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Portable Loudspeakers: Sound on the Go
The basic "speaker on a stick" has come a long way in recent years. There are now more high quality options for churches
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American Audio’s XSP Series This series features designs fitted with 8-inch,10-inch, 12-inch, or 15-inch low-frequency drivers. The XSP-10A and -12A feature one mic and one line inputs, and the XSP-15A incorporates two mic inputs and one line input. All are stand-mountable or flyable.
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Bag End PTA2000-R Featuring a wooden enclosure, the Bag End PTA2000-R comprises a 12-inch low frequency driver and a 1-inch exit compression high frequency driver. The 80-degree (H) by 60-degree (V) horn can be rotated to provide 60 (H) by (80) V coverage.
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Behringer’s Eurolive D Series Behringer’s Eurolive D Series features mic/line XLR and ¼-inch inputs with a variable level control and a clip indicator. Two-band shelving EQ boosts or cuts 15 dB at 12 kHz and 80 Hz, respectively.
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Califone PowerPro The Califone PowerPro comes with two built-in wireless receivers, a CD player and a cassette player/recorder, and provides the ability to transmit wirelessly to its powered companion speakers. The system can operate from external AC or by internal DC battery power.
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DAS Audio DR Active Series DAS’ DR active series comprises three models with black polypropylene enclosures: the DR-108A, DR-112A and DR-115A feature 8-inch, 12-inch, and 15-inch low-frequency drivers, respectively.
Portable loudspeakers are pretty much a boon to church audio. Designed to be multitaskers, most of the available portable speakers can be used as FOH systems, stage monitors, fills, extensions, systems for sidewalk ministries, just about wherever a speaker is needed, there's a portable speaker that will fit the bill.
Oh, they've been around for a while. I remember Electro-Voice's System 200 from the mid-1980s, but the introduction of JBL's Eon series in 1995 is what really got things going for this genre. The primary benefit of these systems is they offer plug-and-play simplicity for easy set up and operation for volunteer audio personnel-as well as flexibility.
With the enclosure manufactured from a composite plastic material, the users got a speaker that was relatively lightweight compared to a wood cabinet, so it was easier to move around and durable and, in many cases, inherently weather resistant. An integral pole pocket allowed for mounting on a tripod stand. The JBL Eon added onboard amplification, switchable mic/line input and even basic EQ. Now, there's a plethora of makes and models to choose from. And while the de facto standard has been a molded plastic enclosure, there have been some that wanted to get back to their roots and go old school with a wooden cabinet. And of course, some manufacturers have been all too pleased to oblige.
Newer School
Incremental improvements in recent years have included advancements in amplifier and driver design, which manifests itself by reduced overall weight and high frequency waveguide design, which provides more controlled and defined coverage. In addition, asymmetrical enclosure designs enable use as a stage monitor.
Now you'll find some systems with multiple inputs and rudimentary mixing capabilities; others will have slots that can accommodate CD players or wireless receivers and inputs for MP3 players. There are also prepackaged systems that include all the necessary components for a fully functioning system.
The basic "speaker on a stick" has come a ways, too. And in practical application you could find the same portable speaker working as a stage monitor for the praise and worship band on Sunday morning, acting as the main speaker system for the youth meeting mid week, and then as a system for the community outreach team in the local park on Saturday afternoon. Bob Smith, senior design consultant with Portable Church Industries of Troy, Mich., says, "It has been very good to see the significant number of manufacturers who have introduced [more sophisticated] active loudspeaker designs. Simple ‘box-on-a-stick' versions were our only powered options a few years ago."
Portability Squared
And that's where portable speakers really come in handy ... portable churches. As the portable church concept becomes more popular, the need for a loudspeaker system that is easy to set up and can provide the coverage and quality needed increases. Smith notes, "A key benefit for portable churches is [that] the overall size and weight of the newer powered loudspeakers are significantly less than [older] un-powered versions with separate amplifiers, processors, EQs and the necessary racks and cabling." Smith continues, "The resulting savings in space, weight, and dollars allows a church to store more items needed for other ministries than otherwise possible. Plus, the set-up time and over-all complexity is less, which is also an important consideration when choosing a system that will be set up each week by a team of volunteers who, in many cases, have limited set-up/teardown time."
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Mark Johnson is an independent technical trainer/writer based in Crockett, Calif., and former editor of Sound & Video Contractor and Church Production magazines. He can be reached at mjohnson6286@sbcglobal.net.
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