[autoteleology]

I help out with local music events, I'm what you would call the sound tech, making sure everything sounds good.

Last gig I worked at featured a DJ with two huge bass subs that we couldn't get working properly because his amplifier only put out 30 watts, when the subs required a minimum of 300 watts to function. We had to borrow our opening act's bass guitar speaker amp to have any bass at all in our setup.

This guy is my friend, so I'm looking to help him find a new amplifier for his subs. I'm more of a headphone junkie, and have relatively little experience with speakers.

TL;DR: I need a good bang for the buck 300 watt+ speaker amplifier to power my friend's woofers. Budget is flexible.

 

[obobskivich]

I'm skeptical they require 300W minimum (I've never seen such a speaker - yes I'm familiar with FOH) - got model numbers and other information about the equipment you're hooking up?

Off hand, I like QSC amplifiers - find something in the RMX line that you can afford. But I'd really like to know more about the cabinets we're trying to drive and what we're driving the amplifier with.

 

[Speedskater]

I too am skeptical.  While it may take 300 Watts to get them to play loud, 30 Watts won't be exactly quite.  Most sub-woofer trade low-efficiency for smaller size. Lots of high power sub amps are available these days, but size is size.

 

[autoteleology]

Well, these subs are as tall as I am and nearly twice as wide. They're massive, and 30 Watts gave them just enough juice to play at maybe 30dB - and I don't mean 30 Phon. You could feel the subs a little bit if you put your hand on the side, but the sound they produced was largely inaudible.

 

[autoteleology]

http://www.wwbw.com/JBL-JRX125-Dual-15--2-Way-Speaker-Cabinet-Pair-600348-i1152806.wwbw?source=TWWRWXGP&cagpspn=pla

These are very similar to what my friend owns.

 

[obobskivich]

Those aren't subs. Those are full-range speakers. And most PA speakers look like that (so they could be JBL, or Community, or Mackie, etc - 2x15 + horn is pretty common). What kind of frequencies are you trying to get out of these though?

Anyways, those JBLs will take your face off with 30W in - but what kind of amplifier were you using? Really we need more information than "they look big" or whatever else in order to give you any good feedback.

 

[blazer78]

Also check that you don't have an impedance mismatch. The speakers may be 4 ohms while your amp is rated at 8-16 ohms.