Anyone plugging in MP3 player to powered Speaker?

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B

Bill Kexel

Well-Known DJ
Dec 5, 2006
2,097
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Phoenix, AZ
Does anyone here plug an MP3 player directly into a powered speaker?
Example: for cocktail music in a remote location...foyer, Etc?

If so, what type of plug do you use?
Any sound quality issues?
 
I always have my Ipod plugged into my system as a form of backup if my main system fails or computer crashes. I also use it for background music when I set up my main source (computer/midi controller). I have only had one crash live and the ipod was waiting with a mix that I always have ready. It all of 20 seconds to switch over to the ipod... Just rebooted and the party continued on... By the way the ipod sounds as good as the files you feed it.
 
For ceremonies, I sometimes will use an ipod, or a pacemaker, which is an mp3 player with a mixer built in, right into my compact.

sounds great.

1/8 out(headphone jack) to rca. My compact takes rca.

If I was using a model 1, i'd just use 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch.

What ever your powered speaker accepts, should work the same way.
 
drzinc said:
I always have my Ipod plugged into my system as a form of backup if my main system fails or computer crashes. I also use it for background music when I set up my main source (computer/midi controller). I have only had one crash live and the ipod was waiting with a mix that I always have ready. It all of 20 seconds to switch over to the ipod... Just rebooted and the party continued on... By the way the ipod sounds as good as the files you feed it.
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Scott Hanna said:
For ceremonies, I sometimes will use an ipod, or a pacemaker, which is an mp3 player with a mixer built in, right into my compact.

sounds great.

1/8 out(headphone jack) to rca. My compact takes rca.

If I was using a model 1, i'd just use 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch.

What ever your powered speaker accepts, should work the same way.
Click to expand...

Are you all using both left and right outputs from IPod stereo jack to both inputs left and right/two speakers?
Bill was having an issue with this in another thread.
 
I run in stereo. I plug everything into a preamp/mixer and the mixer feeds the eq and then the dsp then amps.
 
an ipod into a powered would surely allow the clients and guest praise the lack of wires but wonder hmm I could have done that. Client observation can reveal good bad and ugly or not. I bring an mp3 player with me and could hook it up if all my other three or four options were to fail ( not likely).
 
MP3 player with setup using a wireless system to the satellite speaker. Also having the player with the speaker could lead people into temptation.
 
Gee, what a great way to show that DJ/KJ work is a skilled business. Another "shoot yourself in the foot" idea.

You can argue all you want, but this point- posted years ago, has been proven by the HUGE influx of " I've got an iPOD/PC, so I can do it too" wannabes.

Ah well..... Just don't start complaining later....your own fault.
 
had the pleasure of an event downstairs recently where I had an incredible Korean Dance Party which ended at 11 and the upstairs party starting late was still going. Yes they played the cheesy wedding songs to begin and then the ipod began skipping. someone reset it and it skipped again and yet again. they continued to reset it and finally on to anothe song and it skipped yet again. I laughed out loud as they continued trying to find a song that would gain dancing again starting and cutting songs for 30 minutes straight. Brilliant!!!
 
JoeChartreuse said:
Gee, what a great way to show that DJ/KJ work is a skilled business. Another "shoot yourself in the foot" idea.

You can argue all you want, but this point- posted years ago, has been proven by the HUGE influx of " I've got an iPOD/PC, so I can do it too" wannabes.

Ah well..... Just don't start complaining later....your own fault.
Click to expand...

I think that anyone (non-DJ) that's even a little tech savvy can have that idea. It's not foot surgery.

I've said this a thousand times (now 1001)...It was never the lack of gear that prevented the "DIY" DJ. It was the lack of a song library. It was very uncommon for someone to have hundreds of records/tapes/CDs. Nowadays, most anyone has (or has access to) thousands of songs.

Believe me, if we weren't already DJs, most of us would be thinking..."I can do it too".


.
 
to bill kexal about his mp3

i have an mp3 i hook to a guitar amp then just use that but for a bigg speaker u would want to ethier have a power amp or just hook it to the guitar amp open the back, strip the coating off the connection wires then hook them in to the speaker if done wrong you may break your amp or blow up your mp3.
 
JoeChartreuse said:
Gee, what a great way to show that DJ/KJ work is a skilled business. Another "shoot yourself in the foot" idea.

You can argue all you want, but this point- posted years ago, has been proven by the HUGE influx of " I've got an iPOD/PC, so I can do it too" wannabes.

Ah well..... Just don't start complaining later....your own fault.
Click to expand...

Being needlessly behind the times isn't fooling anyone either.

Which end of the stick do you want to be on - simplistic digital edge or bulky analog obsolesence?
 
Proformance said:
Being needlessly behind the times isn't fooling anyone either.

Which end of the stick do you want to be on - simplistic digital edge or bulky analog obsolesence?
Click to expand...

That is an interesting way of looking at it.

In the old days I would lug a DJ rack out into the foyer or patio & play music. Doing that today, I wonder how many tech-savy people would look at it & laugh.

In a situation where the client would like cocktail music in a remote area (foyer, outside patio, Etc.) having an MP3 player with a folder/playlist you created for them containing specificly prepared cocktail music, plugged into a powered speaker is not a bad idea at all. With the EV ZXA1, you have 2 inputs, with separate volume controls so you can plug in a mic & make announcements when needed without shutting off the music.

It sure beats lugging around a DJ case, mixing board, & running cables all over the place Etc.

The MP3 player is velcro'd to the top, so it's not like it's hanging there for someone to unplug & run off with it. Most folks don't even realize what/how/ or care how you are doing it, but they would if you are running cables all over the place & taking up space away from guests that are mingling & walking around.

When background music by the DJ is needed in a remote area, what better way is there?
 
Hank Davidson said:
I've said this a thousand times (now 1001)...It was never the lack of gear that prevented the "DIY" DJ. It was the lack of a song library.
.
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Disagree. It's not JUST the library. Everyone has a PC and/or an iPOD. AND knows how to use it. That's the cost of equipment, if you throw in a couple of powered speakers. They don't even have to be trained- at least in regard to using the equipment. No more "mystique" if you will.

It was the use of both MP3s and PCs/iPODS in public venues that did it.

Amazing what people will do to themselves...
 
Bill How many people will this rig cover?:tribiggrin:

Isn't what you are doing making it look too uncomplicated leading everyone to think that they too can do it?:tritongue:

That was the argument you made in Rob's rack thread!:trismug:
 
If a client wants to rent a speaker, pick it up, set it up, spend the time loading a mp3 player after normalizing the volume on all the tracks, adjust the volume a few times throughout the cocktail hr. tear it down and return the speaker for what I charge to do it - have at it. Hasn't happened yet.
 
If I have to do a Cocktail Hour in a remote area and cannot operate (Hands on) myself, then I will charge more so I can bring someone with me. For me to be able to do it by myself I need to know that when the entire event ends I will be able to tear down the gear in both areas.
 
Thunder said:
Bill How many people will this rig cover?:tribiggrin:

Isn't what you are doing making it look too uncomplicated leading everyone to think that they too can do it?:tritongue: That was the argument you made in Rob's rack thread!:trismug:
Click to expand...

In many cases, I am already setup in 3 different locations: one system is setup in the ceremony location, one system is in the ballroom for the dinner dancing portion & the powered speaker is out on the patio/foyer for cocktails.

I doubt most of the guests may not even know who is providing it (venue? DJ?)..or may not even care.

During cocktails in a remote area, the clients just wants background music rather than dead silence, when it's time for the guests to come into the ballroom, or locate their names for the assigned tables, I can make those announcements too.

Lugging in another DJ rack or worrying about people setting drinks on it or running cables from one room to the next, lugging in a DJ rack & taking up more space or hiring someone to play cocktail music for 1 hr seems to be a thing from the past. Plus finding the time to tear it down & put it away takes time too. As a single op, it works well.

My other alternative that I have done in the past is to send the audio signal wirelessly to that speaker from my main system. The great thing about powered speakers (epecially the XZA1) It's small, less noticible...but powerful.

The songs that are being played were chosen by the client. Once the guests come into the ballroom, it's about 30 seconds to tear it down & move it.

Does anyone else do this?

What do others do for providing cocktail/background music in a remote location?
 
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