picking new amps and speakers

[Silic]

Hi sorry if this question is stupid, but I'm not to well informed on the current equipment on the market. Anyway its time for are high school to buy new amps. The last one died last night and new speakers while were at it. the school set a 1200$ spending limit. we also will be using these for sound on a foot ball field that has very large bleachers. so I'm looking for something around 2000 to 3000 watts peak and 1000 to 1500 continuous at 4 ohms. They need to be able to handle abuse it is a high school. And they to last us at least 7 year or more. I would like them to be good quality we sometimes rent equipment to local concerts for some cash. I would prefer a 4 Chan set up but i can live with 2 if it means there of a high quality. As for speakers we have a powered sub. i need speakers that are good for just about everything musicals, concerts, etc. i would prefer to series or parallel two speakers on a channel then to have one large one.
thanks and sorry for the wall of text

 

[ScottT]

Hey Silic, I tried reading your post and couldn't. You might check out the FAQ and proofread before you post. I really want to help but can't.

 

[museav]

Just curious, but any idea why the amps died? Just wondering if there may be some cause that needs to be addressed before spending more on new equipment.

How did you come up with specific power ratings noted as well as peak ratings that are twice the continuous (the peak ratings would typically be four times the continuous ratings)? Given that different speakers provide different output levels with the same input power, basing speaker selection purely on the power rating rarely makes too much sense.

On the rest, what do you really need? You mentioned four channel, but I'm not sure what you mean by that. If that is what you referring to when you later referred to having two speakers per channel, then I'm curious as to why you feel that you need two speakers per channel or that this would be a better solution. You apparently want to use the speakers and amps for something on a football field, but for what and your expectations in that application aren't clear. Similarly, you haven't said much about the theater application such as the size of the venue or the types of concerts. As a result, we have very little idea what you may actually be looking for as far as output, pattern, mounting, response, size, etc., the factors that would typically be the basis for selecting a speaker.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I think your budget probably does not support your goals. You seem to want four high output speakers and the amp(s) for them. You apparently also want the speakers and amps to be able to support a wide variety of events and be reliable, durable and of acceptable quality for rentals. And you want this within a $1,200 budget. A single Crown or QSC type amp that can provide the power per channel that you noted will probably require just about the entire $1,200 budget. Maybe I am simply misunderstanding the situation, but that is why it appears important to clarify your goals and expectations.

 

[Silic]

well the reason our amps died is some one thought it would be funny to turn on the sprinklers at the foot ball game, and so the amps got fried by the water. The reason behind the wattage is because it was the wattage of the previous amps. And the reason behind the paralleling of the speakers is because the seating area is a football field long. And the speakers have to be 10 feet away from the seating, so it would be nice to spread the speakers out. and by 4 channels i mean two amps that have two channels on them. the theater is a 456 seat auditorium style. so i plan to have 4 channels so i can have front of house and back of house. and as far as the type of concerts every but folk. And the school won't increase to budget. This speaker set up is basically going to be use for every school event.

 

[Studio]

From what I can gather these speakers need to be portable as you mentioned football and theater. For your budget you aren't going to get much. Are your previous speakers damaged beyond repair, or do you just want new ones.

My school uses a sets of these Stagepas 500 and a built in system to provide sound for our football field. However they are $900 a set and are only 500 watts per set. They would be fine for most events such as plays and musicals, but they won't be louder than a crowd.

It sounds like your previous system was worth more than $1200, and what you want won't fit your budget, especially if you want good quality.

Oh and by the way, unless you are doing a DJ style event you don't wan't all the speakers in each corner of the of the room, because they will sound funny because of a slight delay from the front of the room to the back.

 

[Morpheus]

From what I can gather these speakers need to be portable as you mentioned football and theater. For your budget you aren't going to get much. Are your previous speakers damaged beyond repair, or do you just want new ones.

My school uses a sets of these Stagepas 500 and a built in system to provide sound for our football field. However they are $900 a set and are only 500 watts per set. They would be fine for most events such as plays and musicals, but they won't be louder than a crowd.

It sounds like your previous system was worth more than $1200, and what you want won't fit your budget, especially if you want good quality.

Oh and by the way, unless you are doing a DJ style event you don't wan't all the speakers in each corner of the of the room, because they will sound funny because of a slight delay from the front of the room to the back.

I've used surround speakers quite effectively in theatre applications...

 

[museav]

well the reason our amps died is some one thought it would be funny to turn on the sprinklers at the foot ball game, and so the amps got fried by the water.

Good to know you shouldn't have to worry about the same thing affecting whatever you do purchase.

The reason behind the wattage is because it was the wattage of the previous amps.

Which makes sense if you were keeping the existing speakers, but if you get new speakers then you'd want to base the amplifier(s) on those.

And the reason behind the paralleling of the speakers is because the seating area is a football field long. And the speakers have to be 10 feet away from the seating, so it would be nice to spread the speakers out. and by 4 channels i mean two amps that have two channels on them. the theater is a 456 seat auditorium style. so i plan to have 4 channels so i can have front of house and back of house.

I can understand the desire for more speakers for coverage of the football field stands, however I don't understand the front and back speakers in the theater. You said that two channels of amplification might have to be acceptable which seems to indicate that you are not running left and right mains up front and effects or surround to the rear, which would be the only reason to have speakers at the back of the auditorium.

And the school won't increase to budget. This speaker set up is basically going to be use for every school event.

It would be nice to know what specific amps and speakers you are replacing so those might serve as a reference. I am concerned that four speakers and two amps that could be purchased for $1,200 may turn out to be rather disappointing compared to what you had. Based on what you've said, it would seem very difficult to get something that fits all your criteria with the budget defined and if the budget cannot increase then you may have to give on other criteria be it acceptability for rentals or durability or performance. What is may end up coming down to is either selecting amps and speakers based on their meeting your criteria and they cost what they cost or selecting them based on cost and you get what you get. Or since you noted that the amps died but did not actually note that there was anything wrong with the speakers, then depending on the speakers you have, you may be better off to focus on replacing just the amps for now.