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 Up until recently, we've been using a single pair of Passive speakers with an amp, at our parties. In order to 'fill the room' a bit more, I investigated various options, from passive and active speakers, a more powerful amp, to subwoofers.
I eventually plumped for a pair of Active speakers for a number of reasons;
1. Ease of transport and setup
2. One of our amps 'blew' at a party recently (luckily we had a backup), which scared me into it
3. Expansion is easy - the included output means you can have another set of speakers further down the venue connected to these.
4. Various people continually teeling me we needed to get Active Speakers.
We place this pair half-way down the room, running in addition to our original setup. This means we don't need to drive our main set so hard and it isn't really loud at one end of the venue, with the sound being absorbed and reducing further down the dancefloor.
Cost: After quite a bit of research (I don't like to spend money unless I know it's going on quality!), I eventually went for the Carlsbro Orion 15's, which I decided offered the best 'bang for buck'. I would have loved to get a pair of Mackie SM450 V2's, but at over £1000 for a pair, couldn't really justify that to the girlfriend. The Carlsbro's cost me £353 all in for the pair, including delivery.
Looks-wise, they're fairly a standard moulded case design, which has a really robust feel to it, and they can be placed either stood up on the floor or on a stand (They can also be placed on the floor sideways due to the wedge-shape, but this is only really sufficient for stage monitoring). They also have a kick-proof grill.
Portability: The speakers aren't actually that heavy, at around 25kgs each, meaning you could carry both at the same time (assuming you're feeling a little on the strong side). The rather chunky carry handle on the side of each unit makes this relatively easy. Placing the speakers on a tripod stand took a little effort, and they have an adjustable clamp to ensure they remain static.
Sound quality is great, and they're added a lot more roundness and bottom-end to our system. Each speaker has a built in 300W amp, with phono and XLR (balanced) connections, along with a couple of Mic inputs, and controls for Gain, Bass, and Treble. There is also an output, so you can connect speakers further down the room without having to have another set of wires going all the way back to the decks.
Overall, I would highly recommend these speakers. If you're just starting out in a smallish venue, all you would need are these and a set of decks and you'll be ready to go. No amps, or complicated wiring to mess things up!! There are other variations of this speaker with different sizes and power outputs.
Available at www.millenium-music.co.uk
Alternatives;
Behringer B-215A - Similar price range, but not quite as robust.
Mackie SM450 V2 - The bees knees, but expensive.
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