it was 3 full height racks full of amplifiers. sound co probably added up the nameplate amps and got 400.
bottom line is sound guy amps ≠ engineer / electrician amps
Feeder Cable Installation
- Thread starterjoshnelms
- Start date
it was 3 full height racks full of amplifiers. sound co probably added up the nameplate amps and got 400.
bottom line is sound guy amps ≠ engineer / electrician amps
epimetheus
Well-Known Member
JD
Well-Known Member
Yea, sound systems get real strange real fast! "Program, RMS, and Peak" take on some crazy meanings depending on what area you are talking about. With amplifiers, we hear RMS and Peak. This is a simple mathematical equation as a sign waveform has both characteristics at all times. Yet, listen to a sales person explain it and you will shutter! Move on to loud speakers and they take on a whole new meaning: Max RMS is the highest constant drive wattage before you risk melting the voice coil form. "Peak" is the highest drive level before the speaker mechanically flies apart. When talking about sound power levels we have two more incarnations of "Program" and "Peak." In this case, program is your continuous drive level and peak is the headroom level you need to handle transits (usually five times program.) It is probably this last incarnation that is most useful to the electrician. Short of those that like to use their clip lights as pilot lights, the expected program draw of an amplifier will be 1/5 of it's rated output. (A 1kw power amp will probably draw at 200 watts.) Even allowing a 2.5 safety factor, the max draw will be about 500 watts. In summary, a 10kw sound system will draw less than 5kw when cranked. (See exception for using pilot clip lights) This is quite different from the lighting world where 10k means you are using 10k of power.
