Hotel room / Carry-on Setup
I do a lot of traveling, and don’t like checking in luggage (I’m not lugging my SX everywhere). That said, I’m trying to find a full setup I could take with me while I travel and rock a party in a hotel room. There seem to be so many modular options, I’m not sure what to get!
Any suggestions welcome!
Z1 + x1
+1 for a two channel setup.
For four channels…
A&H Xone K2
Two NI X1’s
For speakers…any reasonable 2.1 PC speaker system that you have room for in your hand luggage would be my first choice. This will be sufficient for a hotel room, while minimizing your interactions with hotel security. 
Heh… awesome. Both of those setups sound great, and thanks a bunch for the 4 channel option. Also, great call on the 2.1 sound system. I’m going to search for something small that could fit in a backpack like the Controller V2: https://store.djtechtools.com/products/djtt-backpack-v2
I’ll update this thread if/when I find something that I dig. Cheers!
Sound system. …i’ve hooked in to the TV in hotel rooms before. There’s normally a pair of phono’s (or RCA’s for our american friends) you can input in to.
I considered making that recommendation. BUT…the last handful of times I have tried, the hotel TV only had HDMI inputs on the back. It was trivial to hook the laptop to the TV to play a movie, but it was harder to use the TV for audio only.
I have the Z1/X1mk2 setup, and a AMX/AfX setup. I use the Iloud speaker with both of them. It’s a single speaker, but it’s stereo, and runs on either built in battery, or power. It goes pretty loud too, and the whole setup fits in a backpack. I prefer the Traktor setup.
Great point about the TV’s.
@Panotaker: Why do you prefer the Traktor setup? I’m asking as I’m curious, but I’m also running Serato at the moment.
The Iloud speaker looks pretty nice. I’m trying to justify the need for a 2.1 setup, but since I’m in a hotel room, there’s probably only so loud you can go before you get booted 
. However, if you ended up in a huge suite, more speaker power would be nice.
Would it be possible to use either of those setups with “2” iloud speakers? It looks like it takes an input, the AMX/etc only has one out? Would possibly need an external soundcard?
I have a mapping for my K2 that makes it an all-in-on controller for two decks and two FX groups in Traktor. It’s also got a sound card in it but I’m not a fan of that, I AM a fan of the fact that it’s bus powered tho. Doesn’t get more portable than a K2.
That looks pretty sweet 
You really don’t need 2 iLoud speakers in a hotel room if all you need is a practice speaker. It goes plenty loud, plus it is stereo. If you need anything louder, you will need small studio monitors like 5" KRK speakers, but then they are not really portable and won’t really fit in a backpack. The iLoud will play plenty loud in your average kingsize bed hotel room. Only problem with the iLoud is that its not exactly cheap for what you get, but to be fair, I think it was design to have a guitar plugged into it, since it has a built in iRig, which basically turns it into a portable guitar amp. I like it because it is small, portable, runs on batteries, and its loud.
As far as the Z1/X1mk2 vs the AMX/AFX debate, they both have their advantages. To me the Z1/X1mk2 is designed better. It does everything like it is supposed to. The AMX/AFX has a screwed up gain control with no center detent, and the touch strip doesn’t work as good as the touch strip on the X1mk2. The big advantage of the AMX is that you can use it with turntables, the Z1 doesn’t have that option. They are both excellent portable setups, the Akai setup looks a lot better. Here is a picture of the AMX setup. I went out and got the AFX after I took this picture.
You could use either setup with two iLoud speakers. All you need is a Y splitter on each RCA output. But keep in mind that those iLoud speakers are $250 each, so you need deep pockets for two of them.
Is an iLoud punchy enough to use as a monitor in a small bar gig? …there’s one venue i play at occasionally that has no DJ booth monitor & is really tight on space.
I don’t think it’s made for that application. I don’t know how loud you need it, or if it will over heat and cut out. It’s basically a practice speaker like what I use it for, or for having a small party in a hotel room, without the neighboring guest complaining. Or as a small portable guitar amp.
Definitely K2 is the best option!
Never heard of the ILoud before. Looks like I’ll be getting one. Thanks for the recommendation.
Tend to use a X1 Mk2 and Audio 2 DJ to hook into a spare channel or two on a mixer when playing out without Rekordbox, though with a custom remap of the X1’s effects controls to act as mixer controls instead. Pretty much an ultra-light setup, though.
Also got a Behringer CMD-MM1, though will pair that up with a second X1 Mk2 to round it out with the first two bits of equipment.
How much do you take with you when you travel? I fit my sx2 with two outfits, cans, laptop, toothbrush, comb, and cables into my bag and carry it on everywhere I go. When I end up on a smaller plane or prop and they try to ask me to check it, I simply say, “Do you offer insurance on checked baggage? The contents inside are worth $5,000.” Pretty much any airline steward or stewardess is like dont worry bout it.
