I need an iPod stereo with some special requirements. Help?!

October 1, 2009 2:53 PM

I'm getting married in 3 weeks, and I need some sort of stereo for the wedding ceremony to play music from my iPod. It will not be amplified, so it needs to be able to play loud enough to play outdoors for about 60 people, without a massive amount of distortion. Oh, and as a pipe dream, it would be optionally battery operated. Suggestions?

It's worth pointing out that the stereo doesn't need to be specifically for iPods. As long as it has an aux input, that's just fine. I'm really most worried about the volume. The wedding is outdoors and near a noisy area (near Battery Park in Charleston if you are familiar with the area).

posted by suburbanrobot to shopping (13 comments total)

You didn't mention the budget!

Anyway, we have a 30W Crate Taxi. It runs for 6 hours one one battery at deafening levels, and produces very good sound at less deafening levels, easily enough for your purposes.
posted by emilyw at 3:14 PM on October 1

Bose SoundDock is not cheap, but will give you an excellent big, warm, rich sound. Now comes in a portable (battery) model.
posted by applemeat at 3:41 PM on October 1 [1 favorite has favorites]

emily, thanks for the suggestion, but that's not really what I'm looking for. I hadn't really thought about an amp though, that might not be a bad idea.

applemeat, thanks for the suggestion, I'll check it out.
posted by suburbanrobot at 3:48 PM on October 1

Depends if you need a lot of bass (like dance music, for example) it will require bigger speakers a lot more power to get a decent volume. If it's just chamber music for the ceremony then you can get away with something smaller.
posted by kenliu at 3:54 PM on October 1

I'd find a place locally that rents PAs and similar equipment for musicians and ask them if they've got a Fender Passport, which is a pretty small, self-contained PA unit. There is a battery pack made for it, although I wouldn't be surprised if most rental places did not keep one on hand.

The rental should be pretty cheap.
posted by adamrice at 3:57 PM on October 1

suburbanrobot, you can't play music to 60 people without amplifying it. Can you be more clear about what you're (not) looking for?
posted by emilyw at 3:59 PM on October 1

Maybe you do want an amp. All a stereo with an aux input is, is an amp and a speaker and a lot of extraneous stuff like CD players and radios that you don't need.
posted by PercussivePaul at 4:00 PM on October 1 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you have access to a power plug, try the Audioengine A5 powered speakers, which have the exact amount of power you need and sound much better than a PA or the Bose system mentioned above.
posted by hamsterdam at 4:02 PM on October 1

Whatever setup you choose I'd recommend you road test it by playing the type of music that you are planning on playing - at the volume you planning on playing it and for the duration you are anticipating. This would help root out three potential killer issues: running out of battery power, crappy sound quality and overheating components (which then shut off).
posted by rongorongo at 4:28 PM on October 1

60 people + outdoors will require powered speakers or an amp. You should be able to rent something that will work.
posted by theora55 at 4:30 PM on October 1

We had the exact same requirements for our wedding, and bought the Ion Tailgater. We used it for the "down the aisle" music for about the same amount of guests in an outdoor ceremony. It works on a battery, has a handle, has an iPod dock. The music was really clear and, well, it just worked!
posted by ukdanae at 12:52 AM on October 2

I just checked with my fiancee, and apparently there is a noise ordinance requirement at the location that we cannot use "amplified music". To me that would negate any sort of player, but the location manager told her that boomboxes and other players of that ilk were OK.

ukdanae, thanks for that suggestion, I will check it out -- I might be able to use that.
posted by suburbanrobot at 5:10 AM on October 2

Googling iPod boombox gives a plethora of results. I like this iLive model which is only 80 bucks @ Crutchfield (don't work there, just a satisfied customer). They have a 30 day return policy, so if you try it out and decide you don't like it you could return it for a refund. ;>)
posted by torquemaniac at 9:03 AM on October 2