Most everyone has heard of the concept of 70.7 volt distributed audio systems at some point. They are one of the most potentially confusing, easiest to screw up and yet most versatile wiring methods commonly used. This is the first of a multi part blog about how and when to implement a distributed audio system. The parts will be as follows.

• Part #1 - General overview
• Part #2 - Wire size, and how to know what size you need. Useful info even for impedance based systems.
• Part #3 - All things amplifiers. How to avoid overloads and potentially hazardous conditions, and how to decide how big of an amplifier you need. Also, other voltages other than 70.7 that are common.
• Part #4- Speak up! The ins and outs of loudspeakers, and some interfacing tricks that I think are cool. Also some helpful information regarding size, type, quality and location of speakers.  A look at how the transformers themselves can affect audio quality.
• Part #5 - Practical uses. When this can be especially helpful, including "mixed" systems using a hierarchy of impedance, line level and distributed topologies.
• Part #6 - Other interesting information about this concept.   

So, here goes with part #1: