Bluesound Professional Speaker Calculator
BCS Series Ceiling Speaker Calculator
Room Dimensions
📸 Photo Room Overlay
Photo Info:
Drag speakers to reposition • Right-click to delete • Click empty space to add speaker
Speaker Layout Visualization
Coverage Configuration
Power & SPL Settings
📐 Layout Summary
Click "Calculate Layout" to see results
📊 Acoustic Analysis
Acoustic data will appear here
💡 Recommendations
System recommendations will appear here
INSTRUCTIONS
ROOM SETUP
- Enter your room dimensions (length, width, speaker height, (usually same as ceiling height, unless using Pendant Kit)
- Select listener position (sitting or standing)
- Choose your preferred units (feet or meters)
Speaker Configuration
- Select coverage type:
- Maximum Overlap: Premium coverage. -6dB edge of one speaker touches center of adjecent speaker, resulting highest uniformity and SPL gain from overlap(s).
- Minimum Overlap: Balanced performance -3dB edge of one speaker touches -3 dB edge of adjecent speaker. Good uniformity and moderate SPL gain from overlap(s)
- Edge to Edge: Economical coverage Higher dB variation througout room, but most economical option
- Choose speaker model: BCS 250 or BCS 300
Power Settings (BCS 250 only)
- Set target SPL (desired volume level)
- Select connection type:
- 70V/100V: Constant voltage (up to 30W)
- Low Impedance: 8Ω (up to 60W)
ROOM SETUP
Enter your room dimensions and listener position to begin.
- Speaker height typically matches ceiling height unless using a pendant kit.
- Units can be changed at any time.
Coverage Type
Choose how speakers are spaced based on performance and budget.
- Maximum Overlap
Most consistent coverage and highest output. - Minimum Overlap
Balanced coverage for most applications. - Edge to Edge
Cost-effective coverage with more level variation. - Custom Spacing
Manually define speaker spacing for unique layouts.
Speaker & Power
Select the speaker model and desired listening level.
- Set a Target SPL to define overall loudness.
- Choose the appropriate connection type (model dependent).
Photo Overlay (Optional)
- Upload a room photo for visual reference. For best results, crop photo at room edges. Enter length and width in Room Dimensions to match real world dimensions of photo. For odd shaped rooms, enter longest lenght and width, then remove speakers as needed using Drag Mode
- Adjust opacity and zoom as needed
- Hold Shift + drag to reposition photo
- Double-click to center photo
Drag Mode
- Enable drag mode to customize speaker positions
- Drag speakers to move them
- Right-click speakers to delete
- Click empty space to add new speakers
Understanding Results
- Max SPL: Loudest point (directly under speakers at listener height)
- Min SPL: Quietest point (furthest horizontal distace from any speaker, at listener height)
Frequency
Choose the analysis frequency if needed.
Default: Broadband (optimized for general music and speech).
SPL Target Mode
Defines how the target SPL is applied across the room.
- Average – Targets the overall room level
- Minimum – Ensures quiet areas meet the target
- Maximum – Limits the loudest areas to the target
Photo Overlay (Optional)
Upload a room photo to help align the layout visually.
- Adjust opacity and zoom as needed
- Hold Shift + Drag to reposition
- Double-click to center the photo
Heatmap (SPL Visualization)
Enable the SPL Heatmap to see how sound levels are distributed across the room.
- Displays SPL variation at listener height
- Color-coded scale, with cooler colors indicating lower dB levels and warmer colors, such as red indicating higher dB levels
- Updates in real time as spacing, power, frequency, or placement changes
- Makes overlap, hotspots, and coverage gaps immediately visible
Manual Editing
Enable Drag Mode to manually modify placement.
- Drag speakers to move them
- Right-click to remove
- Click empty space to add a speaker
Results
- Max SPL – Loudest point in the room
- Min SPL – Quietest point in the room
- Average SPL – Overall listening lev
Pro Tips
- Use Maximum Overlap for foreground music and hight SPL
- Use Minimum Overlap for a balance of coverage, and budget
- Use Edge to Edge for areas such as hallways, where variation in levels are okay (up to -4.4 dB variation between speakers)
- When using higher coverage types such as Maximum overlap, taget SPL can be reduced due to inceased SPL from speaker overlap, allowing you to use wattage for a similar SPL
- Export reports for documentation and client presentations
