Theatre is the one application where the loudest specification is usually the wrong one. A fixture that is bright, fast and fully featured will still be rejected if the audience can hear it, if it cannot hold a warm white, or if its edge is soft where the lighting designer needs a cut.
The short answer
Specify three things before output: noise, colour temperature and edge quality. Ask for a tunable white range of roughly 3200K to 5600K, a cooling design that is inaudible at the throw distance, and a beam angle quoted in degrees with lux at your distance. In our range a tunable 2×100W wash starts at US$64 and a zoom profile with a clean edge at US$168.
What actually matters in a theatre fixture?
Four criteria, in this order. Output comes last because theatrical throws are short and brightness is rarely the limiting factor.
| Criterion | What to ask for | Why it decides the purchase |
|---|---|---|
| Noise | Stated dB at 1 m, and the cooling method | Audible fixture noise ruins quiet scenes |
| Colour temperature | Tunable 3200K-5600K | Fixed 6500K reads cold on skin and cannot be corrected |
| Edge quality | Hard edge with cutters, or a profile lens | Front light must be kept off the audience |
| Beam angle | Degrees, plus lux at your throw distance | The only figure that predicts coverage |
| Output | Wattage and LED configuration | Rarely the constraint in a theatre |
A specification that lists output first and says nothing about noise is a specification written by someone who has not sat in the front row.
How do I judge noise before buying?
Ask for the cooling method and the noise figure, then listen to a sample at the throw distance rather than on a bench.
| Model | Cooling | Colour temperature | Channels | EXW, 1 unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RG-TH2B250-W2 | Natural convection | 3200K fixed | — | US$65 |
| RG-TH2B250 | Air-cooled | 3200K-5600K adjustable | 6CH | US$64 |
| RG-TH4B450 | Air-cooled | 3200K-5600K adjustable | 6CH | US$95 |
| RG-TH4B450-W4 | Natural convection | 3200K fixed | 6CH | US$109 |
| RG-TH8B600S | Air-cooled | 6500K fixed | 11CH | US$194 |
Two things stand out for a theatre buyer. The natural-convection models are the quietest option and they cost about the same as the air-cooled equivalents — US$109 versus US$95 at comparable output — so paying the small premium for silence is the easiest decision in the table. And the 6500K model is the one to avoid as a default, for the reason above.
What colour temperature should I choose?
Tunable is almost always the right answer, because the same fixture then covers a warm interior and a cool exterior without a gel. Fixed 3200K is acceptable when the room only ever does warm, naturalistic work; fixed 6500K is only right for broadcast-neutral or deliberately cold looks.
The test: look at a face under the fixture at the colour temperature you intend to use, and compare it against the room's ambient. Theatre skin tones are decided by the ambient wash far more than by the key light.
Do I need moving heads or profiles?
Front light is a profile job. A 200W zoom profile at US$168 throws a hard, cuttable edge that keeps light off the audience, and it does not move during a scene. Moving heads belong in a theatre rig where positions have to change between shows, or where the movement itself is the effect — not in the front truss.
| Position | Fixture type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Front of house | Profile spot | Hard edge, cutters, silent |
| Stage wash | Tunable white wash | Even field, adjustable colour temperature |
| Effects and specials | Moving head | Aim changes within the show |
| Side and back light | Moving head or profile | Depends on whether the aim changes |
The cost difference is not large — a 300W 3-in-1 BSW moving head at US$315 is roughly twice a good profile — but the noise and the edge quality are what you notice nightly.
What does a small theatre rig cost?
A defensible first phase for a 6 m stage, using real EXW prices:
| Layer | Qty | Model | Line total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front light | 4 | 200W zoom profile | US$672 |
| Stage wash | 6 | 2x100W tunable white | US$384 |
| Specials | 2 | 1x150W beam moving head | US$192 |
| Fixtures subtotal | 12 | — | US$1,248 |
Note the shape of it: two thirds of the money goes to the two jobs nobody in the audience notices, and one sixth to the fixtures that move. That is what a theatre rig looks like when it is built around the job rather than the specification.
How should the rig be focused and maintained?
Theatre rigs are judged on consistency between performances, which makes maintenance part of the design rather than an afterthought.
- Log the focus for every position — pan, tilt and zoom — so a knocked fixture can be restored without a designer in the room.
- Clean fan filters on a schedule. A dust-loaded filter raises the fan speed, and the fan is the noise source you paid to avoid.
- Track LED hours per fixture, because output between two fixtures of the same model diverges over time and a rig that was even on opening night may not be at closing.
- Replace gaskets and fan filters as consumables rather than waiting for failure.
- Re-check focus after any repatch or trim change, before the next performance, not during it.
A theatre rig with a maintained focus log can be re-lit by a technician in an afternoon. The same rig without one needs the original designer, which is a more expensive kind of maintenance.
What to send us
Send the stage width, the front-of-house distance and trim height, the number of lighting positions and what the room programmes. We will return a fixture schedule split by layer with tier pricing, and a noise recommendation for the front truss — the part of a theatre specification that is most often left out and hardest to fix afterwards.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quiet does a theatre fixture need to be?
Quiet enough that a person in the front row cannot hear it during a scene. Cooling design matters more than the fan brand: a fixture that moves air through a large, slow fan or by natural convection will be far quieter than one using a small high-speed fan, at the same wattage.
What colour temperature should theatre fixtures be?
Tunable between roughly 3200K and 5600K, so the same fixture covers a warm interior scene and a cool exterior one. A fixed 6500K fixture is the wrong default for theatre, because it reads cold against skin and cannot be pulled back.
Is a beam angle of 10R meaningful?
No. 10R is a discharge lamp designation, not a beam angle. Ask for the beam angle in degrees and the lux at the throw distance you will use, and ignore lamp-family labels in a specification.
Do I need moving heads or profiles for theatre front light?
Profiles, unless the front positions have to change between shows. A profile gives a hard, cuttable edge that keeps light off the audience, which is the requirement a moving head only meets at extra cost and with extra noise.
How much output does a small theatre need?
Less than most people expect, because the throw is short. A 2x100W tunable white wash at US$64 covers a small stage front truss; the money is better spent on an even rig than on output.
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