How much power does my sound system need?

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   Hi, probably a stupid question, but I tried google and didn't come up with anything.

I'm bringing my sound system to a festival and they are asking me how much power I need.

How do I know how much power I need for the sound?

I'll either bring my current system which is 4xdouble 18" and 4x15"tops... or

6x18"scoops 4x15"Kicks and 4xtops.

Most likely powered by 3xCVR amps.

I'm a bit lost here. Still a total noob.

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Maze Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 13 April 2014 Location: China Status: Offline Points: 179	Post Options Post Reply Quote Maze Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: How much power does my sound system need? Posted: 07 January 2020 at 9:26am
	Hi, probably a stupid question, but I tried google and didn't come up with anything. I'm bringing my sound system to a festival and they are asking me how much power I need. How do I know how much power I need for the sound? I'll either bring my current system which is 4xdouble 18" and 4x15"tops... or 6x18"scoops 4x15"Kicks and 4xtops. Most likely powered by 3xCVR amps. I'm a bit lost here. Still a total noob.

FOO Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 23 December 2018 Location: Denmark Status: Offline Points: 815	Post Options Post Reply Quote FOO Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 January 2020 at 9:37am
	First of All, we dont know anything about your system. Only how many boxes and what driver sizes you use. You need to add more information.. What drivers you use? What amplifiers you are using? How many people Will you be covering? How big a area do you need to cover? If only 200 pp is attending the festival, and you bring gear for 1000 pp, you dont need full power.. logically. More information yields a more precise answer :)

imageoven Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Old Croc Joined: 28 March 2007 Location: Scotland Status: Offline Points: 2186	Post Options Post Reply Quote imageoven Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 January 2020 at 11:16am
	I would add up the maximum current draw on all the equipment you intend to take (from manufacturers specification) add 10% then round up to the nearest supply size. In the UK we use 16A, 32A, 63A, 125A supplys.
	Keep pushing on, things are gonna get better.

JonB67 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Young Croc Joined: 22 April 2016 Location: UK Status: Offline Points: 1376	Post Options Post Reply Quote JonB67 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 January 2020 at 2:08pm
	I did two things, both of which were helpful to me. 1) calculate it. 2) actually measure it. Buy a clamp meter. They're not expensive, under £25 from screwfix. I made an extention lead with some of the outer sheathing removed just for test purposes. (Im sure one of the electrical engineers will tell me this isn't safe and there's a better way to do it...) Then next time you set the rig up put the clamp meter on the cable and see how many amps it's actually pulling. Turn it up to 11 and play your heaviest tunes. Set the meter to read max draw and after a few test tunes you'll get an accurate idea of the real world draw of your rig, as you actually use it. Edited by JonB67 - 07 January 2020 at 2:08pm

Maze Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Registered User Joined: 13 April 2014 Location: China Status: Offline Points: 179	Post Options Post Reply Quote Maze Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 January 2020 at 4:45pm
	Great, thanks for the replies so far All my gear is in storage, but I'll see if I can find documentation on it. For the scoop rig I'm building, I don't even really know what amps etc I will use, but when I test it I'll be sure to also see how much power it pulls with a clamp meter.