5 of the Best Battery-Powered Speakers for DJs
Cut the cable with battery-powered PAs from Mackie, JBL, Electro-Voice, and more.
You might not always have access to power but that doesn’t mean the party has to stop. Never be without sound with these battery-powered speakers for DJs.
Best Battery-Powered Speakers for DJs
Some of the best DJ memories that I have are playing non-traditional locations, like a rooftop in Los Angeles (that got busted by police in helicopters), a campsite along the California coast, and in the desert at Burning Man. Spinning tunes outside or in some other place without electricity previously meant that you had to either run a very long extension cable or drag out a stinky and noisy generator. Not anymore, thanks to battery-powered speakers.
Here are five of the best battery-powered speakers for DJs on the market today. If you need a portable controller to go with your new PA, we have you covered with a list of the best here. And should you be searching for monitors for your home DJ studio, check out this article.
All of the products mentioned in this story are available at Thomann*.
Best Battery-Powered Speakers for DJs: Mackie Thump GO
I can’t count how many times I played on Mackie speakers. They’ve got great sound indoors and out, and are reliable and heavy duty. The long-running company’s Thump series is renowned for its power and sound quality. This is just as true for Thump GO, Mackie’s battery-powered speaker variant and probably the best all-around speaker on this list in terms of bang for budget.
With an eight-inch woofer and one-inch compression driver, a Class-D amplifier, and 200 watts of sound with a maximum sound pressure level (SPL) of 115dB, each Thump GO speaker has the specs to provide the kind of oomph you need for your gigs. The loudspeakers have cool extras too, like built-in ducking for getting on the mic, a feedback eliminator circuit, four voicing modes including Outdoors, Bluetooth streaming for casual music listening, a built-in two-channel mixer, and an app for your phone to remotely control the speaker’s settings. And the included lithium-ion rechargeable battery can go up to 12 hours on a single charge.
Add the ThumpSub GO for extra bass.
Best Battery-Powered Speakers for DJs: HK Audio Move 8
Another speaker that should be on the list of every renegade DJ to check out is Move 8 from HK Audio. With eight-inch woofers and one-inch tweeters, plus a 60-watt Class-D amplifier, each Move 8 speaker has the strength to push out a maximum SPL of 123dB. That’s a lot of sound.
Each speaker offers an integrated four-channel mixer with two XLR/microphone combo inputs, a quarter-inch instrument jack, a stereo mini jack, plus a port for a foot switch to control the built-in reverb. There’s also a free app for iOS and Android to use as a remote control. The battery lasts up to 11 hours per charge, and can recharge while working for uninterrupted performances. You even get a second battery at no extra charge.
While the Move 8s may have more inputs and features than the average DJ may need, if you’re also a busking musician or plan to rent out your PA on the side, this could be the way to go.
Best Battery-Powered Speakers for DJs: Bose S1 Pro+
If I were to wager, I would bet that most DJs are primarily concerned with two things when buying a battery-powered speaker: volume and battery life. If those are your main concerns, Bose’s S1 Pro+ may not be the PA speaker for you. With its six-inch woofer and maximum SPL of 103dB, you may find it coming up a little short in the bass-for-your-face department.
However! There’s a growing contingency of DJs for whom sound quality is paramount. Think rotary mixers and top-of-the-line headphones. For the discerning DJ, the S1 Pro+ may be just the speaker you need. It’s Bose, after all, so the sound quality is gorgeous. It’s also got an integrated three-channel mixer, effects, four positioning options, Bluetooth streaming, and a battery that goes for up to 11 hours. And, at 6.5kg, they’re incredibly lightweight.
Best Battery-Powered Speakers for DJs: JBL EON One Compact
JBL is a name that you can trust when it comes to PA speakers. If you have a little more money to spend and desire great sound quality along with solid power, the company’s EON One Compact speaker should be on your to-hear list.
With its eight-inch woofer and one-inch tweeter, it can get down to 37.5Hz with an output level of 112 dB. You can combine two units in stereo mode, or stream music to up to four units simultaneously via Bluetooth. Additionally, there’s an integrated mixer with two XLR/TRS combo jacks with mic preamps and phantom power, one quarter-inch Hi-Z instrument input, and one 3.5 mm stereo aux input. Need effects? Why not. You get EQ, reverb, chorus and delay effects from Lexicon and dbx, plus an eight-band output EQ and automatic ducking for announcements, as well as an app for your phone to control it all.
Best Battery-Powered Speakers for DJs: Electro-Voice EVERSE 8
And so we come to Electro-Voice. A speaker and microphone company in business for almost 100 years, it’s famous for its top-notch sound quality. That extends to its first battery-powered speakers, EVERSE 8. Available in both black and white variants, they sport eight-inch woofers incorporating the company’s SST waveguide technology plus one-inch titanium dome tweeters, with 400 watts of Class-D amplifier power hitting an SPL of 121dB. Oh my.
You also get a four-channel Dynacord digital mixer, over 12 hours of battery life at 95dB SPL (and six at maximum), stereo Bluetooth streaming, wireless stereo connection between two models, and two XLR/jack combo jacks and one 3.5mm mini jack input. You can also use the EV QuickSmart Mobile app to adjust all audio, effects and mix functions via your phone or tablet.
Oh, and the speakers are weatherized with an IP43 rating, meaning they’re water resistant for splashes and light rain. Nothing can stop the party now – not even God.
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