Got a customer with 7 Speakercraft OE8's with 125w each and 2 Speakercraft Subs with 250w each. Still not loud enough. Short of bringing in concert PA eq, what direction should I be looking? The coverage area is approximately 60' x 80'.

How loud is it, in dB?

How loud does your client want it to go, in dB?

Where are the speakers and subs?

How tall is the ceiling?

I would look at the Jbl control series. Power this with network crown amplifiers like an xti2000. You can process and eq the system with your laptop while you are outside and set the parameters. If you can't get what you want out of a set up like this your customers will need to build a stage and hire a band.

The thread's title is "Outdoor Sound".

So, I don't know, the sky's the limit?

+1

I supplied control 30's to one guy's putting green. It played loud.

Point is, in this case, OP will have to go back and take out a bunch of equipment and replace it with the correct tool for the job.

Understanding how loud the guy wanted it would have made it a simpler process.... Consider giving the guy analagous situations: do you want to have to yell to be heard three feet from your neighbor? Do you want it pleasent background music, like what plays at the grocery store?

JBL Pro control contractors and Crown amps clearly would work well in this situation, or not, depending on the design and implementation.

JBL/Crown is the answer.

What are you using for amplification? How are the OE8 speakers hooked up to the amplifier /amplifiers? Are you using a speaker selector or any type of impedence matching volume controls?

You don't mention anything about what size of an area you are covering or the surroundings... Is it in the suburbs, woods, next to a freeway?

I do know the OE8 speakers perform well when you get some power behind them.

Hah! Just noticed that. Mea culpa! Long day, I was sitting in a ballroom bored as can be waiting around while the tech was reterminating cables jumpimg between Audia, Toolbox, and RC...

Seriously though, is it a rectangle? A spline around a pool? Several pockets separated by 15' tall brick walls?

At a minimum youre going to need speakers all the way around the perimeter, question is, how loud do they need to be. What is the maximum throw distance? How about an MS Paint drawing?

He did mention that 60' x 80' is the area he is trying to cover

I believe 60' x 80' is a rectangle

60 x 80 are the perimeter dimensions. The speakers roughly equidistant from each other surrounding the perimeter. All speakers are wired individually to amp channels, volume controlled by line level in. I'll try to get the dB level today. It currently plays as loud as I would ever care to hear, short of being at a concert. He wants more, especially at the bottom end. Thanks for the suggestions.

Look into Terra, the have a pretty massive sub that might fit the bill.

Based on what OP said, I withdraw recommendation for contractor series product. Prepare your customer for a much, much louder system with a much, much higher bill. You'll still use Crown amps, but you will step into more of a pa grade speaker that is customized by the jbl pro shop for weather purposes. It will take a while to get done on this project. If you don't have a contact for those products, my favorite supplier can help. If you do have a contact, talk to them directly.

You've already under delivered once....