The History of DJing. Search the site GO. Rap & Hip Hop. Him as Clive. Everyone in the Bronx knew Clive as DJ Kool Herc. The party had gotten off to a slow start. Herc played house music, hard funk, dancehall, disco-all the usual floor fillers. A guitar amplifier, and thunderous speakers by his side, he mixed the breaks.
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We’ve all done it, or at least been tempted. It could just happen because you’ve got a few people back at yours and it sort of… you know… takes off. Or it could be more premeditated, kidding yourself that all will be fine if you just take your music system from home to the party venue. Saves hassling about a PA system, right? Plus it’d be great to show off your new [insert trendy DJ brand here] monitors.
But however it happens, it is almost always a huge mistake. What am I talking about? DJing at a party using your home music system, that’s what. It doesn’t matter if it’s a decently loud boombox, an all-in-one stereo system, separates, a proper “hi fi”, or even professional studio monitors or DJ monitors – read it slowly and out loud: It’s going to go horribly wrong. It’s never a question of “if” – just “when”. Wanna play Russian Roulette with your expensive sound system? Then go ahead. But please read this first to find out why it’s such a big mistake…
Why you should never use home speakers at parties…
1. Your speakers won’t go loud enough
…and by “speakers”, I mean your amp/speakers, or your powered speakers, or whatever you use. In nine cases out of ten, this is true. Sure you may have KRK Rokit 10-3s and only be playing to a party of 10 people, in which case you may be OK (only on this point though), but for most people, it’s a different story. It’s incredible how much noise a roomful of people actually makes, and how much volume you really need to fill that room to party levels. Trust me, your speakers simply won’t sound good enough – it’s the truth and you’ll find out the first time you try it – if you’re silly enough to try it, that is.
2. You really need a subwoofer
You’ve not got one, right? If you have you can skip this point (but none of the others). Here’s the ugly truth: People absorb bass. The one area you need a LOT of power is in the bass frequencies. Do your puny little speakers really have the ability to cope with delivering sufficient bass for a public space or a group of more than six people? Be honest. Because if they don’t, you’re going to fall into the next big trap…
3. You will turn everything into the red, and if you don’t, someone else will
Your puny speakers aren’t loud enough, and there’s no bass as the room is full of people making their own noise, and letting their bodies absorb all the bass frequencies (how dare they?). So what’s a self-respecting DJ to do? Well, you personally will probably resist the inevitable. It’s your system, right?
So you try and keep everything out of the red. You try and position the speakers in better places (probably balancing them dangerously at head height – see the next point – which by the way also ruins the bass further), but it’s like trying to stop the tide with your hands. As the party picks up, it’s blatantly clear your music ain’t going to cut it with “best practice”. And you’re not the only person DJing, right? Do you think anyone else is going to employ your restraint? No way José!
So the levels creep up. First the amp levels. Then the controller/mixer line levels. Then the gains. Then the bass, mid, treble all creep until they’re on full, all the time. Then someone turns off Traktor’s limiter, or Serato’s dB ceiling. Result? It gets a bit louder, sure. But there’s terrible sound quality, and next – hopefully – just blown fuses. Sue, the sound goes off – but actually, this is the best case scenario. Permanent damage is the worst scenario, but this makes it sound like it’s not common. Actually, in my experience, at any decent party that goes on for any decent length of time, this last outcome is the most common. Blown home speakers at parties, or smoking amps, are so common you’d be shocked. Don’t let it be yours.
4. Home speakers aren’t designed for public use
I’m talking about the physical design here. Why on earth would anyone consider DJing in public, where people are getting typically more and more animated and/or intoxicated, with speakers that have no protection on the front of them at all? The reason home speakers don’t have grills on the front is that they don’t need them. In public they so need them that it hurts! All PA speakers have grills – this is for a very good reason and this point alone should be enough to convince any sane person that their expensive studio monitors are an AWFUL choice for party DJing. Yet it doesn’t, so often!
Also, if you want to position your speakers correctly, proper PA speakers have mounting holes underneath them so they can be put on decent stands that are safe to use on or near to dancefloors. No home speakers have this. Putting your speakers on the floor is ridiculous, but on chairs and tables is also not cool, yet these are your alternatives without professional stands.
5. You’re going to look like a muppet
OK, we’ve covered sound quality (gonna sound terrible), damage (your amps will probably trip, you may even blow the speakers) and safety (they may topple onto someone, or just get a bottle through one of the cones by accident or something similar). What we haven’t covered is what a dork you’re going to look turning up to DJ anywhere more than your living room using the speakers you bought for your DJ practice sessions. There’s something funny happens when you take home stuff and plonk it in a public/commercial environment: It looks rubbish.
Now, I’ve left this one to the end because it shouldn’t matter, but even if for some miracle reason your home speakers/subwoofer were loud enough, well made enough, sturdy enough, and could be positioned on proper, safe stands to play a party… you’re still gonna look like a bit of a prat DJing like this at a cool party. Let’s face it, wedding photographers don’t turn up with iPhones to shoot weddings, and you shouldn’t turn up to play at any respectable party with a home system of any kind at all.
What to do instead…
The purpose of this post is to save you trouble, money and a ruined party when the sound goes off – but mainly money. I speak from experience: Having a pile of blown up speakers (and sometimes amps) in the corner was almost the mark of a good party when I was younger. But we were indeed young – and stupid. And our parties often sounded awful. What we finally learned was to either throw the party somewhere where they’ve got a sound system you can plug into (best) or find a hire shop that’ll loan you a PA system for the night for a reasonable fee.
Now you’ve got bass, volume, you look the part, and it’ll all run smoothly from the second you turn it on to the second the last person leaves, without question or stress. It’s a no brainer really: And if you want to care for your home speakers, you’ll take the lesson on board and put any idea of using your home speakers at a parties out of your mind. And if you choose to go ahead anyway – well, we’ve done our best to warn you…
Have you got any horror stories about you or anyone else blowing up their sound system at parties that got out of control? Or do you think that it’s all scaremongering and it’s not a problem? Please share your thoughts in the comments…
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This topic contains 8 replies, has 6 voices, and was last updated by 6 years, 2 months ago.
Best Speakers For Djing House Parties For Kids
I would say a huge NO to those speakers. You need to up your budget. Get powered speakers with prices starting at minimum $300 each for the mids and highs , and a powered sub starting at $500. Anything cheaper and you will be in for a world of disappointment. For this you will get at minimum 250w for the tops each and 800w for the sub. Note I haven’t used any brand names. This is deliberate as the prices I have mentioned really should get you a PA you will be happy with regardless of brand.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by NewportDJ Drew. Reason: spell check :)
I don’t know these particular speakers, but … with speakers in general you get what you pay for. And at 115,00 a piece, I wouldn’t be expecing miracles. Apart from that they are passive, so you still need to buy a halfway decent 2x 400W amp to go with it. And away goes your budget.
In order of preference, my advice would be:
1) Rent speakers if you need more than your M-Audio’s and have the people you play for foot the bill for the speakers (you are already doing the DJ-ing, right!?) A set of decent active speakers can be had for 40 bucks a night or so.
2) Buy used active PA speakers of a decent brand (Mackie SRM350s or Thumps are a good choice, but there are plenty of others out there). They will sound better at 5 years old (and last another 5 easy) than the new cheap ones right out of the box.
Finally a word on floor speakers … don’t use them!
They are big, unwieldy, usually heavy, but that can be overcome. What can’t be overcome is that the high frequency drivers will sit at belly button level or below, instead of above ear height. This will make a lot of high frequency sound “disappear” as far as the people on the floor are concerned, making your sound a lot duller than it needs to be. Another drawback is that speakers on the floor have a tendency to muddy the bass quite a bit. So you end up with not too tight but too much bass and too little high.
Even if you were to get speakers like these:
http://www.mackie.com/products/hd1531/images/finish.jpg (don’t worry, marvelous if heavy speakers, but way out of your budget :-).
be sure to put them on stands making the high tone speakers sit at 6+feet.
Greetinx.
I’m gonna share my storey as I’ve just finishing addressing the same question you have.
I have my first house party in a couple of weeks and I kept asking everyone the same question you’ve just asked.
It wasn’t until I spoke to good friend of mine recently when I made my decision.
I was talking to my friend who is a bit of an audiophile and has a couple of really nice floor speakers – a bit bigger than the ones you just linked.
I was explaining to him I need some speakers for the upcoming party (of which he is coming). He said hey no problem mate you can borrow mine there back from the repair shop now. I said ‘Oh! Why is that’ He said ‘Dunno what happened but after the last house party I had they’d blown’ He had a DJ and usual mixer setup running.
Then a voice in the back of my head reminded me of the countless times I’ve listened to Phil in one of his videos and read in these forums NEVER to use HiFi speakers with DJ equipment coz they shred the speakers.
I pop onto Ebay and snagged a sweet pair of hardly used 15″ Mackie Thumps. Tested them last week at my mates yard and no matter how much drink we had they ‘Just Kept Going’
Anyhoo – just thought I’d share – it’s your call mate………………
- This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by Robert Murray.
For a ‘not to bad for the price’ speaker have a look at Skytec SPJ-1500A. On ebay here in Australia, new, they are $AU250(160 euro, $224 US, 150 eng pound). These are not top of the line by any means but are pretty damn fine entry level.
- This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by NewportDJ Drew. Reason: added currency conversion
I have had Skytecs (well, different brand, but they come with a zillion names on them. Typical OEM brand) and in retrospect, although they were ok, I would have gone for a pair of used ones from a better brand. Unless they are shot (which you can hear in two seconds) or there is some hidden problem with the amp that only becomes noticeable when they get “hot”, they will still have the same sound quality they did when new, which will always be better than similarly priced new speakers.
It’s been said and repeated here by so many already. With speakers: You get what you pay for. The only way to beat that rule is by getting used equipment.
Greetix.
Just wondering if you’d narrowed down a short list of active speakers… I’m looking into active as it just seems a better fit to me than passive speakers and an amp… I have narrowed down my choice and decided upon EV ZLX 12″ tops. I will be starting out with a small sub, and for the music types you listed, be careful with the speakers until you can add a sub. I am choosing the 12″ tops after a couple trips to Guitar Center to listen to speakers, and if at all possible I would do just that, go to a store that will let you listen to a few different speakers. I have not been taking this purchase lightly, and doing lots of research, and in my 2 A/B/C comparison sessions, I liked the Behringer B212D, the Mackie Thumps sounded muddy, the Alto seemed to lack bass, but I never played around with nor cranked up the alto, the more expensive Mackies, JBLs, and QSCs all sounded great and I am sure they’re all good product. For me, the bang for the buck, with the presentation I’m looking for, etc…. the answer was the EV ZLX speakers, the Behringer was close but don’t have the classy looks like the EV for weddings and such, and EV seemed a little better sound when up close to clipping. Also, hoping to have better long term results with the not so low end speakers. (still plan to buy a 3rd for backup before long) I second the advice to not use HiFi speakers, I have been using 4 12″ “floor speakers” and a Sansui 6060 for my small parties and gigs so far, and although they get loud, they’re not as portable and I wouldn’t expect them to last many more gigs pushing them that hard, as the actual PA are made to play loud I’d expect them to be fine for years of gigs to come. once again, just my $.02 as a noob, hope my rambling is more help than hindrance…. moonshadow
Best Speakers For Djing House Parties Free
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