Classic, Advance, or L-Series?

Which of these three System Sensor NA’s do you like the best?

  • SpectrAlert Classic
  • SpectrAlert Advance
  • L-Series
0 voters

Which of these three System Sensor NA’s do you like the best?

I grew up with classics, and they are great nice sound and design. L Series devices are pretty darn awesome too with the tones and the cool new look, but the Advance series is just so versatile plus the devices look pretty good. I voted Advance.

Nothin’ beats the Classic. It has the simplest, most straightforward design, and it got the job done. Really all you need from a fire alarm.

The L-Series because it looks the Classic series but more smaller and compact making it modern and because I don’t get tired of looking at them like do with the Advance.

I voted SpectrAlert Classic. Sure I didn’t have to deal with them at school, nor have I heard any of the three (excluding Advance from outside, but that doesn’t count) but the design is very simple. I guess the Advance is simpler but the Classic’s is very timeless.

Also, how long will Advances last before they are considered a “rare alarm?”

Considering the fact that some electromechanical horns still aren’t considered rare yet, I would say maybe 60 or 70 years.

I said L-series.
The thing I don’t like about the current Advance line is just how bulky and large they seem to be, even the ceiling-mount ones. The L-series at least look more like the Classic, but have the same sharp, attention-grabbing tone of the Advance.

Classics are still very common in my area. There are plenty of buildings with old systems in my area that have SpectrAlert Classics.

Well, first they would have to be discontinued altogether, remember the weatherproof versions of the SpectrAlert Advance are still being manufactured, and might remain indefinitely if System Sensor doesn’t introduce a weatherproof version of the L-Series (like Wheelock with the AS and Exceder).

The Advance 4-Wire models are still being produced as well.

4-Wire L-Series will be available in January 2018. The remaining Advance devices (outdoor, Dual ESD plates, etc) will be migrated to L-Series in 2018 and into 2019.

Isn’t the Wheelock ASWP considered an Exceeder as well now?

I vote Advance. They’re not pretty but they were by far the best value out there, foolproof and they just worked. I never had an issue with flexing mounting plates that fail to make contact or the top of the device hanging off the wall no matter how tight or loose I install the screws. I would be surprised if the L-Series ever becomes as popular based on the issues that have come up so far.

Really? I thought the AS was separate from the Exceder.

A grocery store that recently opened up has a red SpectrAlert Advance in the front outside that was installed this year. Inside they have white Edwards NAs with the fire label and the running man picture.

That’s the Edwards Genesis… odds are if there’s a SpectrAlert installed outside it’s a Notifier or Fire-Lite system, which isn’t horribly uncommon to see with Edwards N/A’s.

Since my elementary school is being renovated, I’m assuming that they are gonna replace the Advance speaker/strobes in the buildings that are renovated with L-Series at least I hope.

The outdoor version of the SpectrAlert Advance is still being manufactured.

SpectrAlert Classic, hands down.

Sure, I may not have liked how they were very common back in the day (back before SpectrAlert Advances even existed), but, to me, they’re not very common as SpectrAlert Advances were within the last five years or so. Plus, this was one of the very first alarms I’ve ever heard in person.

Back in 2007 was the first time seeing SpectrAlert Advances, but it wasn’t until later that year when I heard them go off in person (this was part of the 2007 renovation at my middle school). My opinion on them back then is way different from what my current opinion on them is now. Strangely enough, the last time I’ve seen Classic SpectrAlerts being recently installed was in 2006, about a year before I first started seeing Advances popping up.

As for the L-Series, I’ve not seen any as of yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that they will be popular within the next five years.

I voted L-Series. I like the fact that they returned to the design intuitive and 3.1KHz horn option of the SpectrAlert Classic, but retained the basic idea of the “jackhammer” broadband horn tone from the Advance. It is a slight bit different from the Advance, however, as the horns in the L-Series have been re-tuned to produce more bass overtones, as opposed to the whistle-tones prevalent in the Advance (sorry to be nitpicky…I’m a music major! Ear-Training classes have fined tuned my ability to sense overtones! :lol: )

Chase me with your torches and pitchforks all you want, but I’m not a fan of the SpectrAlert Classic line, as the Classic’s default horn tone never really struck me as being that effective. I just find it annoying more than anything. Sure, I know what the sound means, but I can ignore it a lot easier than other “jackhammer” horns, say an Advance/L-Series, AS/MT, or U-MMT. The Advance and L-Series horns are definitely more urgent, and their loud, obnoxious “jackhammer” broadband horn will literally “run you out” of the building. I, for one, couldn’t stay in a building full of active Advances or L-Series if you made me :lol: .