balanced wattage?

Hey im just about to start building my own system and im not to sure what wattages i need
I usually play electronica so i want some decent bass and some nice high ends
Im just wondering what i should ballance my drivers at
i want to have a 3 way system but using crossovers so i can utalises the speakers potential
i have 2 200W hitachi midrange which im willing to use and probably going to get 120W tweeters
just looking for what wattage i should get for my low range speakers

PS. the hitachis are Home theatre i think, what are your opinions on using some home theatre gear in a small party/home use?

Cheers in advance

Hi there Mr Koopy

We really need lots more details before we can comment - "200 watts" is printed on a lot of gear and only some of it really delivers. Could you give part names/numbers? Links to manufacturer's product web pages would be even better.

That said, on the general question of party sound using home speakers, you can make it work if you observe the following:

- you need a proper PA bass bin for the bass because your home speakers simply won't generate enough bass. Even a cheap thing off Ebay or Maplin will be a help. Go for 12" or 15" driver. It needs its own amp too.

- get the home speakers really high up, on a shelf, screwed to ceiling etc and close to the crowd. Ideally, use 2 pairs and spread them around.

- you need a crossover to split into sub and everything else. A home cinema amp can do this as could a crossover for a car stereo. Or get a proper PA crossover from eBay, should be fairly cheap.

The sound quality of this setup will not be good - just enough to dance to - but far below what your home speakers are designed to sound like in normal use. Getting the sound quality back at high volumes is what PA speaker design is mostly about; hang around here and you'll learn all about it.