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[Ivan Beaver]

CalJam74 only had 54,000 watts of amp power and got out to over 200,000 people.

And Woodstock had 10Kw of power and had over 500,000 people.  I didn't say they all heard it great.

Cream used to tour with a 500 watt PA system  NOT 500KW or 50KW, but 500 watts!

I remember reading that Grand Funk Railroad, back in their heyday was using a 7Kw per side PA.

That would barely make a decent side fill now-a -days.

Oh how systems change.

[FairyPanther]

Hey all!  I've been referencing these forums for a long time, and this is the first time I haven't found my question had already been asked and answered!

My question is, I read somewhere some years ago a "watt per head" rule.  I'm pretty sure it was just one of those "rule-of-thumb" things, but for the life of me, I can't remember what the figure was. 

I'm fairly confident I know what it takes to accomplish gigs that come my way.  I tend to overkill a little anyway!     I just wanted to see if any of the experts in here know the rule and where it may have come from.

Thanks in advance for your time and thoughts.

Just half of your combined speaker wattage, half,

For a pair only consider one speaker, then half of it

(doesnt work for outside)

[Ivan Beaver]

Just half of your combined speaker wattage, half,

For a pair only consider one speaker, then half of it

(doesnt work for outside)

You MUST use your full real name on these forums to post or the thread will be locked

PS- your response does not make any sense to me-change your name and then try telling us what you mean-or maybe I don't understand you.

[Mac Kerr]

Just half of your combined speaker wattage

Please go to your profile and change the "Name" field to your real first and last name as required by the posting rules displayed in the header at the top of the section, and in the Site Rules and Suggestions in the Forum Announcements section, and on the registration page when you registered.

Mac

[Nathan Riddle]

***ALERT***

ZOMBIFIED THREAD

***ALERT***

What on earth are y'all talking about?

Come up with some definitions before engaging in conversation otherwise everyone is running around with massive ASSumptions trying to answer vague questions.

-Acoustical "watts" eg. energy in the air?
-Amplifier "watts" eg. how many watts the amps can output? (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous?)
-Speaker "watts" eg. how many watts the speakers can handle without blowing up? (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous?)
-Power "watts" eg. how many watts of AC (from the power company) is being drawn (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous, power factor?)
-head "watts" eg. how much the human head leaks into its environment? (if so, what is the ambient temperature, humidity, size of head, coverings, etc... BTU's?)

As it stands, I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

If I'm assuming the question is how many amplifier watts is needed per typical head in a venue of densely packed persons then that can only be answered after this process:

My version of this:

1. Determine SPL and coverage requirements
2. Select a speaker system that meets those requirements with headroom to spare
3. Select amplifiers that will drive the speakers to the required SPL with headroom to spare

Reason being is speakers sensitivity (and power handling) will dictate the amplifier wattage WAY more than number of persons (though they are intricately entwined) and area will dictate the type of speaker coverage needed (# of speakers &/or type) way more than directly influencing the amplifier's wattage.

I can't believe anyone hasn't stated this simple answer already...?

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

What on earth are y'all talking about?

Come up with some definitions before engaging in conversation otherwise everyone is running around with massive ASSumptions trying to answer vague questions.

-Acoustical "watts" eg. energy in the air?
-Amplifier "watts" eg. how many watts the amps can output? (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous?)
-Speaker "watts" eg. how many watts the speakers can handle without blowing up? (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous?)
-Power "watts" eg. how many watts of AC (from the power company) is being drawn (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous, power factor?)
-head "watts" eg. how much the human head leaks into its environment? (if so, what is the ambient temperature, humidity, size of head, coverings, etc... BTU's?)

As it stands, I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

If I'm assuming the question is how many amplifier watts is needed per typical head in a venue of densely packed persons then that can only be answered after this process:

Reason being is speakers sensitivity (and power handling) will dictate the amplifier wattage WAY more than number of persons (though they are intricately entwined) and area will dictate the type of speaker coverage needed (# of speakers &/or type) way more than directly influencing the amplifier's wattage.

I can't believe anyone hasn't stated this simple answer already...?

ZOMBIES!!!! (psst - this thread is 6 years old)

[Nathan Riddle]

ZOMBIES!!!! (psst - this thread is 6 years old)

Ughh, I hate it when the new guys dig up an old thread by commenting on it and it pops to the top of my feed! I didn't notice the original time!

Thanks Tom (or TJ?)!

Also, can I blame Ivan for responding first? 

[TJ (Tom) Cornish]

Ughh, I hate it when the new guys dig up an old thread by commenting on it and it pops to the top of my feed! I didn't notice the original time!

Thanks Tom (or TJ?)!

Also, can I blame Ivan for responding first? 

TJ is fine, and it's totally ok with me to blame Ivan.

[Tim McCulloch]

What on earth are y'all talking about?

Come up with some definitions before engaging in conversation otherwise everyone is running around with massive ASSumptions trying to answer vague questions.

-Acoustical "watts" eg. energy in the air?
-Amplifier "watts" eg. how many watts the amps can output? (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous?)
-Speaker "watts" eg. how many watts the speakers can handle without blowing up? (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous?)
-Power "watts" eg. how many watts of AC (from the power company) is being drawn (if so what kind? average, continuous, peak, instantaneous, power factor?)
-head "watts" eg. how much the human head leaks into its environment? (if so, what is the ambient temperature, humidity, size of head, coverings, etc... BTU's?)

As it stands, I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

If I'm assuming the question is how many amplifier watts is needed per typical head in a venue of densely packed persons then that can only be answered after this process:

Reason being is speakers sensitivity (and power handling) will dictate the amplifier wattage WAY more than number of persons (though they are intricately entwined) and area will dictate the type of speaker coverage needed (# of speakers &/or type) way more than directly influencing the amplifier's wattage.

I can't believe anyone hasn't stated this simple answer already...?

This thread is form 2011, Nathan.  Let sleeping zombies lie...

[Ivan Beaver]

TJ is fine, and it's totally ok with me to blame Ivan.

That's fine.  I get blamed for all sorts of things.

Sometimes it is good

Other times-we won't talk about that

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