Is there a flush mounted speaker that will work with the elk?

[ghurty]

Is there a flush mounted speaker that will work with the elk, to be able to make announcements such as which zone is violated (fire and burg)?
 
Thank you

 

[RAL]

Yes, the Elk SPF-12.  You can mount these on a standard single gang junction box.

 

[mikefamig]

Any low power speaker or speakers will work as long as you observe the correct impedance that you can find in the installation manual.
 
Mike.

 

[Neurorad]

I like the look of these Decora speakers, though the Elk would be easier to use.
 

 
http://www.rdlnet.com/product.php?page=803
 
8 ohm vs. 32 ohm

 

[Neurorad]

above is from RDL
 
Russound also offers one, also 8 ohm
 

 

[RAL]

above is from RDL
 
Russound also offers one, also 8 ohm
 

 
They both look nice, but cost 5x to 10x what the Elk speaker costs.

 

[mikefamig]

The wattage rating on a speaker is the maximum amount of power that the speaker can be driven by the amplifier that it is connected to without damaging the speaker.
 
http://www.prestonelectronics.com/audio/Speakers.htm
 
The Elk out1 is a 20 watt amp and any single speaker that you connect to it should be rated at 20W or greater but stick close to 20 watts for efficiency. The larger the speaker wattage the more power it takes to drive the speaker (make noise). 
 
As for the resistance, you can put up to four speakers on out1 by connecting them in either series or parallel circuit to satisfy the amp's requirement of no less than 4 ohms.
 
From the installation manual:
 
2. OUT 1 †† for speaker(s) ONLY (4 to 8 Ohms).
If connecting more than 2, use series/parallel
wiring to avoid going below a 4 ohm total load.
 
To calculate the resistance of speakers in a series simply add the resistance of each speaker together.
 
Here is a link to a series/parallel resistance calculator:
https://www.digikey.com/en/resources/conversion-calculators/conversion-calculator-parallel-and-series-resistor
 
Mike.

 

[mikefamig]

I want to add that if you mix and match speakers you should understand that too high a resistance and you will just get less volume from the amp but too low of a resistance and you will heat up and damage the amp.
 
Below 4 ohms is too low for the Elk Out1.
 
Mike.

 

[upstatemike]

To mix and match you can also consider using a transformer to convert the Elk output from 4 ohms to 70 volts. You can then use transformers at each speaker to convert back to 4 or 8 ohms and divide the power any way you need to for your different speakers. Just be sure you stay below 20 watts total.
 
I don't know if there is any down side to doing this apart from it will add about $5 per speaker to your budget plus the cost of the panel transformer (I have seen surplus ones for around $10). Maybe there is some other reason this is not commonly done?

 

[kurtmccaslin]

I use 4 of the SPF 12 speakers in parallel.   This will give you an 8 ohm load.   You can connect up to 8 in parallel and stay below 4 ohms total.   However, understand that these are small speakers and are not very loud-- but big enough to announce in moderate sized room.   If you have a large room, or want to put your speakers in a hall for multiple rooms, the Elk 8 ohm speaker is much louder.