Lightweight PA for the Kids

[DJ Jules]

I was just wondering what people out there use for PA for doing Kids parties and the like (I'm assuming that most people won't take a full 2Kw rig to a 5yr old's party?!)

Now that I've "upgraded" from Prosound to JBL I've been either taking out the JBL or Prosound tops and a single 1kw amp to the kids parties, school leavers do's, quiz nights, etc - but it's really, really overkill for the application.

I also occasionally lend friends/relatives/schools a PA for use with mic's for events/speeches/etc and again, a full rig with 15" subs is weighty and takes up a lot of space.

So I was thinking about buying a small pair of active speakers and ditching the old Prosound 15's. I've been looking tentatively at the W-Audio 8" or 10" active speakers (which go for about £300 a pair) or a pair of Mackie SRM350's (£700/pair - but could be used for more "serious" applications as well) as well as some of the other budget brands.

Does anyone have any opinions/advice/personal experience they'd care to offer?

Julian

[djsteve10]

HK Audio Lucas system?

[DJ Jules]

HK Audio Lucas system?

I was thinking about systems with a price in three figures, not four :)

Also, size/weight are key considerations over bass - as this will be a second system for specific applications, not my main play out rig - so anything with a separate amp/sub is out really?

Julian

[Spirits High]

I was just wondering what people out there use for PA for doing Kids parties and the like (I'm assuming that most people won't take a full 2Kw rig to a 5yr old's party?!)


So I was thinking about buying a small pair of active speakers and ditching the old Prosound 15's. I've been looking tentatively at the W-Audio 8" or 10" active speakers (which go for about £300 a pair)
Does anyone have any opinions/advice/personal experience they'd care to offer?

Julian

I use the W audio 8" for small hall kids partys they do the job well. Obviously you don't get masses of Bass ;)

Good value for the money

I think James H and possibly Daz has a set aswell

[SC Events]

I use 2 x ProSound 300W speakers for kids parties, they are more than enough and I've been in some pretty big rooms.

You would want more than for an adult function, but for kids they're fine.

[DJ Jules]

I use 2 x ProSound 300W speakers for kids parties, they are more than enough and I've been in some pretty big rooms.

You would want more than for an adult function, but for kids they're fine.

That'd be the 10" passive ones then? I think I need active with a built in mixer and output for daisy chaining as some of the people who borrow them get confused as soon as I hand them an Amp and a mixer! :bang:

Julian

[TonyB]

I find kids love bass so I always use bass bins :)

If you want something quick and easy to set up, I'd suggest the active Warrior PSR15's

[DJ Jules]

I find kids love bass so I always use bass bins :)

If you want something quick and easy to set up, I'd suggest the active Warrior PSR15's

Hmm, too big really - I'm only talking about the functions for the under 10's, or for quiz nights and the like where bass ain't a big factor. I'd take the JBL's to anything for the Junior school because you're right - they like to be able to feel their music too :D (oh yeah, and watch the teachers squirm).

Julian

[Paul S]

I use an older style Gemini XTR-400 system, an active sub with satellite speakers powered from the sub. Its only a 15" with two 10" tops, but it's more than capable for doing small rooms. I often use it for gigs on the ss Great Britain, where the maximum capacity is less than 100.

[spin mobile disco]

At 5 years old I have never had to turn the bass up, past the 11 year old mark yes but at 5 bass is not really needed. You may find the Tapco thumps at £400 a pair would suit your needs. They are very light and are very easy to setup. I use mine for smaller packages and love them. reliable , light and sound pretty good. They are made under licence from Mackie as well so build quailty is good.
I would steer aways from the mackie 350's though I heard some last week and was not impressed. The 450s where a much better speaker.

[ppentertainments]

http://www.terralec.co.uk/small_portable_audio_systems_/alto_portable_pa_system/24472_p.html

Not the exact same one but I use something similar to the above for small kids parties, small race nights, quiz nights and even a couple of house parties.

[DJ Jules]

I use an older style Gemini XTR-400 system, an active sub with satellite speakers powered from the sub. Its only a 15" with two 10" tops, but it's more than capable for doing small rooms. I often use it for gigs on the ss Great Britain, where the maximum capacity is less than 100.

BRRRISTOL! :D :D I borrowed one of these systems from a friend of mine last year for a haloween gig (when the voice coil failed in one of my Prosound speakers) and it's an impressive for it's size - in fact I think it might have had 8" satellites. But it's still probably more than I need (and the sub is still fairly sizeable/heavy).


At 5 years old I have never had to turn the bass up, past the 11 year old mark yes but at 5 bass is not really needed. You may find the Tapco thumps at £400 a pair would suit your needs. They are very light and are very easy to setup. I use mine for smaller packages and love them. reliable , light and sound pretty good. They are made under licence from Mackie as well so build quailty is good.

Hadn't thought of them... 12" is really the biggest I'd want to go to, though that's an impressive price for a pair of active speakers anyway!


I would steer aways from the mackie 350's though I heard some last week and was not impressed. The 450s where a much better speaker.

I borrowed a set of these for a school Fair last year (V1 Mackies mind) and I thought they were pretty good - I've heard really mixed reviews about the V2's (though the weight advantage is appealing).

Julian

[DJ Jules]

http://www.terralec.co.uk/small_portable_audio_systems_/alto_portable_pa_system/24472_p.html

Not the exact same one but I use something similar to the above for small kids parties, small race nights, quiz nights and even a couple of house parties.

Maplin's do this kind of thing and other similar stuff Link this (http://www.maplin.co.uk/DiscontinuedModule.aspx?ModuleNo=227960). I'm not overly convinced by compact one portable PA's, but obviously you've tried and tested it?

I guess they'd still give the average home stereo a run for their money? :)

Julian

[Paul S]

BRRRISTOL! :D :D I borrowed one of these systems from a friend of mine last year for a haloween gig (when the voice coil failed in one of my Prosound speakers) and it's an impressive for it's size - in fact I think it might have had 8" satellites.

I've got to ask who your friend is that has a set of these in Bristol? I didn't think Alan from Gemini sold that many down here!

[JAMdisco]

Although I'm not a regular 'children's entertainer' I have done a few. I find that for the under 10 year olds, my Class-d 158-1's are fine on their own powered by the same amp I use for the full rig - a C-mark 2450. It's around 350W per side which should be easily enough for youngsters and the bass is more than adequate if required.

Remember that young childrens ears are very sensitive and we don't want to give them tinitus.

[mark karaoke]

for smaller venues i use rcl pm12j's and a fbt pickup 14a powered mixer--- works fine for venues of up to about 100 ,and is a small and light system

[DJMaxG]

If you're a Professional and depend on your income, then there's no point buying a seperate sound system just for the sake of younger people :D

If it's a massive room, you'd want a suitable sound system, children or adults. But you wouldn't have it as loud probably

[Paul S]

Max, it's all about having the right setup for the right venue/gig. Perhaps most DJ's don't want to set up a large system for a small gig. It can look over imposing and in my opinion looks awful, almost as if you're not prepared for the events you cater for. You wouldn't set up a full truss lighting rig when a tripod & T-Bar would do.

There's no point in using a sledgehammer to crack an egg.

Paul

[DJMaxG]

There's no point in using a sledgehammer to crack an egg

Paul,
In other words you would just use tops, and turn the volume down

Why fork out on a seperate system

[DJ Jules]

If you're a Professional and depend on your income, then there's no point buying a seperate sound system just for the sake of younger people :D

It'd depend how much that business was worth - in my case enough to justify the purchase.


If it's a massive room, you'd want a suitable sound system, children or adults. But you wouldn't have it as loud probably

As I said in my original post - it's more of a convenience thing. Just imagine lugging 100Kg of speakers and 40Kg of amps up two flights of stairs into a school to run the whole lot at maybe an 1/8 power and you'll start to understand why I want to do this!

I do enough kids gigs and quiz's, in addition to dry hire of kit to people who either want it just for speeches, or need it to announce events and provide background music to warrant spending a few hundred quid on a compact pair of active speakers which are a bit more idiot proof than an amp and a pair of passives (thinking about this the other day and on my current set up it'd be a bit too easy to connect the 1/4" jack output from the amp to the input's on my mixer!!)

If I go down this road I'll probably sell my old Prosound 15's which'll give me a bit of space and cover part of the cost of buying the actives, as I'll still have a pair of JBL JRX15's and a pair of JRX18S subs for anything bigger.

Julian

[DJ Jules]

Paul,
In other words you would just use tops, and turn the volume down

Why fork out on a seperate system

Because even just my Prosound tops and a single amp weigh 50Kg (add a further 15Kg for the JBL's) and fill the boot of my car? :eek:

Max - I think this is one of things which you need to have been doing mobile gigs to really understand. It's about weight, transport size, set up time and the number of trips to/from the car/van!

Julian

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I use the W audio 8" for small hall kids partys they do the job well. Obviously you don't get masses of Bass ;)

Good value for the money

I think James H and possibly Daz has a set aswell

I certainly do, but have never used them to DJ with only for background music type applications. Nice sounding cabs, but not very bassy as Paul has pointed out.

[Paul S]

Paul,
In other words you would just use tops, and turn the volume down

Why fork out on a seperate system

Not necessarily Max. If you just use tops, depending on internal crossovers, you may not get the full range of frequencies presented to your listeners, which will make you sound like you are playing through the radio. If you have a smaller dedicated PA system you get a fuller range of frequencies from smaller boxes which sounds better. It will also look better as you're not dominating the room with big speakers.

It is also dependant on the size of your top speakers, as you may have large boxes which may be over-the-top for doing smaller shows.

To take it to its extreme it would be like using your top boxes for your home cinema at a low volume. Yes it would work, but you wouldn't get the cimenatic sound experience of separate smaller speakers with a sub.

[Kernow]

I have very sucessfully used one of these for kids parties.
Very loud 300W output, everything you needs in the case which has wheels :)

http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/80173

[Silver]

I've just invested in one of these Bose L1 compacts to use at quizzes, small parties, small outdoor events. A friend of mine has asked me if I'd be interested in doing Children's parties, which I'm considering and these would be absolutely ideal I reckon. :)

http://www.tmcstore.co.uk/images/product_imgs/bose2.jpg

[DJ Jules]

I've just invested in one of these Bose L1 compacts to use at quizzes, small parties, small outdoor events. A friend of mine has asked me if I'd be interested in doing Children's parties, which I'm considering and these would be absolutely ideal I reckon. :)

Yup, absolutely ideal, if I bought a stereo pair I wouldn't need to take the limbo Poles either! :D

I'm not sure if I'd trust a bunch of kids around a pair of these, and the price tag would make me even more nervous! How robust does it feel?

Julian

[DJ Jules]

On a similar subject, has anyone ever had someone try and Pole Dance with an Bose L1 or L2?

[Silver]

Yup, absolutely ideal, if I bought a stereo pair I wouldn't need to take the limbo Poles either! :D

I'm not sure if I'd trust a bunch of kids around a pair of these, and the price tag would make me even more nervous! How robust does it feel?

Julian
:D

Robust is not a word I'd use here! It's unbelievably light, scary even. The upright is in three sections, the top one (slightly darker in the photo) is the 'live' section the other two are really like pieces of elaborate trunking to carry a cable in. The 'live' section fits into the base unit and works from there, so it can sit on a table top if need be. The upright pieces are there if you need to project the sound. I can now carry my complete 'quiz kit' in, in one trip now ... lovely! :D

P.S. I've only got one, the photo shows the system packed and also ready for use. You only need one, same really as it's bigger bro, the L1.

[DJ Jules]

P.S. I've only got one, the photo shows the system packed and also ready for use. You only need one, same really as it's bigger bro, the L1.

Ah, I assumed you'd need two for stereo output? Not that stereo really matters that much in a crowded room full of people!

[Silver]

Ah, I assumed you'd need two for stereo output? Not that stereo really matters that much in a crowded room full of people!

That statement is spot on! So many dj's say stereo is important, when in reality there would be very few who would benefit from stereo, only those in the middle of the system, in the 'sweet spot'.



http://planetsmilies.net/music-smiley-1306.gif

[DJ Jules]

That statement is spot on! So many dj's say stereo is important, when in reality there would be very few who would benefit from stereo, only those in the middle of the system, in the 'sweet spot'.

With the accoustics in some of the venues I've been in lately I'd be amazed if people on the dance floor can tell the original sound from the speakers from the multiple echos, never mind if the sound came from the left or right! Last Sat (in a large hall built before anyone had heard of acoustic baffles) the echos were so bad that I could clearly hear the original sound from the tops and THREE distinct echos afterwards!

Anyway, I've narrowed my search down to:

1. W-Audio PRS8a or PRS10a
2. Gemini gx1001
3. Studiomaster VPX 10

I've discounted the Mackie SRM350's and the Bose on price (and poor feedback on the Mackies) and I'm keen to stick with a "standard" form pair of active speakers (as opposed to a compact powered mixer/speaker combo) as the compact kits feel flimsy to me (which could just be my perception) and because I will be lending these out, I need kit which will is as robst as possible.

The PSR8a's go for about £280 and the rest for between £360 and £400 a pair (depending where you go and how you negotiate). The PSR8's are a little limiting in that the built in mixers only have XLR in, 1/4" jack for mic and XLR out, but all the 10" models have 2 x XLR in, 1 x Stereo phono, 1 x XLR and 1/4" jack for Mic and XLR out for daisy chaining. The PSR8a's are 150w RMS (50w to high, 100w low) per side and the rest are all 200w RMS (50w high, 150w low) per side. All are Bi-amped. I'm drawn to the 10" kit at the moment because it's just that bit higher powered (only 50w less than my original Prosound rig) and on paper the frequency response of all of these is right down to 65Hz (+/- 3db) which isn't bad at all really. SPL's are all in the 118db+ range - which should be fine.

They're really all much of a muchness at this level. The W-Audio speakers come with padded bags, but that's really the only discerning feature between them. I'm not expecting sound to be radically different between any of them either (and no-one holds stock of anything smaller than a 15" speaker for me to be test).

Does anyone have any opinions on any of the above makes/models which could sway me one way or another?

Julian

[DJ Jules]

By the way, has anyone seen these from Kam (Soundforce 8's). Talk about ripping off Mackie???

http://www.htfr.com/more-info/MR269352

Julian