Audio Systems: speakers, person crowd, cement block

Question
i am interested in purchasing speakers to play music to a 500-600 person
crowd.  what do you suggest as far as continuos wattage?

thanks in advance

Answer
You need to consult with professional audio people who can evaluate the space, type of program/music and the crowd profile.  For a gospel/church setting the requirements would be totally different than, say, for a high school prom dance.

You need professional equipment and speakers that can reproduce big time; probably two or three good subs and a good mixing board if there is going to be live vocals, etc.

Speaker power is a function of:  The sensitivity of the speaker systems selected, the cubic volume of the space, the construction characteristics of the building (cement block walls vs framed/drywall - for example), surface materials (acoustic reflections) and the floor finish.  

Finally, you must decide if this is for a crowd that is expecting really good sound - or just enough to get by with.  If dancing is part of the end use then you need lots of power, lots of bass (subs) and carefully planned installation of the speakers. If the requirement is more for reproduction (recitals, lectures, etc.) then you are talking a really powerful PA system.

So, you have many choices to make.

Try a Sam Ash type professional house or J&R music who carry many lines of pro equipment.  JBL, Peavey, Pioneer, Alesis, Altec, Ashley, QSC and so on.

See:  http://www.proaudio.com/

which is a good place to do some "looking" and basic research into the possible equipment choices.

Finally, you did not give any budget.  If you are budget limited then you have to start thinking about the major expensive items such as the loudspeakers; then the amplification and front end stuff: Microphones, mixer, cables, headphones, monitors, etc.

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