[Christof]

It's time to think about music for the gallery I'm opening.  After all the expenses involved in rehabbing this space I'm down to a minuscule budget of around $500-$700.  I will be using the business computer (Mac) as source.  I also have a spare Odyssey Dual mono amplifier.  So I basically need....well....speakers.  Speakers cannot be in-wall but they can be mounted (hung) from the ceiling which is 12' high or set on the floor in the corners.  I'm not looking for 2-ch bliss.  They should be small and fill the space with quality sound at low to medium volume levels.  I will add a GR Servo sub in the future so forget bass for now.  The space is big and bright.  Treatments are out of question.  Ceiling height as I mentioned before is 12' high.  I am only looking to fill the large room in the picture below.  The other room is off limits to public and will have it's own private system

Any ideas?

Oh...forgot to mention I am wide open to DIY projects.

Thanks!

[jackman]

I don't know how they sound, but since you are on a budget, why not get a bunch of those tactile transducers or exciters from Partsexpress and mount them on a flat board.  I've got a couple laying around and have always wanted to try them out.  There is a big thread on this site where some English guy is raving about them.  If you are an artist, maybe you can paint something on the board and make it look artistic.  PE has lots of new ones and some of the better ones look like they would have relatively high output.  I don't know what you can mount these on but maybe you can get creative and mount them on flat sufraces aound the room. 

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=634&CFID=22922790&CFTOKEN=57524612

Also, you are a DIY guy, maybe you could DIY some Dueval Planets-style speakers.  I always thought they looked cool but even used, they are out of your budget.  http://www.urbanfidelity.com/plasticspeakers.php

[nodiak]

upfiring speakers in the corners can do a great job of evenly filling a room with music without being in anyones face. GR Research has some , but I've used several types including single drivers. Im sure you'd make some nice cabs to fit the room.
Don

[Duke]

Interesting challenge.

If I understand correctly, you need to fill a large, highly reverberant space with good sound at modest volume levels.  That implies speakers with a smooth power response, as the reverberant field will dominate the perceived tonal balance.

Hmmm.  Okay I'm going to stop short of making a recommendation because this is not a speaker that I've actually heard, but I think it's conceptually aligned with your requirements, and falls within your price range:  The Mirage Omnisat.  My main reservation has to do with the size of your room and how much volume you want; the little Omnisat may not be enough.

Duke

[steve k]

I don't know how they sound, but since you are on a budget, why not get a bunch of those tactile transducers or exciters from Partsexpress and mount them on a flat board.

I think Jackman has a great idea. You could hang panels throughout the space with sound exciters attached. Here's an example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyJxxvIBCIw&NR=1

steve

[Zero]

I've seen NHT SB2's and SB3's used to great effect in art galleries with a similar floor layout.

Another thought would be the Polk Audio TSI-100's.  Yes, Polks.. and yes, they can be had at Best Buy.  They would be a wonderful cost-effective solution that is easy to work with, has reasonable power handling capacity, and sports a very smooth sound that lets da' music flow. Look at Polk Audio's ebay-direct store for the best pricing.

[Mariusz]

I would approach furnishing your gallery with sound in two ways and decide which solution is more appealing to you or your quests.

1) speakers which will be visible but would be made (DIY or ordered) to integrate with the decor as well as being interesting enough to become a conversation piece and part of the gallery.
2) invisible speakers which will disappear and wouldn't call attention to themselves.

Here are some examples of what I have in mind:

1) something like Cornu speakers (LINK TO PICS AND REVIEW). However I would made the front baffle and the back of the speaker out of Plaxiglass to reveal the inner "spiro" construction.   

2) speakers like Gallo Acoustics -  I saw one seller on Audiogon trying to unload 7 of those for under $700. Those would fill the room just fine and stay out of side in the same time. (no affiliation with the seller - just noticed a good deal and passing it on) LINK TO GALLO ACOUSTICS WEBSITE

Best
Mariusz

[Christof]

Wow you guys have given me plenty to think about.

One idea I had was to build 4 single driver speakers, probably an attractive tqwt type enclosure and place one in each corner.  If I were to do this, how do I run the left and right channels?  There is no real front or back to the gallery, art will be on all the walls with sculpture in the middle. Because of this people will be facing all directions making it virtually impossible to create a stereo situation?

Speaker idea. http://diyaudioprojects.com/Speakers/Tobler-ONE/ 

[Mariusz]

Oh yeah, Jordans are great and will work in smaller boxes. Those corner plans look like the answer to your "Q" but be open minded to other ideas as well.
If background music playing at low levels is what you want, quality drivers like Jordans might be ....... well, a bit of an overkill in my opinion.

As to setup - I would place the left and right speaker on the short wall and do the same on the  opposite  wall across the room.

P.S
You know we want to see some pictures when it is done .......right?

Best
Mariusz

[Duke]

One idea I had was to build 4 single driver speakers, probably an attractive tqwt type enclosure and place one in each corner.  If I were to do this, how do I run the left and right channels? 

In this situation, have the left channel going on one diagonal and the right channel on the other.  This way from anywhere in the room the two nearest speakers will be one of each channel. 

[MaxCast]

You could get two pairs of GR Neo2's and you build a nice cabinet to show your handy work.
You can even try these in your studio if you sign up for the tour.

[Christof]

You could get two pairs of GR Neo2's and you build a nice cabinet to show your handy work.
You can even try these in your studio if you sign up for the tour.

Tempting   The trouble I have is WAF and BPAF (business partners) and SACAF (snobby art collector), they are not going to be into a bunch of traditional looking audio speakers sitting in the gallery...even if I do the cabinets...the speakers must be out of sight or of a certain kick-ass architecture and look like sculptures that do not resemble speakers.

So here's the deal...I built a pair of Cain & Cain Abby clones about 3-4 years ago and they have been bouncing around on loan to different friends for the past couple years.  You guys probably know what Abby's look like...tall, skinny, single driver, kinda minimalist with exception of the big knob around the driver.  I know this is going to sound weird but women seem to really dig these speakers.  I swear to God I have had dinner parties at my place and women who know nothing about audio comment about the Abby clones.  Mine do not have the widened baffle.  I 'm not sure why but even my girlfriend asks me from time to time where those speakers are and says if we split she gets the "tall speakers"   Don't ask me...there must be some sort of weird sexual appeal to them.  This leads me to think a very similar architecture would do well in the gallery...tall, skinny, single driver, sexy, etc...  Doing some research has led me to a speaker enclosure design called "Metronome".  Not sure of the sex appeal but it fits the rest of the requisites   

Here tis   http://www.frugal-horn.com/metronome.html

How about 4 of these using the larger 167E or 207E drivers with a subwoofer built into a bench or reception desk?  Cheaper than Jordans by quite a bit.  See any issues with these?

[roscoeiii]

For the WAF and non-distracting factor, I'd suggest looking at Orb Audio Speakers. Very unobtrusive and could be mounted above visitors' line of sight and aimed down into the space. They sell brackets to do that. And they have integrated nicely with all of the subs I have paired them with.

They also come in a number of attractive finishes (brushed copper, etc) which might be appreciated by the art crowd.

I've got a used black pair that I never got around to selling. PM me if you are interested. But even new, a pair would easily fit your budget. And they get some nice style points. There are a number of nice reviews of them, though those largely focus on them in a home theater system (you did mention thoughts of 4 speakers in the gallery, which would place 4 new ones a little bit out of your price range, but not 4 used ones).

[Mike Nomad]

I don't know how they sound, but since you are on a budget, why not get a bunch of those tactile transducers or exciters from Partsexpress and mount them on a flat board.  I've got a couple laying around and have always wanted to try them out.  There is a big thread on this site where some English guy is raving about them.  If you are an artist, maybe you can paint something on the board and make it look artistic.  PE has lots of new ones and some of the better ones look like they would have relatively high output.  I don't know what you can mount these on but maybe you can get creative and mount them on flat sufraces aound the room. 

http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=634&CFID=22922790&CFTOKEN=57524612

Also, you are a DIY guy, maybe you could DIY some Dueval Planets-style speakers.  I always thought they looked cool but even used, they are out of your budget.  http://www.urbanfidelity.com/plasticspeakers.php

+1 on the transducer idea. There used to be something made by Olympia called a "soundbug." Attached via suction cup. I tried them out on mirrors & plex. Fantastic for background audio. For the room diagram you provided, I would try out (2) 2 X 2 foot squares, one in the top left corner, the other in the bottom right. Hang them a few feet off the ceiling, aimed at the middle of the room w/ a 30 degree (or so) down angle.

[TRADERXFAN]

Get the x omni's ... or build them from Av-0 kit.

They are perfect for a "cocktail party" speaker where you would like an ambient sound.  When I heard them, I didn't like them too much for a stereo speaker, but thought they are perfect if I have a party and wanted background music.  Output would probably be a bit limited.

-Tony

[jkelly]

Are you using track lighting?

Can you mount little satellite speakers on the tracks for wide coverage
and add a sub or two for bass?

Jeff

[drphoto]

I'd keep my eye out for used norh speakers, from the tiny 4.0 up to the 7.0 or 9.0. They'd fit right into the decor of an art gallery, being so interesting looking themselves. And they sound darn good too.

[michaelp]

I've only read about these hidden systems from Parts Express, but have been curious about them.  Your gallery could be the perfect implementation of a couple sets of them:  http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-482 .

[timind]

A while ago I was in an upscale Scandanavian furniture store and noticed much better than listenable sound. They were using Magnepan MMGs. No concern for proper set up but they filled the space nicely.

[nodiak]

The AV-0's TRADERXFAN mentions are the GRR ones i was thinking of. Could build with veneered sonotube, maybe angled top/driver mount, should be phallic enough  . Driver just over head height (~6'). I built a few of these type in the 80's, once used rocks glued to the sonotube and painted with colorful oils.
Could also blend into corners with a piece of drywall (or whatever material they're made out of) as the cabinet sides placed 45 degree angle...