What size venue do you plan to play?
The first thing you should consider when choosing a PA system is the types of venues you plan to play because it’ll let you know how much power you need. A bigger space needs more noise!
The easiest way to determine the amount of sound a PA system can produce is by looking at the speaker and subwoofer wattage. It’s not a completely accurate way to measure loudness, but it’s good enough to point you in the right direction.
Generally, here’s a list of venue sizes and the wattage in RMS, you’d need from your PA system to fill the space:
- Small coffeeshop or bar with singer and guitar – 100-200 watts
- Small venue with band – 300-800 watts
- Medium venue with full rock band – 1,000-2,000 watts
- Large venue – 5,000-10,000 watts
- Stadium – 25,000+ watts
And when in doubt, go bigger! You can always turn your PA system down, but you can’t always turn it up.