What Kind of Amplifier is suitable for PA speakers

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Geokouz

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Joined 2017
#1
Hi everybody!
I would like to know what kind of amplifier is suitable for 400w 8Ohm PA speaker
i found one common PA amplifier that can deliver up to 400w in 8Ohms
I want loud speakers for outside is it good to use 4 Ohm Instead?
Thanks in advance!
 
#2
If you want to get the most out of the speaker, its usually safe to go for 2x the RMS rating, and make sure the amplifier doesn't clip often. So something that's 800w/ch into 8ohm will do the job nicely.
That said, a 400w amp will only be 3dB down at clip. That's not a whole lot.

4ohm speakers will get more power out of a given amplifier, but if you wanted to connect more speakers, you'll probably need another amplifier. Very few are happy driving to 2ohm.

Chris
 
#7
You have to buy fatter, more expensive wires for 4 ohm speakers than 8 ohm speakers, if the runs from amp to speaker are more than a couple of feet. Skinny wires fade out the volume peaks and in my experience add high freq IM distortion to signals. I'm using 10 ga on my 8 ohm speaker from 8' away; 16 ga zip cord I can hear differences on top octave piano & bells & cymbals I don't like. Even at 1/4 watt in my living room.
Or you can put the amps right next to the speakers, out in the rain. Cuts the expense of cables, increases repair costs on amps and trouble for the venue manager.
There are self powered speakers that build the amp right into the speaker, avoiding the theft of fat speaker cables. (Copper sells well at junkyards). Then the cables are thin 24 ga twisted pair and not worth stealing.
 
#8
indianajo said:
Skinny wires fade out the volume peaks and in my experience add high freq IM distortion to signals. I'm using 10 ga on my 8 ohm speaker from 8' away; 16 ga zip cord I can hear differences on top octave piano & bells & cymbals I don't like. Even at 1/4 watt in my living room.
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I'd bet you have never done a double blind test to prove that rather silly claim. While the general theory is sound the distances and power levels involved have to be much higher than 1/4 watt or 8 feet before speaker cable size beyond common lamp cord has any measurable effect... never mind any audible effect. No you don't want to use something like cat5 for speaker cable but you don't need 10ga for these power levels either, any decent 14ga stranded copper cable is more than sufficient.
 
#9
Geokouz said:
I would like to know what kind of amplifier is suitable for 400w 8Ohm PA speaker
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If this is for mobile PA uses then a PA amplifier would be more suitable than a home audio version because the PA amp is better designed for the rigors of road use.

Geokouz said:
I want loud speakers for outside is it good to use 4 Ohm Instead?
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Inside/outside doesn't matter, your speakers are 8ohm so it doesn't matter what the amp delivers at 4ohms unless you go beyond a traditional 2 speaker setup.
 
#10
conanski said:
I'd bet you have never done a double blind test to prove that rather silly claim. While the general theory is sound the distances and power levels involved have to be much higher than 1/4 watt or 8 feet before speaker cable size beyond common lamp cord has any measurable effect... never mind any audible effect. No you don't want to use something like cat5 for speaker cable but you don't need 10ga for these power levels either, any decent 14ga stranded copper cable is more than sufficient.
Click to expand...
Don't need to. If the speaker version of piano has vibrato on a top octave track, it is distorting. Pianos don't have vibrato. A, 10 ga wires, B zip cord, B has vibrato, A doesn't.
Take 10 years of musical instrument training and learn to use your ears. If you still have any. Most adult males have blown out their high frequency response with weapons, fireworks, motor vehicles or boats, too loud recorded music. I still have response to 14 khz, because the Army taught me to use ear plugs in 1968.
The leadership of my church is all adult males with the blown out ears problem. They can't hear how bad all those piano shaped objects and PA equipment sound.
The salesmen told them they were the best.
 
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