Research has demonstrated that voice messages are more effective than traditional alarms in alerting people and directing them out of the building quickly. JBL, Crown and BSS offer a range of EN 54-24-compliant and EN 54-16-compliant components, certified to meet the stringent requirements of a life safety system to serve the needs of hospitality, large venue and other markets.
The JBL All Weather Series are high power, lightweight, 2-way, full-range loudspeaker systems, built permanent outdoor applications.
Within the range are five EN-54 ready models, with 12” or 15” JBL Differential Drive® woofers and a 1.5” exit, 3” voice-coil compression driver. The large format Progressive Transition™ waveguides provide excellent high-frequency coverage patterns. There are three dispersal coverage options (90x50, 120 x 60, and 60x60) and the waveguides are rotatable so the speaker can be used in either vertical or horizontal orientation.
Typical Applications: Sports facilities, theme parks, water parks, cruise ships
Larger than the All Weather Series (above) the JBL PD500 Range is excellent for high-level voice announcing systems for indoor and outdoor sporting facilities, as well as theatrical venues and large houses of worship.
The range consists of four horn-loaded 15” two-way systems and a dual 15” subwoofer, all of which are EN54-24 certified when used in passive full-range mode.
Typical applications: Sports facilities, auditoriums, performance spaces, houses of worship
There are two EN 54-24 certified models in the CBT range, the CBT50LA-LS and the CBT100LA-LS. We’ve written a dedicated blog on the CBT series so rather than repeat ourselves, make sure you take a look at it.
As with all Intellivox products, the JBL Intellivox ADC (Analogue Directivity Control) Mark II range has been designed to maximise listening comfort and provide highly intelligible speech reproduction even within difficult reverberant spaces. Each speaker consists of an array of six carefully aligned 4” full range drivers housed inside a tough steel enclosure. The Digital Directivity Control (DDC) algorithm pioneered by JBL’s Duran Audio group, is used to define a set of passive provides time alignment for the individual drivers, equalisation of the complete array and creates a constant wavelength line source. The drivers are highly efficient and have an extended flat frequency response, providing natural and uncoloured reproduction of both spoken word and background music.
The ADC-H90 has a precisely defined horizontal dispersion and is intended for applications such as open platform railway stations and high ceiling corridors, where it aims the output at the listener but reduces spill over a distance of 10-15m.
The ADC-V90, meanwhile, is mounted vertically and will accurately cover the listening plane while reducing unwanted reflections which reduce speech intelligibility . It can also be recess mounted making it architecturally unobtrusive.
Typical Applications: Transport Hubs, Houses of Worship, Atriums, Shopping Centres, any reverberant space where high quality speech reproduction is required
JBL offers four ceiling-mounted EN54-24 certified options. The Control 12C-VA, Control 14C-VA, Control 16C-VA - part of the highly popular JBL Control Contractor family - provide excellent sound quality for medium-volume music playback, paging and Voice Alarm. Ideal for a wide variety of projects, Control 10 Series in-ceiling loudspeakers meet the increased market demand for superior sound quality, installation-friendly features and value, delivering a level of sonic performance unmatched by comparably priced products. The Control 12C-VA, Control 14C-VA, Control 16C-VA are ideal for applications where excellent sound quality is needed for medium-volume music playback, paging and Voice Alarm. Control 10 Series models feature wide bandwidth, wide coverage, and combined 70V/100V and 8-ohm operation in each speaker.
The CCS-15C-VA is a more affordable option, suited for paging and background music in Voice Alarm applications. It’s a 70/100V only speaker with high sensitivity to provide maximum sound level even at low tap settings. It has a 5” full-range dual-cone driver, torsion-mounted into an easy-install blind-mount metal fire dome.
Typical applications: cafes, retail stores, hotels, restaurants, educational facilities, anywhere with a ceiling
The Control 25AV-LS is based on the Control 25AV, adapted for EN54-24 use.
Premium performance capability and even coverage ensures excellent sound quality throughout the listening area. A top-quality, low saturation transformer enables the loudspeaker to be used on 70/100V distributed speaker lines, with similar fidelity performance to the 8-ohm bypass position
DSP and amplification falls under part 16 of the EN54 regulations. BSS’s BLU-806DA and BLU-160 signal processors and BLU-326DA and BLU-120 I/O Expanders are EN54-16 certified, as is the BLU-GPX GPIO expander and BLU-DA Dante to BLU link bridge.
Crown’s three DriveCore Install DA models (DCi 8|300DA, DCi 8|600DA & DCi 4|1250DA) are EN54-16 certified. Read more about Crown DriveCore technology here
In summary, below you'll find a quick overview of the key JBL Professional EN54 compliant speaker lines.