2 QSC k10s enough for downtown outdoor show

[dcopper]

I played an indoor soccer field set up for a party that was HUGE.
Had one K8 on a stand (SoloAmp died without even throwing me a warning bark),
and a small Alesis mixer. One guitar and one vocal and it sounded excellent.
Great dispersion even with the high ceiling - granted I had it cranked somewhat but no problem.
Two K10s will be more than enough unless you need to have people hear it in their living rooms across town.
davidc

[tomana]

Some things I've learned recently:

Any 200w or higher PA speak will work, if the place is near empty. As you add more people, that's what sucks up the sound level ... their clothes, hair, body mass, people speaking, etc. The more people, the more wattage you'll find you need to maintain the same volume level as when the place was partially full. Therefore, it may not be so much the room/club size but how many people will be jammed into a particular space.

The greater the available power of the speaker amp, the less it will have to work and the cooler it will run. Heat is what wears down parts and may eventually causes failure(s), not to mention speaker excursion peaks, etc caused by an amp that is maxed out (clipping). Clipping will destroy a speaker in a short time - poof; see? It just went dead or, it's got a sudden 'raspy buzz' ... ut oh, the crowd is still here

Running 2000W mains at 1/2 volume or less is far better (clarity and heat-wise) than having to max out 1000W mains to achieve the same SPL (sound pressure level, which is really what we're talking about here when discussing perceived sound levels). PA amps I have used or read about (both internal and external to the speaker cabinet) all have a point where distortion and eventually clipping will occur as the gain knob is increased. These two parameters vary according to make/model but all perform pretty much the same ... the more the gain is increased (it's really gain, not volume we're discussing here) the closer we get to distortion and clipping.

K10's are excellent speakers (hard to beat QSC's warranty too) but the truth be told, they are small (as well as lighter - having plastic cabs) and small usually if not always means poorer bass response (ignore the business hype which abounds online. The fact is, the more air you can push for the low frequencies, the better the bass. Speakers are air pushers - period). The weaker bass of a small cab/smaller driver is one of the main reasons why folks suggest using an 18" sub. You want deep, rich bass pumping towards your audience? You need 18" drivers and that means heavy weight. We all want a 20 lb sub but they ain't available yet. I like de-tuning the low E to D plus, I'm already tuned one whole note low. When done through a sub'ed PA all I can say is - for me it's worth taking a long one sub

If you use a QSC KW181 (the QSC match for your K10's) you can flip a switch on the K10's to Ext Sub so that all lower frequencies (100hZ and lower) will go to the sub only and the K10's become midrange/horn drivers. Sounds very nice indeed and stays that way at highest SPL's as well. Some use a dbx DriveRack to auto-adjust (to any particular room) the mains and sub(s). The downside is, a QSC KW181 weighs about 90 lbs

A 200 lb capacity Magna Cart with these straps can move that sub no problem

If you want to avoid the single sub, you might want to consider selling the K10's (hopefully you registered them and therefore will have the transferable warranty to pass along) and getting a pair of QSC KW152's; has a 15" driver, larger and heavier (approx. 60ish lbs) than the K10's but the cabinet is wood, they sound very good, exceptional bass response over the K10's and can cover rather large filled with people rooms