[Lynn]

I bought a Sound Control Architect 1160 Amp. This thing has 16 channels (8 stereo) outputs. I can split the stereo outputs into separate mono sounds so I will be able to provide 16 sounds to 16 rooms as needed..... YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I need ideas on the simplest/cheapest way to provide 16 different sounds to the 16 channels out.
The manufacturer said that you can use audio out from an mp3 player to the audio in jack for one of the channels. So I thought about getting 16 mp3 players (yikes)!
Next I thought I could open several sessions of WINAMP on my laptop and get a multi port usb hub and send audio from each session of winamp to the different ports. ( would that be a very stable option?)
Then I started searching for an MP# player that has multi outputs that I could have a dedicated player that could play multi sounds at the same time to the multi outputs. (Not found such a device)

What is everyones thoughts experiences? I don't know much about audio so I have really struggled with this.

The Architect amp will also accept 12v triggers to trigger the channel to play but this is a step farther than I want to consider yet.... maybe next year.

Any help is really appreciated.

 

[Dmitriy]

Cool unit. 16 ch...? Wow. I'm using 6ch with my show. 5+1 regular home amplifier. I'm mixing audio tracks in Audacity or Adobe Audition and output tracks thru my PC audio 6ch card.
In your situation you only need 8 mp3 players. They are so cheap from China. Just make sure they have Autoplay option. And 8 3.5mm to RCA male cables. So you will have total 16ch separate tracks.... that all

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[J-Man]

Well, unless that thing has 8 stereo INPUTS, you're not gonna get 16 different outputs.

 

[Dmitriy]

Yes, j-man. I just check his manual , it does has 8ch stereo inputs. Also what cool about this unit has 2 bus inputs. So you can share each input with bus1, bus2 or separate input...

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[Kwll2112]

Do you have a link to it? I'm not finding "Sound Control Architect 1160 Amp" online.

 

[Lynn]

http://www.audiocontrol.com/downloa...161/Architect Model 1160-61 Owners Manual.pdf

This is a link to the pdf manual.

So I could do 16 mp3 players.. hmmmm doesn't seem to be the best option.... ?
Winamp allows multi sessions to be open to play different sound files. Is this a good option? I Have a pretty good laptop but .. will it freeze up? Anyone tried this?
Or is there some other option that I don't know about? Like I said... an mp3 player "hub" type thing that could play multi files at the same time and send them to multi outputs would be awesome!

The Alcorn Mcbride protraxx unit would be AWESOME but wow!!! crazy prices!... I checked!!! Quote was at least $3500 for 16 output unit!

 

[J-Man]

Just like mp3 players, you can get really good stereo amplifiers on ebay for $5. If you're gonna need different SFX for different rooms, it's easier to have a separate setup for each room. A lot less wiring and easier to control. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Lynn]

Well we have at least 30 rooms. I have used separate setups in the past including small cd players or mp3 players with powered speakers. Problem is I have to go from room to room each night and turn on the "setup", make sure it is all on repeat and for cd players I have to push the 'cd' button and the repeat.. etc. It takes me about 1/2 hr to get the sound going.
This year, I wanted just one one 2 systems for the whole haunt, with a centralized area set up just for that.
This unit will do half of the haunt.. I just need to figure out how to provide it 16 different sound and the best cost or the simplest to setup...

 

[Mapleton Manor]

For the price of the amp you could order 11 of these. https://www.ebay.com/i/272338728662?chn=ps&dispItem=1 set one in each room with a flash drive plugged in for the sound for that room. Plays in a loop from flash drive and when the power comes on it automatically starts playing. If you wanted to go a step further then use a trigger to activate the power for a set amount of time so it isn't playing until someone enters the room. But then again i try to go cheap and easy.

 

[Lynn]

That looks like a cool thing... I may look at those for the rest of the rooms.
None of its cheap when you add the flash drive, speakers and controller!

 

[Bosco P. Soultrane]

you could use SD cards instead, they don't have to be big if it's just one "scene" and are cheap.

 

[Dmitriy]

http://www.audiocontrol.com/downloa...161/Architect Model 1160-61 Owners Manual.pdf

This is a link to the pdf manual.

So I could do 16 mp3 players.. hmmmm doesn't seem to be the best option.... ?
Winamp allows multi sessions to be open to play different sound files. Is this a good option? I Have a pretty good laptop but .. will it freeze up? Anyone tried this?
Or is there some other option that I don't know about? Like I said... an mp3 player "hub" type thing that could play multi files at the same time and send them to multi outputs would be awesome!

The Alcorn Mcbride protraxx unit would be AWESOME but wow!!! crazy prices!... I checked!!! Quote was at least $3500 for 16 output unit!

Lynn. You need only 8 mp3 players for your unit. See my post .

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[Russell]

If the single amp fails all 30 rooms go silent?

 

[David_AVD]

I have thought about writing some Windows software to play multiple looping audio files through separate audio devices.

Setting up multiple stereo USB audio dongles could be one way to do it. Using 5-channel dongles would like be trickier.

 

[J-Man]

That looks like a cool thing... I may look at those for the rest of the rooms.
None of its cheap when you add the flash drive, speakers and controller!

Here ya go, player, SD card, 50W stereo amplifier, power supply. Total cost per room, a whopping $14.
I did not include speakers because you'll need them whatever your sound system is. This player starts on power up.
SD card MP3 player
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262136734313?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

SD card
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Sandisk...%3A709ae06815c0aca4b4d8a7ebfffabbd2%7Ciid%3A2

Amplifier
http://www.ebay.com/itm/262136736576?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Power supply
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AC-DC-12V-2...id=100005&rk=4&rkt=6&mehot=ag&sd=272676442144

 

[David_AVD]

I use a few of those mp3 players in my display and I don't even use an external amplifier as the on-board one is plenty loud enough for a lot of props.

I use a small $1 regulator board with them so they can run from a common 12V - 24V power source.

 

[ZombieRaider]

Easiest solution I know of is a dedicated recorder like an Alesis HD24 digital 24 track
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Alesis-HD24...471087?hash=item2127bac02f:g:QS4AAOSwax5YzIhh

They also make firewire/usb audio interfaces that have multiple outputs....Presonus or M-audio are the cheaper companies off the top of my head....You'd have to get a laptop and audio recording software to go with it....Not as easy as the first option but do-able with some time.....ZR

 

[Lynn]

The Alesis is just what I wanted. But is pretty pricey. I wish there was something out there that didn't need to record or mix, but would just store the MP3 files and then have MULTI outputs to play several of those files at the same time and repeat those sounds.

 

[Danski]

If it has one input and then a bunch of outputs I would recommend using an audio DAW program. I use ableton but I think most can do the same thing. You would record your scenes into the recording software then just change the output of the track in the software to what channel you want it to go out. So if you wanted track 4 to go to room 4 just change the track to whichever output you want and run the output cable from the hardware you have to that area with speakers and you should be good. If that is an amp you would control the volume of the room from the track level in the software. That way one computer can run the whole haunt. However if you get a crash you will be down till everything boots up. I'm experimenting with this now and so far have great results. I am using 5-6 outputs to different areas and all is well. It's pretty simple to do. That hardware looks pretty massive and expensive. I think you could have used an audio interface with multiple outputs for a much cheaper solution though. I'm very pleased with how mine is coming together. I willl be running multiple rooms next year.