Need advice for speakers for my living room DJ setup
I’m going to be moving into a new place soon, and I plan on buying a speaker system for my living room to attach to my DJ gear for house parties.
I don’t expect to be blasting the music too loud, as I will be living in a condo, so I was wondering if a home theatre system would do the trick. I know it would be idea to have PA speakers; however, I’m living in Tokyo, which is prone to earthquakes, and having large/heavy speakers like that would be a pretty serious hazard if they were to fall.
Does anyone have any tips with regard to what type of speakers would satisfy my requirements? The living room is about 250-300 square feet.
That is indeed a relief. Unfortunately, earthquakes caused by the shifting of tectonic plates is still a big concern, so I’ll still have to rule out PA speakers.
I don’t understand, are you actually concerned your living room speakers are going to cause an earthquake or just them falling down during one? I hope it’s the second one
It’s quite obvious he doesn’t want his PA speakers on stands due to them toppling over if there’s an earthquake.
I have a set of Mackie Thumps that actually sit quite nice on the floor, they’re built so you can tilt them back and have them facing slightly upwards if you don’t want to use stands.
I don’t know how I’d feel about getting a home theater system for the sole purpose of having house parties unless you were already in the market for one anyways.
I have used a Soundblaster Creative 5.1 surround system in my living room (4 little “satellite” speakers and a combined sub/amp) and it was fine for a party or practice.
You really don’t need to spend a fortune on speakers.
I don’t recommend a “home theater” set up for DJing unless the amp has a “direct through” The processing that happens in a home theater setup makes the delay between your cue and master intollerable.
I’m blasting my tunes in the living room on the eternal Logitech X-530 setup (bought used for 40€). Connected to a DVD player for 5.1 sound but when using it with the TV/laptop/DJ gear hooked up with the 2.0 adapter. Had some parties here with a dozen-or-so friends, no problem with volume.
Would it be better with some 8" monitors or small PA speakers? Yes, but it’s not worth it for a 400-500€ price difference.
As you said, you don’t need to spend a fortune on speakers if you have a small apartment (and limited funds).
True. Had problem on multiple occasions in the past where I would go to friend’s party (I was asked if I could DJ), they would provide the speakers - only to find out there was a home stereo system with a shitload of DSP processing that would cause the delay in the sound from it. Only solution is to mix in the headphones and you can forget about karaoke (actually, that was a good thing )
Lots of home theater setups have a 5 channel stereo that should allow a pass through without proccessing… My 14+ year old pioneer reciever has it so sure new ones have such a setting. Also nice if it allows you to setup each input to work differently… My home theater is through fiber and rest is just through RCA… Most the time I just use monitors though as I like the sound better on them.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I think the best think for me right now is probably going to be a 5.1 computer speaker set up, as my budget is a bit tight, and I feel like I’m going to be enticed to blast the music a bit too loud if I get really nice speakers
What is your budget? Maybe there is some second hand setups for sale that would give you a good bang for you buck? Example; My main stereo setup at home are a couple of Jamo speakers with 2x8" woofers. They’re from the late 90s, but still going strong. Bought them for around 100$. My amp is a surround receiver, Denon from the same era, but with a direct through so there isn’t much delay etc. That I got for 50$. All in all there is more than enough punch for my living room with is around 25 square meters.
If I were you I would go for a used stereo setup rather than 5.1 computer setup, if you can get some used gear within your budget. So much more fun than a 5.1 computer speaker setup in my opinion.
Note; I live in Norway, so don’t know how prices are on used hifi gear in Tokyo.
I strongly suggest not buy 5.1 system. I agree that a computer speaker can be great. But, money its much better spent on two spekars instead of 5 (or 5.1). There is some amazing small cheep studio monitors from brands like samson or m-audio.
Ok, after a bit more though, I have decided that I will just use the 2 monitor speakers I have no point in letting them go to waste. I was going to use them for private listening in my bedroom, but I’m sure computer speakers will do the trick instead.
I can highly recommend you those M-Audio speakers. I’ve got AV-30 in my room which is similar size to yours, and they are working great. As they don’t provide powerful bass I’ve added 100W active subwoofer to my setup, and for sure I will not be looking for new setup soon.
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