Sound Systems

[Steadydoses]

Hello Everyone my name is Ty...soon to be a "Night Club Owner" myself...This is my first post so here goes nothing!...

I was wondering what types of sounds systems do you guys use in your bar?

Are you leasing the equipment?

How much should I pay for a nice quality one?

I've been doing some research with some of the big names like Bose, but what would anyone suggest? Thanks God Bless

[alshorses]

I have a night club and sound is very important. I would look for a company that does sound shows for large clubs. They should know the ins and outs. We have Peavy speakers and one 5000 watt amp for lows and one 2400 watt amp for the highs and these run thru a compress that helps not to fry the speakers. This should be a little help.

[intensity]

You can spend 1k or 15k, it really depends on the size of your venue and what you are trying to accomplish. If you were doing a medium sized venue with brand new good (not great) quality equipment you would probably fall in the middle somewhere.

If you aren't knowledgeable about sound equipment and how to match speakers and amplifiers, cable lengths vs cable gauge, power and headroom, etc then I highly suggest you get a professional sound company to help you out.

Over powering (or worse, underpowering) your system will give you nothing but headaches and repair bills. Build a well matched system with good headroom and it can give you years of problem free service.

As far as lease or buying it is up to you. Leasing is easier on the upfront costs but have a higher cost when everything is said and done. Buying is more expensive up front but in the long run is usually cheaper. There is also the tax benefit of leasing rather then buying. Each way has it's pros and cons.


Note: The following is my opinion, if you ask 20 people you will get 20 different answers:
As far as Bose, I would stay away from them for high powered speakers. EAW, EV, Peavey, JBL all make great speakers. Peavey and JBL male some low end stuff that you want to stay away from though. Also, Peavey and JBL don't make many "fly ready" speakers as opposed to EV and EAW which are almost all "Fly ready". I swear by Crown amplifiers but some people love QSC. Both are great amps and I wouldn't buy anything else.

[TolEuph]

EAW,EAW,EAW,Crown,Crown,Crown....nothing else. You get what you pay for.

I'll put in a shameless plug...but talk to Ty and Rich @ agiprodj.com, they know their stuff.

[clubdesign]

we really need to know more about your venue. Sound systems can run from 20k to 800k depending on your space.

[Steadydoses]

Thanks for the replies I appreciate the info

[Steadydoses]

Thanks to the info

You can spend 1k or 15k, it really depends on the size of your venue and what you are trying to accomplish. If you were doing a medium sized venue with brand new good (not great) quality equipment you would probably fall in the middle somewhere.

If you aren't knowledgeable about sound equipment and how to match speakers and amplifiers, cable lengths vs cable gauge, power and headroom, etc then I highly suggest you get a professional sound company to help you out.

Over powering (or worse, underpowering) your system will give you nothing but headaches and repair bills. Build a well matched system with good headroom and it can give you years of problem free service.

As far as lease or buying it is up to you. Leasing is easier on the upfront costs but have a higher cost when everything is said and done. Buying is more expensive up front but in the long run is usually cheaper. There is also the tax benefit of leasing rather then buying. Each way has it's pros and cons.


Note: The following is my opinion, if you ask 20 people you will get 20 different answers:
As far as Bose, I would stay away from them for high powered speakers. EAW, EV, Peavey, JBL all make great speakers. Peavey and JBL male some low end stuff that you want to stay away from though. Also, Peavey and JBL don't make many "fly ready" speakers as opposed to EV and EAW which are almost all "Fly ready". I swear by Crown amplifiers but some people love QSC. Both are great amps and I wouldn't buy anything else.

[SoundTech]

Hi Ty,
Congrats on your future nightclub investment. My name is Willis and I represent Infinite Audio out of Miami Florida. We are responsible for some of the best designs and complete installations of Sound & Lights Systems in the United States and the International market. We can help you with anything from sound & lighting to video and security systems. We can direct you to a finance company that can help set up your nightclub. You can reach me at (859) 433-7479 anytime. Please visit my website at www.goinfinite.com and check out some of our past and future projects currently underway. Call me with some info because i have plenty of questions and info. Take care and we wish you the best.

[chicagoguy]

If you have the budget I would go with Funktion One. There are a ton of other companies that make great stuff (EAW, Dynacord etc) however in my experience Funktion One is by far the best.

That being said there are a ton of factors influencing how much your system will cost, just to name a few

-size of the venue
-space constraints (are you concerned about the footprint of subs etc)
-number of zones (you may want to have different volumes for different areas of your venue, this adds to the cost though)

Get bids from several different companies and also check out existing venues. Figure out the places that have your favorite sound and do some digging to find out who installed the system and what components they used.