Best speakers for traveling to events?

I facilitate a lot of retreats, focus groups, and team events. I would like to get a set of speakers that I can take to these events that will allow folks to hear the video clips I play, etc. Durability and portability are really important. I was looking into USB-powered speakers, but will entertain any and all ideas y'all have. Any recommendations?

Many thanks!

AJ

 

How large of an area do they need to cover? How much ambient noise is there?

Is it just a handful of people watching at a time, or are there large groups all at once?

 

You'll need something with quite a bit more punch unless your groups are completely silent and in small rooms.

Ethyriel asked very good questions. If I was to ask anything else, I'd want to know what is played in the video clips, speech or music?

I'm betting your price range is very low, but if you can bear spending some money, this is probably the direction you'll want to go.
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-FEN-0691003-000-LIST

I've used a slightly bigger version of this for a couple events before. It doesn't sound all that great, but it gets the job done in a package that has most everything you'll probably need and is very easy to carry around.

There are lower cost alternatives, but you really need to specify what you need so that you can get the right solution.

 

Thank you for the replies so far!

Here are some more details...

• Budget: not an issue
• Types of video clips: mostly movie clips, but also some music
• Size of group: mostly 12-15, although sometimes larger

 

Is it a bigger area where people will be milling around, or will everyone essentially be huddled around the laptop? Does sound quality matter all that much, or does it just need to be audible and clear enough to be understood?

 

I forgot to ask, is the ability to use a microphone a factor? If it's not, I'm thinking a boombox may an option. The good part is that they're easy to carry and are probably loud enough for your group if they're in a smaller room. The tough part will be finding one that still sounds good at the volume you need and has low signal noise (the noise when it's on but nothing is playing). Bring an mp3 player or your laptop to the store with an adapter cable and try a few out. A quick search on Amazon indicates that boomboxes are not what they were 15 years ago, so it may be a bit of a struggle to find one that's good and doesn't look too gaudy for your group.

A boombox seems like a strange suggestion, but there's a lot to like about a system that takes seconds to pack up.

Still though, if the group size can double or more and the room is medium to large, you may want to consider something like I posted.

It's way better to have too much equipment than too little. Having too little can cause you to drive your equipment past its limits, causing permanent damage that will force you to buy what you should've bought in the first place. I've been there before. It sucks.

Of course if you're outdoors, there's only so much you can do. I did one event on my last base for a group of roughly 100 people on a patio. I was able to adjust for wind noise, but was helpless when some jets started flying over. My speakers were taller than I am and weighed about 500 lbs with 5000 watts rms going to them, but even that's not enough to make up for a noisy environment....and even though I probably could've turned my system up loud enough to make the speaker audible over the noise, the speaker decided to stop speaking until the jets were gone. Sometimes there's nothing you can do.

 

http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/speakers_audio/home_pc_speakers/devices/4713&cl=us,en

Check these out. They're portable, usb powered, great sounding and high rated. The shipping is free and it also comes with a cool remote, so you can change the song or clip without having to move.

 

I would look at the Logitech V-20s. My set were quite decent for their size.

 

Thanks again for all of the suggestions so far!

A boombox is not a great option, as I am playing video clips on my laptop for these training events, retreats, workshops, and meetings.

Folks will not be able to huddle around the laptop... I will need to project the sound out into the room, which can be fairly large on occasion.

Sound quality is not my biggest concern. I need folks to be able to hear the videos/music, and the speakers have to be both portable and reasonably durable (as I will be taking them to many events/sessions).

AJ

 

I'd recommend X-mini max expandable speakers. A friend had a genuine pair of those connected to his laptop and the quality was awesome comparing with the sound coming out of his laptop. They had like the best frequency response and no distorsion. Look 'em up on youtube to make an idea. Try to find the genuine set. They'd be around $30 to $40.

 

In that case, I highly recommend getting a mini PA setup like I recommended.

My experience with the Fender Passport system was that it's quick and easy to setup and teardown, is loud enough for a conference room, and can be banged against walls while in transit.

I believe the system I was using before was an older version of the Fender Passport PD-150. I wouldn't want to use it for dance music, nor in rooms as large as wedding halls or gymnasiums...a bigger system is necessary for that.

In most rooms you should try to elevate your speakers. For some of your larger rooms, you may want to acquire speaker stands to put the speakers to the head level of your audience, which keeps the audio intelligible at the back of the room. The people in the front row generally appreciate that you're not blasting the speakers at their knees so the people in the back can still hear it.

I'm still not sure what your budget is, but if it breaks $1000, you should check out Mackie SRM-450's. They're quite a bit louder, relatively easy to carry, look great, have multiple ways to position them, sound very good, and have an internal amplifier. It's also a little easier to expand a system based on those speakers should you need to do larger events. That's probably the way I'd go if I was considering Passport's PD-500 Deluxe. I'd get two SRM-450's, speaker stands, a Mackie 8-channel mixer w/case, plus cables. I'd also consider getting covers a wired mic and a wireless mic system...depending on budget and needs of course.

 

I second this