Insights/Renting a PA system
PA system for a large event

Renting a PA System: Music or Announcements?

Music PA · announcement system · large events
InsightsGuide article
Problem

Searching for a PA system mostly turns up music systems

Anyone looking to rent a PA system mostly finds party speakers and PA sets for music. That is fine for a party. At a city festival, music festival or funfair with several stages and many visitors, however, announcements also need to reach the whole site – even if power or mobile networks fail.

Rent NIKOS

What the rental includes, how it works and which partner covers your region – see Rent a Mobile PA System for Events.

The difference

Music system and announcement system compared

A music system is designed for sound and volume in one place, usually in front of a stage, and depends on mains power. An announcement system is designed for speech intelligibility: it distributes announcements to many locations under central control, mutes the running programme when needed and ideally works independently of the event power supply. For visitor information, storm warnings and evacuation announcements, exactly these properties matter.

Identify your needs

How to tell that you need an announcement system

Check these questions: Are there several stages, tents or areas that must be reached at the same time? Do the authorities require evacuation or hazard announcements? Is the site so large that a single system cannot reach all visitors? Must announcements be possible during a power failure or a storm? If you answer yes to any of these questions, a music system alone is not enough.

Combine instead of duplicating

Use existing music systems instead of renting everything twice

You do not have to rent everything twice. NIKOS uses the existing stage and PA systems: an NIKOS [audio]² announcement unit is connected between the mixing desk and the amplifier and takes priority during an announcement. Areas without their own sound system are covered by the mobile outdoor loudspeaker NIKOS [horn]², controlled centrally via the NIKOS [dispatcher]² control unit. The system runs on its own self-sufficient radio network and operates for up to 16 hours on battery – with no cables between locations.

Rental with support

NIKOS is rented out through regional partners who take care of planning, delivery, set-up and support. An operator is always required for announcements and monitoring – on request a technician from the NIKOS partner. Please enquire at least four weeks in advance if possible, as exclusively usable frequencies are applied for with the frequency regulator for every deployment.

Rent a PA and announcement system for your event through the NIKOS partners in your region.

Frequently asked questions

Questions & answers

At a single location, yes. As soon as several stages or areas need to be reached at the same time, or announcements must be possible during a power failure, you need a centrally controlled announcement system. NIKOS connects the existing music systems by radio for this purpose.
The NIKOS NIKOS [audio]² announcement unit runs for up to 16 hours on its internal battery, and announcements via the NIKOS [horn]² outdoor loudspeaker continue during a power failure as well.
From smaller city festivals to festival sites covering several hectares – depending on the number of radio-networked units used.
More Guides
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Evacuation Announcement Systems at Festivals
What kind of evacuation announcement system works on festival grounds without built-in infrastructure – requirements for range, redundancy and intelligibility.
Safety Announcements or a Separate Evacuation System?
A decision guide for organizers: when is a shared safety announcement system enough, and when do you need a separate evacuation system?
Voice Alarm Systems Without a Mobile Network
How a temporary voice alarm system works reliably even without an available or with an overloaded mobile network.
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How safety announcements at city festivals can be realized through existing stage and PA systems – without completely new PA infrastructure.
DIN EN 50849 at Mobile Events
What DIN EN 50849 specifically requires for temporary, mobile voice alarm systems at events – and how that can be achieved without fixed infrastructure.
Renting a Mobile PA System for Events
PA, safety announcements, voice alarm: why classic 100 V PA technology reaches its limits at temporary large events – and what a rentable mobile alternative needs to deliver.
Back to overview

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