Elk M1G speaker output/volume distortion

[BulletHead]

On my Elk M1G speaker when I set "G14-G18" global settings, the only setting where the voice and alarm are not distorted is setting "2", anything higher the output is extremely distorted.

I have the standard speaker that comes with SYS4S. Is it just a bad speaker? Or is it not supposed to be set higher than "2" for the speaker?

 

[Del91574]

Which speaker is it? How are you defining distorted? Is the field wiring far enough away so the cone is not hitting it?

I'll point out the obvious, the alarm system speakers are not high-fidelity, high wattage units to expect dolby stereo results from.

 

[BulletHead]

distortion = cant understand any voice output unless its at or below level "2"
it may be a bad speaker. its the normal one that comes with the sys4s M1G kit.

 

[tmbrown97]

I'm with DEL - sounds like there's something interfering with the speaker's path of movement or it's just a bad speaker. And like he said, these are far from high-end speakers; they have plastic cones and sound pretty muffled, but you should be able to get past 2 regardless.

 

[BulletHead]

thx, ill try replacing it and see if that helps. i have it mounted on a wall, not a ceiling, dont know if that matters.

 

[tmbrown97]

Not at all. Before replacing, I'd just pull it out of the enclosure and hold it away and see how it sounds.

 

[fcwilt]

I really dislike having a system (any sort of system) that talks to me and I cannot understand what is said - was it routine? - was it important? - do I need to take any action?

In one home they installed just 3 speakers for the whole house. To be able to hear them throughout the house they had to be so loud that when you were near them it was much too loud.

In the next home I installed decent ceiling speakers in each room (bedrooms, family rooms, etc) and ran them off a good quality amp, feeding each speaker via a impedance matching volume control. The automation/security system audio output fed the amp. That system worked fine, audio levels could be set as needed and annoucements could be heard clearly at comfortable levels.

 

[tmbrown97]

That's the beauty of the Elk with the SP12's - you can put them all over the house so you can always hear what's going on without having to crank the volume.

 

[newalarm]

I was told that the SP12's could be run off a small gauge wire like 22/2 on shorter runs? Is that true? I am not sure how to calculate the gauge.

 

[video321]

I was told that the SP12's could be run off a small gauge wire like 22/2 on shorter runs? Is that true? I am not sure how to calculate the gauge.

Without knowing what "shorter runs" is... I'd say that's probably true as they are 32 ohm speakers.
...but I would recommend running a larger gauge if you can.

 

[tmbrown97]

:hesaid:

People have reported success in using the spare two wires left in the DBH connection to run their SP12's - but if you have the option to run a dedicated 18/2, do it.

 

[newalarm]

On a cat 5? isn't that 23-24 gauge? I have a wire that was run for the Thermostate that was not used in one location. Could use that. it is 18/5. Not very clean, But it will work.

My runs are 25-30 feet typical. Max of 50 feet.

How do you calculate?