How many watts do I need? 500 people party?

DJ Life & Community General Discussion
1

How many watts do I need? 500 people party?

Sorry if this is a repeat question -

I’m dj’ing at a Wedding + Reception with 500 people in June. Wondering how many watt spears I’ll need for the event.?

I’m renting speakers from another DJ cause the party is on the other side of the country. He’s got the following:
(2) 800 watt Alto Speakers
(2) 400 watt JBL Speakerrs
(2) 400 watt Mackie Speakers

How much of that do I need? Do I need everything? Do I need everything plus more?

Confused - never dj’d a party this big.

Suraj

2

I’d do the Alto’s near you and the JBL’s in the back. You only need a processor that can set the delay right.

3

Bring more. You don’t want that sound to work on max all the time.

4

Hope you got some subs.

5

Why? It’s background music, it’s not supposed to be BIG DIRTY STINKIN BASS.

6

Every wedding reception I’ve ever been to has music and dancing. Even for 50 people I’d bring subwoofers.

7

Yeah, using subs doesn’t mean you’re going to have trouser flapping, gut wrenching bass.

The small PA speakers mentioned generally have very little bass and can sound quite thin in an average hall. You don’t want it sounding tinny and uninspiring.

8

Bring subs. PA speakers mounted on poles tend to sound very very thin if not paired with subs. It doesn’t need to throw people off their shoes, but just to add a little heft to the sound.

9

is it inside or outside?

Inside? What size room? how high are the ceilings?

Wedding + reception. Reception= drunk people who want to dance.

You better have a lot of power. 500 peoples voices alone will blow away a decent system.

And yes, subwoofers are very important.

10

Dude bring everything you got, 500 people is way more than ou think (picture a relatively packed medium size nightclub) yeah it’s a lot .

11

~this

12

The headcount isnt as important as room size and general shape. Are all three systems active? Mackie Thumps or SRM? Id picknthe Alto last TBH.

13

500 people is more than you think. At that size I’d heavily consider bringing my 10kw SRX rig (assuming they would pay for it). A pair of entry level tops alone isn’t going to cut it. At the very least rent a Yorkville LS801P or a decent double 18.

14

A pair of those Mackies BARELY takes care of 100 people over a large enough space, so I’m assuming even with the JBLs you’re looking at 200 people (again, barely) before you throw in the Yorks. You’re gonna need at least a pair of subs, if not 2 pair and another set of tops.

15

1.21 gigawatts

Duh!

16

not true.

the club I DJ at prolly maxes out at 350 people… and the music sounds entirely different if its packed rather than just starting/empty. Humans act as interference and sound blockers…

17

Whats the rule of thumb? 5 Watts per person for a good sound. Or 10W/person for a hard party sound