For uses where electric power is hard to find, such as a backyard barbeque, a performance in the
park, a mall kiosk, or a small convention center booth, we recommend the following systems:
Samson's
Expedition
XP40i Portable PA includes a rechargeable battery, plenty of power, and an extremely portable
lightweight design, and an iPOD dock for your background music and prerecorded presentations. Two
XP40i units can be combined for stereo, and there is even a version, the
Samson
XP40iw with a built in wireless microphone. This would permit you to set up your sound system
in the front of the class or coffee shop, and wander freely about with your microphone. The XP40i
is surprisingly powerful with a built in 40 watt Class D amplifier that will be sufficient for most
backyard gatherings, classrooms, boardrooms, a small convention center booth, and coffee houses.
Two units combined double your power and range. The XP40i also makes an excellent powered speaker
system for keyboards, karaoke, and even guitar or bass.
The
Roland
BA330 is another battery powered unit at the higher end of the scale. Unlike the XP40i,
Roland's unit comes as a stereo pair of speakers. The BA330 sports a 100 watt amplifier and iPod
dock, digital reverb, delay, and wide effects, and an intelligent feedback reducer to help you
avoid embarrassing howls from badly located microphones (this will not, however, prevent
embarrassing feedback from people who don't like what you say when you think your mic is turned
off). Roland's unit gives you the option of running on A/C power or 8 AA batteries. An optional
wheeled carrying case is available for convenient transport of this lightweight unit.
Another battery powered unit to consider is the
Alesis
Transactive Mobile. Again a microphone is included, along with an iPOD dock and 15 watts RMS of
power. Conveniently mounted on wheels with a handle, the Transactive Mobile will cover distances of
up to 150 feet.
As lightweight as the above units are, they are not for use while marching in front of a
moving crowd. For mobile uses, such as leading a marching band, a charity walk, or a demonstration,
we recommend the
Behringer
EPA40 Europort Portable PA System. The Behringer EPA40 can be worn with a shoulder strap and
comes with a microphone and built in rechargeable battery that lasts up to 8 hours. There is even
an auxiliary input into which you can plug an CD player or other sound source. This would be
sufficient to lead a crowd of up to 100 people.
