Battery Powered Portable PA

[CrazyTechie]

Hey all, I didn't see too much on this subject already, at the very least nothing terribly recent.

One of the schools I work at is in need of a battery powered, portable PA system for teaching Choir outside due to the adventures we're all in currently.

After some digging around at different manufactures and price points I've arrived at the Samson Expedition XP208w as the prime candidate: http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/portable-pa/expedition-rechargable/xp208w/

I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on this unit or some other units that are worth looking into?

The features we're looking for:

• Bluetooth or 3.5mm input for music
• Comes with a wireless microphone of some sort
• Battery powered

Thanks!!

 

[Malabaristo]

This checks none of your boxes, but might be useful information anyway... I recently came across an old Yamaha Stagepas 300 system laying around in some forgotten corner. I have a little outdoor gig coming up with no reasonable access to power, so my approach was to try that system on some deep cycle lead acid batteries and a cheap inverter (an older version of this). I was concerned that the modified sinewave output of the inverter could cause noise or something, and was happy to find there weren't any noticeable issues when I tested it. It's not like it's an amazing PA to begin with, but it works well enough for what I need.

I borrowed the batteries from my electric lawnmower and already owned the inverter, so it was a way to make everything work without having to buy anything special for this one-off event.

 

[StradivariusBone]

Check out Lectrosonic's Long Ranger and Anchor's portable PA stuff. Anchor is going to be the cheaper of the two, but I've seen both used outdoors with marching bands with good reliability and resistance to abuse.

 

[TimMc]

Galaxy Audio has the AnySpot line of portable, battery powered gear. Hometown company for me...

 

[macsound]

In my experience with cheerleading rehearsals for the Oakland Raiders which was always outside and needed music, using a generator or battery system was always better than a bespoke battery powered system.
I think the problem with the battery powered speakers is the manufacturer rates battery life like laptop mfgs. They can last 8 hours, but only when doing something mundane. Think small cafe guitar. Play music at 75% or have temperatures hotter or colder than 70º F and battery life severely suffers.

The Goal Zero lithium power stations and Honda EU series are about the same price per watt and both work great powering a 10" JBL Eon or Bose L1 for about 4 hours of continuous music.
For the price, I'd definitely recommend the generator and 100' 12awg extension cord to get the exhaust far away.

 

[JD]

I just use a Honda EU2000 inverter/gen and my regular audio equipment. No time limit, no batteries dying. Solid 60 hz, very very quiet in Idle-down mode. Best part is you can plug other things into it like keyboards, lights, etc. At low load, you get about 16 hours of run time on it's 1 gallon of gas.

 

[CrazyTechie]

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions! I'll look into some of those other brands and see what they offer.

If it was me setting things up and taking them down then a generator might be on the table, but since it's one teacher for a ~50 minute class a few times each day, battery powered makes more sense for us.

 

[TimMc]

Thanks all for the replies and suggestions! I'll look into some of those other brands and see what they offer.

If it was me setting things up and taking them down then a generator might be on the table, but since it's one teacher for a ~50 minute class a few times each day, battery powered makes more sense for us.

How many times is "a few"? How long between uses? Battery drain and charging become factors.

 

[FMEng]

I can tell you what to avoid, which is Rockville. I messed with one recently, and it was geared toward karaoke in a small space. It was designed to be incapable of feedback, which means the mics didn't have enough gain for speech, even with all controls cranked.

 

[CrazyTechie]

How many times is "a few"? How long between uses? Battery drain and charging become factors.

After looking at the class schedule; once on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and three times on Mondays and Wednesdays (one class in the mornings and two back to back in the afternoon). Class periods are about 58 minutes. If the manufactures are correct on the "20 hour runtime" I've seen on some of these then I think we're good in that department. At the very least, there's enough time between days for charging to occur if needed.

I can tell you what to avoid, which is Rockville. I messed with one recently, and it was geared toward karaoke in a small space. It was designed to be incapable of feedback, which means the mics didn't have enough gain for speech, even with all controls cranked.

I haven't stumbled across this brand yet, but I'll be sure to avoid it!

 

[macsound]

Since it's so often, is there a semi permanent option possible? Dealing with battery operated things is sketchy without a backup option. In video you buy dozens of batteries because you can't expect to get the advertised runtime. Wireless mics are obviously a different creature because they're constant consumption.

I'm thinking the staff could setup and string an XLR cable, speaker cable, mixer and speaker. The power amp would be located inside the building so you wouldn't worry about electricity running around and gaining a lighter weight speaker since it's passive.
The teacher could setup a 4 channel mixer outside with the iPod and microphone and 1 ABS speaker set nicely on the ground.
On days with 3 classes, cover it with a white sheet to reflect the sun and leave it setup all day.

 

[CrazyTechie]

I suppose I should have prefaced my last post with an "at most, this is how often they'll be outside."

I like that idea as well, but unfortunately, their setup is across the faculty parking lot so cables would have to be draped through the cars and whatnot. We would have everything already for that setup except for a spare amp and passive speaker, so I imagine the cost would be about the same as an all-in-one solution.

The backup plan would be the same as if it were raining: today we're having class inside.

I made the recommendation to the head of the music department for a Galaxy Audio TQ8. It seemed punchy enough and has all the features they'd need. I'm especially fond of the wireless microphone setup for it since there's not a USB dongle to get lost or broken the first week in.

 

[Ben Stiegler]

Hey all, I didn't see too much on this subject already, at the very least nothing terribly recent.

One of the schools I work at is in need of a battery powered, portable PA system for teaching Choir outside due to the adventures we're all in currently.

After some digging around at different manufactures and price points I've arrived at the Samson Expedition XP208w as the prime candidate: http://www.samsontech.com/samson/products/portable-pa/expedition-rechargable/xp208w/

I wanted to see if anyone had any thoughts on this unit or some other units that are worth looking into?

The features we're looking for:

• Bluetooth or 3.5mm input for music
• Comes with a wireless microphone of some sort
• Battery powered

Thanks!!

samson is very low, low end ... durability and warranty responsiveness may not be what you want for outdoor use and constant transport.

 

[Ben Stiegler]

FWIW - I have (shudder) a Seismic Audio all-in-1 in my rental inventory that has lasted a lot longer than expected. Was under $200, including 2 wireless mics (short range) XLR input, bluetooth, and RCA inputs, EQ, and a motorcycle battery that has kept it cranking for speech and intermittent music (outdoor weddings, etc.) for 6 hrs. Can get 2 and link with XLR for left/right stage (but mono) coverage. Mostly I don't buy active electronics from SA, but this one has worked out.