Six tips for choosing a classroom active speaker system:



Basic design


Active speakers designed with a built-in amplifier reduce the amount of cabling and the costs of equipment as well as being quicker and easier to install


Steel grille


Steel grilles, rather than more common fabric grilles, stop pupils from damaging the speaker cones with fingers, pencils or missiles so extending the life of the system


Adequate sound level for a classroom (>75dB )


The sound level should be at least 15 dB above normal classroom noise of around 60 dB at 6 metres ie the back of the class, so less than 30 watts is unlikely to be loud enough and if much more than 30 watts the cost of the system is likely to be too expensive (so aim for 15 Watts RMS per channel)



Easy to control


It may seem obvious but many speakers have controls at the back (or front) that teachers can't reach without climbing up a chair ! A volume control and on/off switch at a sensible height is needed



Inputs for PC and DVD or other audio source



Shelf speakers and simple systems may only have one input - so you would have to re-connect every time you want to change the sound source. Two inputs are best for the classroom so that equipment is permanently connected.


Audible sound for voice


A wood speaker case and a flat frequency response is better than a sub-woofer amplifier system that accentuates the low frequency sounds, which is good for music but not so good for voice, especially for younger pupils who need to hear the teacher's voice clearly as their interpretation of speech is not as good as adults.

 

For further information about the Edis range of speakers contact Manzana