Getting A Great PA For The Money

Getting the Right PA - 

And Realizing you Have To Pay For It!

PA Systems have come a long way since I first started in this business back in the 1980's. Speakers have gotten smaller, but have improved in sound quality, and the new powered speakers are making that shift in quality audio even easier for any person to use.

Some of the PA Gear at James House of Deals, a music store in Lincolnton

Understanding Volume Levels And Crowd Size 

Part of putting together any sound system is thinking about what you are going to be using it for, and what your own personal volume expectations are.

In the Eighties and early Nineties, most bands were at actual bars, some of which served some food, especially in this area of North Carolina. As the Nineties grew up and moved into the 2000's though, these bars started disappearing and the venues shifted to restaurants that had bars in them. Because of this, stages began disappearing and the volume levels of the bands and acts had to adjust volume levels downwards to accommodate the dining facility.

Of course, some bands and events are simply louder - a five piece band with drums and bass is going to be louder than a pair of acoustic guitars and vocals.

The second consideration after volume levels is crowd size, and this is directly related to the volume of your sound system. 

For a small act that has a few acoustics and perhaps some small percussion can often get good results from the new tower type speakers, like the Yorkville Excursion pictured here (just about everyone from Bose to JBL and many others are offering similar systems). 

But this system will only be good for a crowd size of about 60 - 70 people. If you are expecting 300 people, even with low volume music you will need a more substantial sound system. 

Remember that each system is designed to produce a certain amount of volume in a given physical area. Knowing the type of music that you play and what kind of crowds you expect to be performing in is essential to choosing the sound system that will fit your specific needs.

Subwoofers And The Crowd

The bass frequencies by far take up the most power in any sound system, whether it is using traditional power amps or the new generation of powered speakers.

Adding one or more subwoofers to a system drastically increases the volume levels and crowd sizes that you will be able to perform in front of no matter what type of music you are playing, and for some types of music subwoofers are essential. 

This is especially true of DJ's who are playing the latest pop, R&B and Rap hits. These styles in particular are beginning to use a lot of sub-harmonic frequencies that can't be adequately reproduced by a regular full range speaker. 

A rock or country band, on the other hand, in front of small crowds might not need much more than a set of small powered speakers on stands, and they will only send vocals through these speakers - the stage volume of the drums and other instruments can give a great audience mix in smaller venues and at small outdoor shows (50 - 100 people depending on volume expectations). Something like a 12" JBL or EV, or even some high quality smaller 10" powered speakers like the ones pictured below can do very well for this type of application.

But as the crowd size increases, stage volume from the instruments becomes inadequate to provide good sound.  Lets take a system that has 2 x 10" powered speakers like the one above. The band, DJ or Karaoke provider has been doing smaller 60-80 person crowds, but they are now going to start entertaining people in the 200 - 300 person range.

Adding one or two powered subwoofers to the powered mains allows the bass frequencies to be handled by the subwoofer, leaving the 10" speakers to handle the mid & high frequencies. This really frees up the 10" speakers, making the entire system much more efficient and allowing you to reach maximum clean volume levels, with all instruments and drums miked up in addition to the vocals.

This is achieved by running the system signal from the board into the subwoofer first (most subs have a left and right input in case you are running a stereo system, like the control panel pictured below).

So, from the board you would plug into the left and right inputs on the Subwoofer. On the right you will see the link out options; you will notice that on most subs one of these outputs is going to be listed as a 'High Pass' output. This means that the Subwoofer is automatically eliminating the sub frequencies below a certain level (usually 80 - 100 Hz) when it sends the signal on to the main speakers. 

If you are using 10" or 12" speakers, use the High Pass output - this will allow the speaker to work much more efficiently since all it is reproducing are the lower mid to high frequencies. 

The addition of one to two subwoofers (depending on your actual volume needs) will allow to increase your audience size to the 300 person range quite easily.

Powered speakers make these alterations to your sound system very easily. With traditional powered mixer or power amp systems, you would need to add one to two amplifiers when you added the subwoofers to the system, and any time you needed more speakers more amplificatiers would need to be added.

With powered speakers it is very easy to scale a system up and down. With our example system - a small mixer, 2 x 10" powered main speakers and one 18" powered subwoofer, like the one pictured below, you can take just the 'Top' or main speakers (the 10" speakers) for smaller more intimate gigs that are going to have a smaller audience size, and take the subwoofer when you want to bring the serious thump!

A close-up of the Subwoofer pictured above

This Yorkville system is very powerful but quite affordable, coming in at a regular sale price of just $1791.99 at the newest music store Lincolnton offers, James House of Deals. This system is suitable for full bands, high capacity Karaoke and light to medium DJ applications.

If your band played music that really needed to pack a lot of punch, like certain types of metal or dance music (or if you were playing crowds in the 500 - 600 person size), you would probably want to consider adding another subwoofer and upgrading the Main speakers to 12" or 15" speakers. 

The Price of Admission

Lets face it, cost is relative. Some people have a lot of money, and others have to scrape their resources together for major purchases. One thing is sure, even though sound systems have gotten less expensive (and much better) over the years, you will get what you pay for when it comes to sound systems. That $500 combo system might seem like a great deal at the time, but if it does not fit the music you are playing, or the audience size it will be money that could have gone to a more capable system and adaptable sound system.

So before you buy any system, think about the type of music you play, how loud you expect that music to be, and the size of the crowds you want to be able to play in front of. Then look for the best gear (not necessarily the cheapest) that will fulfill your sound system needs.

For advice on PA gear in Lincolnton, Charlotte, Gastonia, Hickory, Rock Hill or any of the surrounding towns, James House of Deals can give you the advice you need to build the right sound system for what you are trying to do whether you are a band, a church, a DJ or simply need a small system for business conferences!