Small Amplifier with Balanced Inputs

[Bubby4j]

I've been assigned the task of setting up a tiny audio system in a room of our church for playing music for games (think musical chairs) and 1 wired microphone.

We already have the speakers and microphone, and I've picked out a small mixer.

It doesn't need good audio quality, it just needs to make sound. At the same time, I don't want the speakers to have an awful buzz or hiss from an unbalanced input or super cheap amp.

The 2 (crappy, Harbinger M60) speakers are 50W each. I can't find much of anything anywhere near this wattage with balanced inputs.

Anyone have any suggestions? Ditch the current speakers and get powered ones? Ideally we'd keep the budget under $250-$300ish for the mixer ($150) and amplifier together. I've decided on the Yamaha MG10 mixer because it's one of the smallest mixers with a built in compressor, plus it's decent enough to reuse in other places.

 

[MNicolai]

You should be able to find an amplifier for that size and price point on Full Compass.

 

[FMEng]

The power rating of the speakers has almost nothing to do with the required power amp size. Look for an integrated mixer-amplifier, also known as a powered mixer in the 50-200 Watt range, but extra power won't hurt a thing. Toa and Yamaha are a couple of brands I'd look at. On a tight budget, Mackie and Behringer would be fine.

 

[Thetechmanmac]

Try an American Audio VLP 300. It's a 1U rack space, 300 watts. It looks like it is a discontinued product, but you can probably pick one up on ebay for about $100.

Powered speakers is probably going to be better for your application. If you want to go this route, take a look at Kustom PA KPC10P 10" Powered PA Speaker. Or a powered mixer as @FMEng suggested.

 

[Bubby4j]

I'd like to avoid an integrated mixer-amp as we'd like to keep it low profile. It's going to end up on a small shelf in the open. That American Audio VLP 300 does look promising though. eBay is a good idea. Thanks!