How professional multi-speaker systems work

[tourenious]

Hey guys!

 

I want to know, how the systems in clubs and concerts work and how do I do the same thing, what should I buy.

Me and a friend was thinking to start a company that hosts/organizes events/parties.

 

My knowledge of audio ends with how to buy and hook custom home cinema receiver and speaker system.

 

I tried to search goggle for information but I don't even know what questions to ask and I wasn't very successful

 

I would be grateful if someone can give me some links with information on the topic. Thanks!

 

 

[it_dont_work]

Depends on the venue and what your using it for, most larger venues will use delay stacks, which are easiest these days to setup using a driverack from the primary foh output. if it's not a large live venue realistically most  powered pa speakers work fine from a decent mixer and large graphic to tune the room from feedback 

 

if its a large venue you'll need to compensate sound traveling, so people still perceive its coming from the same source with delay stacks 

 

stadiums gigs probably looking at line array systems while a bitch to setup are a heap of fun to work with. 

 

[tourenious]

2 hours ago, it_dont_work said:

Depends on the venue and what your using it for, most larger venues will use delay stacks, which are easiest these days to setup using a driverack from the primary foh output. if it's not a large live venue realistically most  powered pa speakers work fine from a decent mixer and large graphic to tune the room from feedback 

 

if its a large venue you'll need to compensate sound traveling, so people still perceive its coming from the same source with delay stacks 

 

stadiums gigs probably looking at line array systems while a bitch to setup are a heap of fun to work with. 

 

Ok, let's say I want to supply a small hall with sound for, let's say, a party with loud music. If I want to play the music from 4 speakers. What amplifier can channel the stereo signal through more than 2 speakers and would I be able to do it for example with a regular 5.1 home cinema receiver? (Sorry for the dum question) :))

[anothertom]

What I would suggest if you're only just getting started with organising/promoting events, is to use an existing venue. There's so much that needs to be thought through that trying to do this properly, while also promoting the event properly, you're going to miss something important.

 

By using an existing venue, you can reduce your cost (you don't need to buy or hire in lighting, sound, DJ equipment), staffing costs will be reduced (as it will be through the venue rather than directly contracting freelancers), and you can reduce the setup time significantly. You also would get an existing infrastructure for bars and drink service, rather than having to source that equipment from scratch or contracting a caterer, the venue would also have existing staff for this. You don't need to be looking at large clubs to start with, you could probably find a smaller club or space who wouldn't normally be open every night.

 

Once you've done more than zero events of this style (and hopefully built up a fan base of sorts) then you could start looking at using less conventional venues. You would then have an idea of how much you'd be able to spend without losing money and how many people you'd need to plan for, this would guide the type of venue you chose as well as what technical equipment you'd want to be bringing in. I would suggest that at this point you don't go out and buy a PA system, use a local hire company or a reputable local DJ for equipment and setup.

[Nene]

On 2/9/2019 at 10:38 AM, tourenious said:

Ok, let's say I want to supply a small hall with sound for, let's say, a party with loud music. If I want to play the music from 4 speakers. What amplifier can channel the stereo signal through more than 2 speakers and would I be able to do it for example with a regular 5.1 home cinema receiver? (Sorry for the dum question) :))

So my most solid piece of advice here, is that if you're dealing with a stereo source you should avoid having more than two speakers until you have a lot more experience. I would also avoid using any sort of home stereo for an event that is going to have drunk people, because you will cry when it gets beer spilled on it.

 

For a small event I would hire some self-powered speakers. You plug them into power and an output, and they generally just work without much fuss. They usually have an input and a thru connection, so if one isn't loud enough, you can put another one right next to it and make it louder - this is the only exception to no more than two speakers, and if they're more than a few inches apart they will sound weird and shitty when given the same signal.

 

You can also hire a small mixer which will give you the right sort of signal to feed into the speakers, let you use more than one source, and plug in a mic.

 

Hopefully there is a helpful hire company near you, because most of them will have account managers you can tell what you want to do and how big the venue is, and they will tell you what you need. The really friendly ones will even tell you how to connect it together, and many will have a list of people you can pay to put it together for you.