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I am putting together a portable sound system. What do I need?
The system will be used mostly for djing at house parties. I have 2 125 watt speakers so far. I am thinking of adding a subwoofer but I notice most mixers don't have an output for that. I know I should have at least a 250 watt mixer, but should I get a bigger one to make room for the subwoofer? Will I even be able to add a subwoofer? Is 125 watts per speaker a decent amount for small events? If my powered mixer has too many watts unused, is that bad? Should I look into powered amps instead/also? I was looking into mixers because of the versatility.
Oh my, lots of questions. I'll try to answer, but note my knowledge is from the world of hi-fi, not pro audio.
Speakers: Efficiency is what matters. Speakers have sensitivity ratings, and a pair of household speakers reaches 90DB at one meter off one watt, while a pair of DJ speakers may exceed 97DB at one meter from a mere watt of input. This is achieved by using horn tweeters and woofers with less excursion. Basically, less bass and nasty-sounding treble, but they can fill a living room on just a few watts.
Amplifier: As I hinted at, a very small amount of power will produce a lot of sound from DJ speakers. 100 watts x 2 should handle the largest of house parties with ease, and punk bands use 250 or so watt amps like yours to do PA duty at 40x40 (or bigger?) foot Veterens of Foreign Wars halls. Nobody ever needs to max out the mixer amp, seriously.
Subwoofer: Seems like lots of people get away without, probably because they're so heavy. But, they can add a nice rumble, good for rap or club music. Bass generally requires a lot of power, and you'll want to run the subwoofer off a seperate amplifier. Indeed, that's why mixers generally don't have inputs for bass bins.
Wasted watts: No such thing. Buy as many as you may need, and buy the best ones you can afford. Skip brands like GEM Audio and shoot for Crown.
By the way, I suggest you buy your gear used if you can get good deals, and to answer yet another question, buying seperate amp(s) plus mixer board offers more versatility than buying a combo.
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