How Many Watts Per Square Foot?

December 10, 2022

Are you prepared to improve the sound in your space by learning how many watts your speakers should have? Awesome!

You will discover all there is to know about the wattage your speakers require in this new guide, including:

How to figure out how many watts you'll need for a party
average wattage based on room size
How do speakers and watts relate?
How does wattage relate to the recommended distance between speakers?
why increasing watts does not increase loudness

Most PA speakers have a peak power range of 100 to 2000 watts. Greater wattage has the potential to increase volume and provides better tone quality and coverage at lower volumes.

A pair of 100-watt speakers will cover a space of less than 500 square feet. Look for 300 to 500-watt speakers for spaces between 500 and 1000 square feet. Two 500 to 700-watt speakers and a 1000-watt subwoofer will cover 1000 to 2000 square feet. Use a 2800-watt subwoofer, two toppers at 1200 watts each, and almost 2000 square feet will be covered.

RMS (root mean square) and "peak" are frequently seen as the two values for the power handling rating when looking for the wattage of speakers and subwoofers.

The speaker's mean power, also known as root mean square (RMS) power handling, is the maximum amount of power it can work continuously. The highest power level that the speaker can employ in brief bursts is referred to as the peak power handling rate.

For instance, a speaker with a 50W RMS rating but a 100W peak rating can operate just well with 50 watts of constant power and up to 100 watts on occasion.

What power output does a decent speaker need to be effective? The size of your home or venue will determine.

If the dance floor is small, a nice speaker for a small house party can have 50 watts. In comparison, you hardly ever get away with less than 1500 watts if you're the host of a party for 200–300 guests.

Average Wattage based on Room Size

This is the typical amount of wattage you'll require. It contains the total wattage for the subwoofer and speakers.

Room size in square feet --> Wattage sum (peak) --> Recommended speaker

Under 500 --> 20 – 100 watts -->(Edifier R1280DB Powered Bluetooth Bookshelf Speakers)

500-1000 --> 100 – 500 watts --> (Sony SSCS5 3-Way 3-Driver Bookshelf Speaker System)

1000-2000 --> 500 – 2000 watts --> Electro-Voice ZLX-12BT 12″ 1000W Bluetooth Powered Loudspeaker

Over 2000 --> 2000 – 4000 watts --> Mackie SRM V-Class Series, 12-Inch 2000W High-Performance Loudspeaker

less than 500 square feet

Here, a second subwoofer is not necessary. You can skip it because it's probably a small interior house party with less than 20 guests.

For your requirements, these lovely Edifier R1280DBs (Amazon link) will be more than adequate.

There is no need to fiddle with cables because they are portable and have a Bluetooth connection.

1000 to 500 square feet

You'll probably cram 30 to 40 people into this room, which could even be a whole apartment.

You might choose the excellent Sony SSCS5, which is likewise a cost-effective choice given the quality you get, and which will serve you should you need it for a larger residence.

This one will probably call the police rather than make everyone leave the noisy room.

If you want something more elegant, consider the Bose Surround Speakers 700. The 700s have a bass boost button and offer adequate bass. They contain a 5-band adjustable EQ as well as 4 different EQ presets, and they are also for sharp listening.

They feature two independent amplifiers and can produce 120 watts of peak power. Although it doesn't sound like much, it can reach an amazing >100+ Db.

10 to 20 square feet

You'll be fine with two 700-watt speakers and a subwoofer if you're searching for a straightforward sound system with decent bass for hosting parties at your home and not anticipating too many guests (140 at most).

Every week, my friend plays music at college parties with his current setup, which includes two Electro-Voice ZLX-12BT 12′′.

There would be more than enough for 100 inebriated students on a rooftop. That sort of thing ought to work for you as well.

The only other piece of advice I can give is to make sure your audio files are of great quality before moving up to full-sized speakers.

2000 square feet plus

The Yorkville Sound Paraline series speakers are ridiculously excellent. The fact that they work so well is the main factor in why I use them. When you only have 1000 watts of electricity available, you need carefully consider your speaker options.

The Mackie SRM V-Class Series, 12-Inch 2000W speakers with the subwoofer are what I usually order. These appeared to be the most reliable for the least amount of electricity after I did a lot of research. Even at ear-splitting volumes, they still sound fantastic.

We often get between 250 and 350 attendees, and those are loud enough for a gathering that size.

We don't need nearly as many speaker watts to produce terrific sound throughout the summer, in my experience. Because the sound is so heavily absorbed by the snow in the winter, you need almost twice as much to provide the same impact.

I often utilize two generators; one is a 1000 watt generator for the lights and DJ booth, and the other is a 2000 watt generator for the sound system. Although I've even managed to power the entire equipment with a single 1000-watt generator, this is normally overkill, but we were always in danger of blowing a break.

What is the typical power output of a good speaker? Here is the study we did on speaker wattage for solid outdoor, computer, party, etc. speakers.

How Do You Determine How Many Watts You Need for a Party?

1. Number of people

If we're planning an outside party with no space restriction, we adopt this antiquated technique (e.g., woods, beach, large private property).

2. The space's size (The most important)

The majority of us are most concerned with this. If you're planning a house party (basement, rooftop, apartment), you need be aware of the square footage and the configuration of the walls to have the best acoustic surround.

3. Is it inside or outside?

Because of the wind or anything else that could affect the sound quality when the event is outdoors, we often increase the wattage even though there are the same number of attendees in question. You should aim for a minimum of 10 watts each visitor outside.

How Do Speakers and Wattage Relate?

James Watt is the name of the unit of energy known as the watt (W) (the man who began the practical steam engine). Watts are a unit of measurement commonly used in the field of DJing to describe how much power an audio instrument can handle.

There are two standard values for power handling.

The audio device's ability to handle continuous power is indicated by the RMS (root mean square) rating.

The speaker's maximum power level for brief bursts is indicated by the peak value.

If your speaker has a rating of 75 watts RMS and 160 watts peak, it can handle 75 watts of continuous power and occasionally 150 watts of peak output.

It would be beneficial if you were cautious when evaluating the wattages of two different powered speakers. How come? RMS values represent constant, everyday use. They provide a more accurate indicator of a speaker's performance than peak values.

Unfortunately, some businesses only use peak values when marketing their equipment because the higher numbers appear more impressive. So keep this in mind while you contrast speakers. You might not be making an apples-to-apples comparison because that subwoofer with 1000 watts of power might not be one with 1000 watts of RMS capacity.

Watts for speakers—do they even matter? Not as much, actually. Here are some reasons why speaker wattage doesn't really matter and what to consider while picking the finest one.

How Does Wattage Affect How Far Away the Speakers Should Be Placed?

Based on the SPL (sound pressure level) of the audio devices in comparison to the typical ambient background sound, the average ratio for the sound performance range is calculated.

200 watts of power per speaker will typically span a 60-foot radius. To determine where and how far apart the speakers must be for the greatest performance, I advise doing tests with the speaker position.

Why Won't Increasing Wattage Increase Volume?

Decibels (dB), which stand for sound pressure level (SPL), measure how loud or quiet a sound is in relation to other sounds.

You can't simply double the number to produce anything twice as loud because decibels are logarithmic. Not twice as loud as 30dB SPL, for instance, is 60dB SPL.

Therefore, doubling the power (wattage) results in a rise of +3dB. Not quite the doubling, but a noticeable volume increase.

The volume must be increased by +10dB.

Why Doesn't Wattage Mean More Volume?

Contrary to popular perception, it would be ideal if you never assumed that comparing two speakers, more power equals higher volume.

While power is a crucial consideration when choosing speakers, sensitivity is even more critical.

The ability of a speaker to effectively convert power into sound is measured by sensitivity, which is expressed in decibels.

It specifies the SPL that a speaker can produce at a distance of 1 meter using a 1-watt signal.

One of the reasons a speaker with 2,000 watts isn't inherently more powerful than one with 1000 watts is that it's a useful indicator of a speaker's total loudness.

The volume of a 1000-watt speaker will be the same as a 2,000-watt speaker with a sensitivity of 93dB.

By average wattage, how loud are speakers? In the paper that is linked, we contrasted speaker loudness and average speaker wattage.

Speakers: Active or Passive? Which Should I Pick?

Power amplifiers are absent from passive (non-powered) speakers.

When we talk about a passive speaker's wattage rating, we're talking about its ability to handle power.

If you're constructing a large, intricate sound system, passive speakers are fantastic. Due to the great power of these systems, having separate amplifiers and speakers enables the creation of unique designs that are specific to the requirements of the venue.

A clear path to the amplifier offers straightforward support (climbing walls and soaring rafters every time you want to make an amplifier change is not fun).

Specifically matched amplifiers are already present in active (powered) speakers. This is great for you since it means you won't have to worry about matching your speakers with the right amp because that problem has already been resolved. They are also easy to work with. Simple setup involves connecting your other devices to the speaker after inserting your speaker into an electrical outlet.

Here is a longer article with additional details on the distinctions between active and passive speakers and suggestions.

In conclusion, choose active speakers rather than passive ones. It makes the entire process of setting up considerably simpler if you're a beginner. If not, you might have to deal with amps, watts, ohm loads, and other issues.

Given that I lacked the time to go through every aspect of the equipment, I told my cousin in Australia that. He finally settled on these:

2 speakers Electro-Voice ZLX12BT 12" 1000W
1xKlipsch R-120SW subwoofer

Additionally, I strongly suggest investing in a crossover, which separates the high-end frequencies from the low-end ones. This shows that the speakers and subwoofers only get the frequency range they were designed to reproduce. Without adding additional speakers, the speakers sound significantly louder thanks to the increased speaker productivity, and the speaker cones are also less likely to break.

Make sure you obtain the necessary wires as well.