Hi guys,
I have a couple of questions regarding power:
I’m planning to install 7 in ceiling speakers in 5 zones as shown bellow. For this I’ll use the Upstream Amp V4, they’ll all be in a little room under the stairs with my NAS, receiver and stuff.
If each speaker is like this one (60W) how much power supply would I need? This power supply is 350W. How do you calculate that? is 60W from the speakers RMS?
Is it matter of doing 7x60w = 420w?
And what about the actual board? how much do they consume?
My apologies, I’m a total noob when it comes to speakers and power.
Thank you
Welcome to the Forum. There are plenty of very friendly people here to help you
It was a great idea to post diagrams. It makes things so much easier to assess.
There is unfortunately no empirical answer to your question. It is dictated by an a practical assessment and how you personally judge your situation. I will give you a completely extreme example :-
An Industrial Floor Conveyor System.
There are 200 motors on the system and if we said the motors would all run at the same time the Incoming Supply would be 250A. This Means the Cables to the Main Panel would be big, the switchgear would be big and the cost would be big. However for Functional Needs we know that only 20% of the motors could be running at the same time. So it is valid and practical to size the Incoming Supply and Switchgear to suit maximum consumption. So we end up with a 50 Amp Incoming Supply and Switchgear to suit.
It really is the same in your house. Will all the Speakers be Playing Maximum Volume at the same time ? If this is the case then I would size the Supply on the Maximum.
However there is another factor to consider. Power Rating and Actual Consumption You have recognised this in your post.
Another factor is the efficiency of your Speakers
And a “biggy” is to know whether you are using 24VDC or 12VDC Supply for your UPSTREAM V4 Amps.
And the length and size of the signal cables is also another potential factor
I’ll be happy to help with a calculation but I would need to know:-
Make and Model of Speakers
Arylic Voltage Used
make & Model of Power Supply
Approximate Assessment of Maximum Load (e.g 7 Speakers at 100% Volume or 7 Speakers at 30% Volume.
I will check out actual consumption figures as I have been meaning to do that for a while.
The biggest misunderstanding with amplifiers and speakers is wattage. Most people don’t realize that they are listening to music with just a few watts, even if it is loud.
The Arylic ceiling speakers have sensitivity of 89 db 1w/m. That means, when the speaker is consuming 1 watt of power, you are hearing 89 decibel when you are 1 meter away from the speaker. That is damn loud.
For every meter you are away from the speaker, the volume drops 3 decibel and you have to double the power to get back to 89db.
With this you can calculate how many power you need for the speakers. Than you need to double it for the amplifier (to prevent clipping, distorsion and overheating). You know then how much power your amp needs. To prevent overheating the power supply it is advised to use a more powerful power supply than you need.
So, take watts rms not to serious. It is a marketing spec and I preciate Arylic for mentioning the sensitivity of the speaker. Most companies don’t.
Hope I could help you too.
Regards
Ps. @NWT.Stuff Kevin, I just wanted to say, your input in this community is excellent and you are helping so many people.
Thank you for you kind words. I enjoy helping people and for it to be recognised is very important for me too. I find that this is a very good Forum as the people we help are appreciative and take time to say those magic words e.g. “thank you for your assistance/time etc.”
You also are clearly helping a lot of people too by sharing your knowledge and taking the extra time to make it relevant to their situation
@Alex_Leiva did you finish your set? @NWT.Stuff@j.eeken1 I’d like to join the discussion on selecting appropriate power supply.
would you recommend 12 or 24 V for a similar setup power supply? Can it be something in between like 19.5V (I have several power supply cables laying the cable box, like this one)
does the power supply element quality matters? There are cheap power cables/transformers and there are more expensive ones.
I did not find any info about the current required for the boards. Is it something the more the better? I am planning to plug 3 boards with 2 speakers each.
would you recommend hawing power supply that matches top speakers power even though speakers will be set to 10-30 % volume?
I would be very grateful if you would share your thoughts.
I have used a PC Power Supply 19.5V with the Up2Stream Amp 2 and it worked fine for me. I have used both 12CVDC an 24VDC PSU and there wasn’t any noticeable difference for me.
I haven’t however used a single power supply to power multiple units but there are plenty of examples of people making multiple Arylic Amps in a Single Box and distributing the Audio. Maybe have a look at what they are using.
I am still curious about actual Power Consumption in order to take a lean approach. I will hopefully find some time to do some physical measurements and I will report any findings/conclusions.
IMHO You make an assessment of the power you will use. If your maximum will be 30% x 3 then why size a power supply for 100% x 3 Actually I don’t have any physical evidence to support my suggestion but it just seems like common sense to me.
Hi Marius, just some comments,
1, 19.5V is OK, actually any voltage between 12~24 is OK, but the max power output would vary.
2, The quality of power supply definitely matters, but it’s hard to describe precisely. It’s depending on your reuirement. Normally the ripple, radiation, stability and max instant current affect.
3, For the power adaptor max current, you can evaluate with the max power of the system, just make sure it will supply enough power for the output.
4, For this condition, the risk is the power adapter might get into protect when instant current is too large. And as you can control the volume with app, also would get into protect when raise volume.
Thank you for the suggestions and recommendations.
What would happen if the power requirement exceeds power supply? For example if I power up 3 units with 100W 12V total and crank the volume in the app to the top (system would require 180W 24V at that moment)? Would it damage the units or speakers?
By the way, does the power connector pin has model name? I am looking for the round pin and the end of this cable. I would like to make it custom length to the power source.
When you hear music, it’s normally OK. The max power is reached in some condition, for example: 24V/4Ohm load/max volume/playing 0dB sine wave file, the output power would reach about 120W. I don’t think you’ll listen this kind of ‘music’ but still some music might reach this condition in short time, and this will challenge the adapter, normal adapter could have 2x instant current, and if this abnormal condition last for too long time, it will normally output with lower voltage or just cut the output. It won’t damage anything, but the music might stop.
Btw, for your 12V/100W power adapter, it would be safe, the theory max power is about 15Wx2 (4Ohm @ THD+N 1%)
You have recognised this in your post.
