You’ve worked hard and you’ve
got the best DJ equipment you can afford but you realise you need to get a good
set of speakers as well. How do you choose? Obviously it depends what kind of
venues you’re play in. It’s not even a necessity if you’re playing mostly in
clubs or other such venues that have their own PA systems - then all you need
do is just plug directly into them. But more and more you’re finding you’re
booked for parties and events where they don’t have a sound system, so yes,
it’s time to get your own amplification system and speakers. They’ve got to be
good too because at the end of the day it’s the
speakers’ job to get your sounds across to your audience.
First thing you got to know is
the difference between active and passive speakers and then which to choose.
Mostly the advice has always been to get active, otherwise known as powered, PA
speakers rather than hawking along a standalone amplifier as well. You have to
understand that powered speakers have an amplifier incorporated so you simply
have less to carry and when you get to the event all you have to do is connect
your input source such as a mixer, straight into the rear of the cabinet and
you’re rocking! This way you’ve no need for a separate amplifier or a load of
those extra cables. Obviously such an active PA speaker is nowadays by far the
most popular for the contemporary mobile DJ or performer. Opposed to 'passive', they are the clear
no-hassle choice but is it the best DJ equipment add on you can get.
For most DJs the answer is yes
because having a passive system adds more variables that can go wrong with your setup, like if your amp goes out that’s the end of your
DJ-ing that night or if your speakers blow then your sound is wrecked for the
rest of the gig. And there’s so many different ways manufacturers rate their
speaker power it’s really difficult to pair speakers with a suitable amp.
Definitely you want your speakers to enhance your dj equipment for every beginner so it’s
best to select a powered speaker set with a good brand name. That way you know
that what you’re getting is a speaker system that is perfectly matched with its own built in
amplifiers that is unlikely ever to blow out on you permanently.