CSMA280 + (28) CSS8008 Ceiling Speaker System

Covering a big restaurant, bar, café, or store with even overhead sound means matching an amplifier to a long run of ceiling speakers, and this JBL package does that pairing for you: one CSMA280 mixer amplifier and twenty-eight CSS8008 8" ceiling speakers. The CSMA280 delivers 2 x 80W and drives 70V or 100V distributed lines through its built-in Hi-Z transformer, so long speaker runs wire straight to the amp with no separate transformer. Put fourteen speakers on each channel to run two independent zones, like a dining room and a patio bar. To stay under the 64W per channel limit, set eleven speakers on the 5W tap and three on the 2.5W tap for 62.5W per side.

The amp's eight inputs handle what a busy floor needs day to day. Mic/line euroblock inputs supply 27V phantom power for paging microphones, and RCA inputs accept a streaming player or music source. Voice-activated ducking on channels 1 and 5 drops the music as soon as someone talks, and priority muting cuts every other input for announcements. Separate bass and treble controls on each output let you tune each zone, and two RJ45 ports connect JBL CSR-V wall volume controls (sold separately) so staff can change levels from the floor. After about 30 minutes with no signal, sleep mode powers the amp down, then wakes it when audio comes back.

Each CSS8008 uses a dual-cone 8" driver with 96 dB sensitivity and 120° coverage, giving clear, consistent sound across wide rooms even on low taps. With 5W, 2.5W, 1.3W, and 0.7W taps, you can push more level near the bar and keep it softer where guests talk. An 8.5" cutout and 2.8" depth behind the grille suit standard drop ceilings.