DJing and PA speakers

avb · Post by **avb** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:49 pm

I’m gonna be DJing (for the first time ever

) at my girlfriend’s little art show in July, and I believe I have everything – computer, midi controllers, Ableton and good tracks to rock the party – but don't have a key component: PA speakers.

Please suggest me the best PA speakers around $400 or $500 tops.

The gig is going to be probably on a place that's the size of a coffee shop. The question is: is one speaker enough for that? Another thing is that the sound will probably be playing low on the background. This is not like a huge party with the sound cranked and thumping. Would I have to get a pair of speaker?

Bear in mind that I’m doing this for fun and don’t even think about taking this as a possible path, therefore I don’t want to shed a ton of money on this (because I don't have any), but I'm definitely leaning more toward buying than renting.

Gimme your suggestions.

Thanks,

AVB

DKushner · Post by **DKushner** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 5:48 pm

Electro Voice

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:27 pm

http://www.directproaudio.com/product.c ... ctid=56950

http://www.rcf.it/VediMacro.phtml?IDMac ... 0&m3=0_0_1

I've got a pair of these that I use for rear quad, with the 312s and the 705-AS subs in in the front.

Sounds like a giant hi-fi, and sound infinitely better than the equivalent Mackie stuff.

In fact, RCF provided Mackie's drivers until they moved their production to China.

Sales Dude McBoob · Post by **Sales Dude McBoob** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:23 pm

You may want to consider a decent set of studio monitors. That would be good enough for a background DJ set at a cafe... then you can set them up at home and use them all the time in your set up.

Grab a pair of the new Yamaha HS80M. 120 watts x2. You can get a single decent powered PA speaker for $500, but not a pair. Stick with the stereo. You can get your Simple Delay flying + keep things mystifying.

And if the party gets going and the token art-opening wine starts to kick in, 120 watts is decent enough to get a few bootys bumpin' on the dancefloor.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:32 pm

Oops... sorry. I guess those RCF prices were per speaker, not per pair.

I thought I had paid a lot more than that, but I'm in the UK where everything is stupidly expensive...

maxbaun · Post by **maxbaun** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:57 pm

I have the JBL Eons for DJing and they work great. The only thing is that they are 400 each, and i don't think it would sound very good just using one speaker. However, they are active cabs so you don't need an extra Amplifier as you would with passive cabs. I do recommend them if you want to get into DJing though. Very affordable, they sound great, and are very powerful.

avb · Post by **avb** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:42 pm

Sales Dude McBoob wrote:You may want to consider a decent set of studio monitors. That would be good enough for a background DJ set at a cafe... then you can set them up at home and use them all the time in your set up.

thanks guys!

I guess I could use my pair of Tapco S8. I wouldn't spend anything and it would work just fine.

It's just that if I ever start doing this on a regular basis (my girlfriend has tons of friends and this opportunity might open some doors for me to do more gigs) then I'd like to use actual PA speakers and leave my monitors speakers alone.

But you know, using my monitor speakers would do the trick for the time being.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:54 pm

Your monitors will probably sound great with a bit of hi-lo smily-face EQing. Be careful with the volume, though.

I actually do it the other way around, using the RCF 310As for high-volume studio monitoring, and the little M-Audios for low-volume.

I find it really good for guesstimating what the tracks sound like at a higher volume.

avb · Post by **avb** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 9:06 pm

hambone1 wrote:You monitors will probably sound great with a bit of hi-lo smily-face EQing. Be careful with the volume, though.

I actually do it the other way around, using the RCF 310As for high-volume studio monitoring, and the little M-Audios for low-volume.

I find it really good for guesstimating what the tracks sound like at a higher volume.

yeah, there are a couple of reviews at the SOS website about those speakers. Looks like they deliver the goods.

If the Djing thing takes off, I'll consider a pair of those babies.

divonic · Post by **divonic** » Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:20 pm

Do you have a local music store that rents gear. my local store rents all sorts of stuff: PA systems, turntables, mixers, effects.

j0shu@ · Post by **j0shu@** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 4:17 am

a decent stereo keyboard amp will work as well. its a trade off of sorts, more volume than the studio monitors, but less clarity. less volume than the PA speakers but more clarity. plus they are self contained.

just a thought.

David · Post by **David** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 10:38 am

Just recently i looked into get a nice poud pair of PA speakers for playing my tunes and vinyl LOUD. I reckon the Mackie SRM 450's look nice, but £1000 quid a pop, eek

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 11:14 am

Check out some of the Studiospares stuff. I think it's rebadged Carlsbro, but it looks like great value for money. Powered speakers at passive prices.

http://studiospares.com/pd_248250_STU%2 ... single.htm

http://studiospares.com/pd_248260_STU%2 ... single.htm

http://studiospares.com/pd_248270_STU%2 ... single.htm

http://studiospares.com/pl_20_20360_HEA ... EAKERS.htm

David · Post by **David** » Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:06 pm

Those speakers looks pretty good! And good prices too. Wonder how they sound?