Speaker system, amp etc for outside

[rsole]

I'm in the process of arranging an outside 'do' for the summer. The area in question is 32m by 23m. I need to fill the area with some decent tunes and am planning to invest in an amp and some speakers. Not knowing much about this sort of thing i wondered if anyone has any advice as what i should be considering?

(The source of music will be ipod or lap top)

Thanks.

• we don't have any neighbours!

[rich85uk]

seeing as its outdoors, you have no neighbours and is for a large area then probably better at getting a PA type speaker system. Most Hifi setups here will be ok for outdoors but will lack the power to be 'loud' in the space you have.

a friend of mine has a similar setup to this:
http://www.decks.co.uk/products/speakers/WAudio/Ze...
http://www.decks.co.uk/products/amps/cerwin_vega/C...

and its always been fine for things like weddings,marquee parties etc and that should give you around 700w of music for a long period of time, these amps and speakers are generally pretty tough too. you may wish to consider stands aswell then you need to budget for cables etc

The sound quality from his is pretty impressive although it might be class D, that website does have cheaper amp/speaker packages but i have heard cheaper PA systems and they arent that easy on the ear at higher volumes and you run the risk of blowing the amp

ofcourse you can add another amp and speakers but its all about budget, as then you will need to look at some sort of mixer too and you may find you do have neighbours after all

[rsole]

rich85uk said:

seeing as its outdoors, you have no neighbours and is for a large area then probably better at getting a PA type speaker system. Most Hifi setups here will be ok for outdoors but will lack the power to be 'loud' in the space you have.

a friend of mine has a similar setup to this:
http://www.decks.co.uk/products/speakers/WAudio/Ze...
http://www.decks.co.uk/products/amps/cerwin_vega/C...

and its always been fine for things like weddings,marquee parties etc and that should give you around 700w of music for a long period of time, these amps and speakers are generally pretty tough too. you may wish to consider stands aswell then you need to budget for cables etc

The sound quality from his is pretty impressive although it might be class D, that website does have cheaper amp/speaker packages but i have heard cheaper PA systems and they arent that easy on the ear at higher volumes and you run the risk of blowing the amp

ofcourse you can add another amp and speakers but its all about budget, as then you will need to look at some sort of mixer too and you may find you do have neighbours after all

Thanks for the advice. That looks top gear, although more than i was hoping to spend tbh. Thinking cap firmly on!

Cheers

[rich85uk]

TBH i just had a flick through that site and you can get a reasonable setup on half that budget but it would be half the power. i guess it depends how loud you want the setup to be as if its for family bbq with just some background music it with be completely OTT and your average docking station will be fine

i have heard my friends setup inside a house and have been to quieter nightclubs! but in a large marquee where it filled it perfectly

i guess you need to workout how much of the outdoor space do you want to be filled with music? and then how loud those areas to be filled with music

[VEX]

Marquee Hire company may have a contact that you could hire from.

V.

[pmanson]

Local DJ may be another option... Been a few years since I hired one but he was £250 cash for the evening

[mnrvortxf20c]

sonos amp inside house and a pair of external speakers wiring back to it?

[clived]

mnrvortxf20c said:

sonos amp inside house and a pair of external speakers wiring back to it?

...will sound very weedy indeed in a 32m x 23m open space...

[uberstealth]

Easy solution is active PA speakers

Inexpensive too - mostly

Check theses out

Mucho cheapness

http://www.rs100.co.uk/Sound-System-Accessories/Sp...

[spyder dryver]

Unless you are going to use the system again and again I would suggest hiring one. As already mentioned, a lot depends on how loud you wish to go and what coverage over what area. PA hire might not be as expensive as you think.

[Watchman]

I built one for a campsite:



It's not exactly HiFi but it's loud and decent enough. I have a number of other speaker drivers and car amps in the garage for when I've a spare weekend to add to the system.