Quote:
Originally Posted by madjim
I recommend two speaker cabinets that have a 15" woofer and a horn. A 12" woofer and a horn configuration will do a good job. The more power the louder the system will be. If you use speakers rated at 100 watts make sure the amp output is no higher than 100 watts. I ran a pro DJ system for small clubs and parties with speakers rated at 300 watts and an amp rated at 150 watts, always loud enough and never blew a speaker. MAKE SURE THE SPEAKER RATING IS HIGHER THAN THE AMP RATING.
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More power does not necessarily mean the system will be louder. Power (watts) increase will make the sound clearer & fuller but not always louder. In order for one amplifier to reproduce sound twice as loud as another in Decibels you need 10 times more wattage output. An amplifier rated at 100 WPC is capable of twice the volume level of a 10 WPC amp, an amplifier rated at 100 watts per channel needs to be 1,000 watts per channel to be twice as loud. In other words, the relationship between volume and wattage output is logarithmic rather than linear.
Also, as far as speaker rating goes, you want the amp to match the speakers 'program' rating. So if a speaker is rated at 100 watts continous, 200 watts program, 400 watts peak, you want the amp to push at least the speakers program rating of 200 watts. A speaker rated at 300/600/1200, your amp should push at least 600 watts. Running a low power amp with a high capacity speaker can blow it faster than having an amp rated more than a speaker can handle. A 10 watt amp can actually blow a 100 watt speaker - distortion is what causes speaker failure. This is a very common misconception. People buy an amp that may not be powerful enough, what ends up happening is they start turning the amp up to compensate for room noise & the amp hits it's rated power, but this may not be enough & they start turning it up even more. You may not even actually hear the distortion, but the speakers will first. If it goes on too long, the speakers voice coil starts to overheat & eventually freezes = blown speaker. With a more powerful amp, the volume level won't need to go up as high & will actually sound clearer or more full than an amp that isn't as adequate, however it won't necessarily sound louder.