ thunder soundtrack constantly going. And that strobe effect sounds awesome too.

Oops double post

[ Edited by: harro 2012-06-01 14:46 ]

Here's what I did to my speakers.

Harro,

I want what you want but have no idea how to get it! I'm starting from scratch, with only a pair of indoor/outdoor tiki speakers I bought off of eBay. I have a pool area, will have a bar area and I also have a hut. So I can put a receiver in either the hut or the bar and want speakers in all 3 areas. I'm thinking of getting some of those rock speakers for around the pool. And there's also the deck!

So I'm hoping we'll both get some helpful information!

One tip for you maybe:

We connected our outdoor system to the computer so that it plays Pandora or whatever. But, we have iPhones and there is an app you'll find just searching for "Remote" that uses your Wi-Fi to control your iTunes. Doing this allows you to use your phone to change volume, playlists, songs and even access online radio through iTunes. Really a super easy cheap way to get the stereo remote control!

I'm a big fan of the Logitech series of wifi music players. I have two older versions of the Squeezebox Touch installed in my house. Basically, if you can get to it on your computer, either locally or through a streaming service, you can play it through the Squeezebox. They manage your local music library via iTunes and they have great support with pretty much every streaming service and even local radio stations. They communicate to your computer via wifi, so no wires. I have one downstairs on the other side of the house and I have no problem streaming to it at all.

The Squeezebox Radios have built in speakers, but the Touch, and if you want to go big, the Transporter, connect in through your amp. They have really good remotes, but like Swanky mentioned above, there are apps from Logitech and from independent developers that allow you to control them via phone. I've had no problem controlling either unit from my phone from anywhere in the house. Logitech also makes some good remotes, which also happen to work really well with the wifi players.

Like any good engineering project, really think about how you're going to use the system before designing it. Don't skimp on the outdoor speakers (or heavy duty speaker cable). I bought some really nice outdoor speakers from Polk and they've been great through many tropical storms. For the deck, I have an amp indoors with a separate volume for A & B speakers. The B speakers go out to my deck. I also went really big with the power for the amp because you always find yourself running more cable than you first expect (and it's more power).

I've got my system set up to play from my computer to three separate areas in the Womb using an Airport Base station and several Airport Express stations.
I can sink it all up to play the same music or I can have different tunes playing in each area.
This works great until I have a party. As some of you can attest the parties at the Womb can get rather large and with upwards of 70 people the mass of humanity and smart phones kills the reception for the Airport Express stations.
Short of finding a wireless system that is strong enough to overcome this I may have to go back to a hard wire to have music at the parties.
My wife suggested smaller parties but that is not an option :D

Definitely don't go with the smaller party option!!!

My wife tried playing around with AirPort when she moved into her office downstairs and we just couldn't get it to work reliably. And I know that theoretically it shouldn't have anything to do with with, but I think that the fact that the Airport Express units plug directly into a wall socket (which is usually low and behind furniture or something) is one of the reasons for the poor connections. I'm also not a huge fan of having to connect to the stereo via the Apple mini cable. And as usual, the Apple support for products outside of the Apple universe is pretty abysmal.

But on the other hand, I have heard from people at work who only use it to stream data that the latest generation of products is much more reliable.

I chime in as someone who is a complete and unrepentant recusant on Apple anything.

At the moment -- as those of you who have suffered through the tales of my lethargic build in the "Starting!" thread may recall -- my Tiki bar is at the far end of my living room, so a sound system must pull double duty until I have a separate environment.

This is also complicated by my being both a cheapskate AND audiophile.

Given that a lot of the time, the music I have going features birds, jungle sounds, ocean surf, etc., and also given that I'm after an IMMERSIVE effect, surround-sound is the only option I considered.

Here's my surround-sound rig, scored in bits-and-pieces, off eBay for essentially nothing.

Carver M1.0t stereo amps (3) (For purely "tiki bar" sounds this is MASSIVE overkill, granted)
NHT SuperZero speakers and SW2 subwoofer, all in a stainable oak veneers (For home theater purposes, replace the three "fronts" with NHT 1.1s) which is KEY in an aesthetic sense, as you can make the speakers match whatever you want.
Denon ADP-2000 decoder

I rip all the various CDs to MP3 and then use the laptop to play for social situations.

Oh, and I am a HUGE fan of "speaker tape" which is a speaker wire that rather than being cylindrical as most wires, is wide and flat, so that it can fit behind wallpaper without bulging or can be painted, etc.

I am REALLY not a fan of in-wall speakers, and the NHTs are small, "camouflageable" and sound spectacular and with, say, OmniMounts go up and out of the way and can be angled for optimal sound dispersion.

HTH.

On 2010-06-07 20:50, VampiressRN wrote:
Here's my sound system...reproduction, but reminds me of a HiFi my Dad gave me when I was a kid. It is a Crosley and they have good sound. Lift the lid for turn-table and CD does have repeat option, which is very handy when you are a little sloshed and forget to change the CD.

I have this one as well! I love it. The sound is not great, but it looks good :)

jokeii - that sounds pretty impressive. 3 amps! Why exactly? Any pics of your setup?

If I want to have separate volume controlled zones I presume I need a speaker mixer unit (after the amp). As well as a source mixer before the amp if I want a constant jungle / ocean noises running at same time as music.

I don't need to decide on the exact system now but I do on the outdoor speaker locations as I need to run the cables before pouring the new patio slabs...

And anyone have any links or info on that sound activated strobe?

Harro, you have many options when it comes to powering different zones. They have amps that will control a dozen or more zones! Many will also take multiple inputs, although I'm pretty sure you won't find (a cheap) one that will mix your inputs for you. Will probably have to go with a separate unit for that.

The sound-activated strobe can be found at your local DJ/musicians supply store. They are pretty common online as well.

Sounds like you are really thinking things through. That will avoid a lot of headaches in the future!

On 2012-06-03 11:59, harro wrote:
jokeii - that sounds pretty impressive. 3 amps! Why exactly? Any pics of your setup?[snip]

Because it's a 5.1 speaker setup and the amps are 2 channel amps each. One amp powers the two front speakers, another the rears, and the last one the center speaker and the subwoofer. Again, this is MASSIVE overkill for a Tiki environment, but for now this area is also (at the other end, natch) where the family gathers for that home theatre experience, so...

I eventually will probably go with a pretty nice receiver (I'm thinking Denon) and this speaker system (the stainable veneer on the speakers is SUCH a great idea) for the eventual Tiki space. While a lot of people enjoy multi-zone setups, I like the simplicity of one system per area. (I can also pick up excellent performance gear on eBay for close to nothing.)

One question that everyone contemplating this issue should ask himself (or herself, I'm not choosy) is "How much fidelity do I want out of this?"

For MY case, I want the birds or waterfalls or ocean waves to sound as realistic as my budget will allow, and I want the instrumental sounds to envelop the listener.

But that's just me. YMMV.

Can anyone recommend a website where I can learn more about equipment in general? I'd like to set up a stereo system with different zones for volume and maybe MAYBE do something with 2 types of sounds like described above but I don't know what any of the equipment mentioned like an amp vs. a receiver, etc actually does or what I'll need.

Thanks in advance!

On 2012-06-04 19:26, LoriLovesTiki wrote:
Can anyone recommend a website where I can learn more about equipment in general? I'd like to set up a stereo system with different zones for volume and maybe MAYBE do something with 2 types of sounds like described above but I don't know what any of the equipment mentioned like an amp vs. a receiver, etc actually does or what I'll need.

Thanks in advance!

Hi Lori,

An amp is an amplifier, which just makes a signal (your music) louder. They come with single to multiple channels. Stereo is 2 channels, one for each side. Surround sound is minimally 4 channels: front left, front right, rear left, rear right. A subwoofer is generally not referred to as a channel because they usually have their own amplifier and only amplify the low frequency bass sounds... sound you can feel :)

An amplifier can optionally have a pre-amplifier which boosts the signal from devices like vinyl turntables, but can also be used on other sources. Pre-amps usually have bass, mid-tone and treble control so you can adjust the tone of the signal to your personal liking.

Some pre-amps also contain mixers, but mixers can also be found by themselves. Mixers allow multiple sources to be mixed into a single signal, to be amplified all at once. This is one way to do the constant ambient noises.

Some amplifiers, as said by someone earlier, can have multiple zones. This is where you can sent the sound to multiple sets of speakers, usually with their own volume controls. Really, this is just more channels, so you can do this with either a multi-zone amp, or multiple individual amps.

Some amps do their own virtual surround from a stereo source by doing some funky phase shifting and stuff on the audio waves (delaying, inverting, etc) to make it sound like it is surround sound, when the source is not. Dolby Surround is, I believe, one such method. DTS 5.1 (and higher) and Dolby Digital 5.1 are not. These are digital streams that contain multiple channels. These streams require a decoder to decode them. Most Receivers these days contain the digital decoders. A Receiver is historically just a radio receiver, but has become a multi-use device, containing digital decoders, mixers, pre-amps, multiple zones, amplifiers, video switches, HDMI (a digital Audio-Visual (AV) system), splitters, ipod docks etc. The features are largely determined by the price range you're looking at.

I hope that goes some way to helping you understand the parts. I will see if I can find a website that explains it in a clear and concise manner for you.

Hey KK65...good to know I'm not the only one out there with that baby. I have a 14 foot ceiling in the lounge and my Crosley is facing into the lounge so that the sound can bounce off the 3 walls in there. It backs up to a short 1/4 wall so it doesn't fill my home with sound, but does a nice job of providing a decent play for the lounge area. I think it is important to use your acoustic surroundings to enhance whatever stereo equipment you have. I also bought it for the looks as it has such a lovely retro feel.

The rest of my home has 12 foot ceilings and is very well insulated, so there are great possibilities if I ever get motivated. Sadly I do not even have a sound system for my TV, just the standard speakers (it's a chick pad...what do you expect...LOL).

I have to say the most wonderful sound I ever had in my home occurred a couple of years ago when I hosted for the Sacramento Crawl and had the Martini Kings play in my dining room. You can't get any better sound than that!!!