Wattage can not be used to determine a speakers loudness (spl), quality or how many people it will cover. This is a myth still believed and used today by most amateur speaker enthusiasts. That being said, maybe you should be asking advise on what speakers to get.

Yep fair enough I need enough for say around 2-300 as well as for garden tent parties so then it'll be 50 people

What can you recommend

I usually go 2 QSC K12s for tops and 2 15" yorkville NX720Ps as subs for up to 300.

I'd love an 18" or 2 but I don't have truck as of yet and that's pretty much what I can fit in my camry.

for ~200 I'll just bring the one sub, and at 100 people, I'll just bring the two tops.

It's not a banging system by any means, but it does the trick and sounds nice and tight for weddings and corporates...

my main setup for two to three hundred ppl is 2 to 4 qsc kw152's for tops and 2 or 3 qsc kw181's for lows... and that has always been more than enough.

if you have a guitar center anywhere near you... theyve got a room set up with speakers, and a rep there can hook each one up for you to listen to, that can give you a general idea of what your lookin for as far as sound, size and weight

but there are literally a ton of threads on here that will give you specs and info on the different brands and ppls experience with different size crowds

"my main setup for two to three hundred ppl is 2 to 4 qsc kw152's for tops and 2 or 3 qsc kw181's for lows... and that has always been more than enough"

Dams, thats like ove a 6k investment

that also seems like a bit of overkill for things like weddings and corporate gigs... for proper 200-300 person dance parties (where everyone is expected to be dancing) it sounds about right tho...

True but your Urban (Black,Puerto Rican,Caribbean) weddings are sometimes the exception to the rule.....;)

In all fairness to him, it doesn't help that retailers still push it as such.

We are responsible for our ignorance, not the retailer.

A retailers job is to sell, not to be a wise or trusted source for accurate information.

Papa Midnight , did you believe in the wattage myth ?

Be lieing if I said I didn't when I first started out. By the time I bought my own equipment, though, I was way beyond that.

Especially when I knew the true difference between RMS, Program and Peak (and all advertisers seem to sell by Peak wattage). You have to dig deep into the specs to find the SPL.

lol...thats the damn truth

a good buddy of mine owns a pro audio shop... so i got

my philosophy with sound is: its better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.

and those kw181's are light as shit and very compact, so its not a pain draggin along extra subs if i need the reinforcement

this right here... it's better to have to turn down 2 (or 4) subs than to turn 1 up....

don't worry about wattage. worry about your budget and flexibility.

what are thinking of spending?

i can tell you if you need to cover 250 you'll want (2) tops 12-15" and minimum of 1 sub. depending on the brand/model you may be able to get away with (2) tops @ 15".

exactly

Ive wasted alot of money blowing speakers to learn that lesson......

Oh i agree - it's easy to turn it down if you have too much, but you can't turn it up when you don't have enough... I just think 2 18s are a little much for most wedding applications - then again, I'm used to using the LS801Ps...

I agree, 1 LS800P (801P) is usually enough for most small-medium weddings and parties. A single LS800P provides a perfectly balanced sound paired with my EV SX200s but is woefully inadequate with my new ZXa5s. Adding more subs to my rig will require not only the purchase price of the subs, but the additional investment of an enclosed trailer. My ultimate goal is to get two Danley or JTR powered single 18" subs and call it a day. I want the quality of those subs compared to the Yorkvilles, but don't know if I can really justify the cost.

lol... that's exactly how i learned

I like bass at wedding receptions... i use 2x MRX 528S at wedding receptions... at mine the music i play is a little lacking in bass.. as far as the love songs.. so i do that to compensate.. without it being to harsh.. and can always turn it down if i need too..

the extra bass really comes in handy when the party part of the reception breaks out... people can feel the bass in there chest..

true... the drunker ppl get... the more they wanna feel that shit

i always get..."hey bro... turn that shit up!!!"... lol

I personally hate wedding but I do them at times when the money is too irresistible. Now when all the formalities are over, everybodys nice an tipsy........its an hour or two of straight party time left.....I go from wedding dj to CLUB dj. Its at this point that subs are very important. It can make the difference of an average wedding or the best wedding people have ever experienced. I leave them dancing out the door......lol

^^ I agree, having subs for any party makes all the difference. I really can't believe people do gigs without them.

I'd wager a guess that many people just don't know, or can't afford.

Maybe, but people should know; if this is what they are doing for pay. When I was rebuilding my systems after my divorce, I went from renting full P.A. system, to renting sub(s) only, to having proper quality equipment for most gigs. I still rent extra equipment if I feel the gig requires it. If I'm getting paid as a professional, I make sure that I provide that level of service & quality.

As an engineer and practitioner in this field, I will agree that wattage is not the consideration to make here. Even things like indoor vs. outdoor get complicated when it comes to setup. Some people have low-ish standards, and will be satisfied with a generic setup for both. You can go this route, but I will suggest cone area, efficiency, tweeter dispersion radius, and build quality should be at the forefront of considerations. People are quick to shove efficiency aside, but a 3db difference equates to DOUBLE the amplifier power needed in either direction. Shoot for wide dispersion tweeters, a healthy amount of cone area, sky high efficiency, and cabinets with a weight and construction material that feels like a healthy balance between portable and durable. Be leery of brands that do not OEM their own drivers, as support will be low and you have NO idea how reliable they will be out of the box. Better to make a safe bet, than just a bet.

- Matt

DJStorm,
Sorry if this thread went a little off topic. Here is the rig I have used for many gigs from 50-200 people. Full, quality sound for a pretty reasonable price (bought used):

2 EV SX200 tops
1 Crown XLS402 amplifier
1 Yorkville LS800P

You should be able to find a similar system for under $1500.00 I bought this system in stages for $1300.00 total. Went from renting full system, to renting sub after I bought the EVs, to buying the sub.

thanks for everyones for theyre input

Been building a PA for a little while now, I have the QSC K1 series active speakers cuz they are lightweight, powerful and reliable. At this point I have 4 KW12's for the Tops, 2 KW181 subs, 2 KW12 (2×12) subs and a 700 watt EV 15' sub. That puts me at around 8700 watts RMS for the Mains and if needed, I have 4 additional Behringer B15D active speakers I generally utilize as monitors for the stage. Use a 32 Presonus board with a 200' 40 channel (32 inputs and 8 returns) snake. Got some lighting and a 25' truss crank system but still working on that part. For hauling, I have a 7x16' V nose Utility Cargo Trailer and an 02' F350 7.3L diesel lariat to pull things around. Being paid for in full makes it easier to add to the arsenal of equipment and keeps overhead low. It's been an expensive and lengthy endeavor, but I have come a long way. Soon enough, I'll only do music as my full time job. Till then, I'll continue building the PA system and keep working on expanding the light rig as well. I appreciate the information yall post on here, It's definitely helpful for the common sound engineer that's always looking out for helpful hints and tricks

Don't worry about "wattage". Focus on clarity and placement. Stick with QSC if you're going to build up your PA. Don't mix brands. And I'd go with at least 2 more KW181 subs.

A buddy of mine does 90% of his live sound gigs with not much more that you have right now. If the bands that hire you like what they hear - word will travel fast and you'll have more business than you can handle.

I'd recommend ditching the 12" subs and the EV sub and getting a couple more KW181 subs. That should make for a good consistent matched system. Leave it at that until you can justify upgrading and start shoring up your lighting rig. To get more oomph you will have to sell the 12" tops and get something louder in a 60x40 or narrower pattern. The QSCs have 75 degree dispersion so you can't really add more to the two per side you already have.