Best-compromise active speakers for a shed and a village hall?
April 14, 2025 4:10 AM Subscribe
I'm after a pair of active speakers. Mostly they will be in my shed (6m x 3m) but sometimes they would be used for a small (25 people) private disco in a village hall. Bluetooth connection is a must. It'll always be dance music. What's a good compromise that doesn't break the bank?
I'll be bedroom DJing for myself in a new garden shed and want some active speakers. My wife and her friends have decided to hold occasional private discos in a local village hall. It can seat 50 people, if that's any idea of size. About 25 people would attend. I'm happy to have speakers that are overpowered for the shed, rather than monitors, so she can have speakers that fill the hall with enough volume, but I don't want to get too carried away with a monster PA. So far, some Alto TX410s seem my best option. Any others I should consider? I don't want to spend over £200/$250 per speaker. Probably don't want a subwoofer so as to avoid angry villagers.
I'll be bedroom DJing for myself in a new garden shed and want some active speakers. My wife and her friends have decided to hold occasional private discos in a local village hall. It can seat 50 people, if that's any idea of size. About 25 people would attend. I'm happy to have speakers that are overpowered for the shed, rather than monitors, so she can have speakers that fill the hall with enough volume, but I don't want to get too carried away with a monster PA. So far, some Alto TX410s seem my best option. Any others I should consider? I don't want to spend over £200/$250 per speaker. Probably don't want a subwoofer so as to avoid angry villagers.
Best answer: I have a pair of Yamaha HS5s, which I see are now available from B&H here in the U.S. for $200 each.
They're well-regarded as studio monitors, but when I got them several years back, I anticipated I might also use them as a PA system for small venues, much like you're describing.
And last fall, I actually ended up doing this, when I did a couple of electronic music shows in an art gallery. They worked very well for that purpose.
I was initially concerned about not having a subwoofer, but nobody noticed the lack of low end. The HS5s have a good frequency response down to almost 70 Hz; you won't get sub-bass out of them, but in the kind of situation you're describing, I doubt anyone will miss it. I found my kickdrums had plenty of impact.
Yamaha does sell a sub you can use with the HS5s, but it's another $500 -- not in my budget, and probably not in yours either.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:33 AM on April 15
They're well-regarded as studio monitors, but when I got them several years back, I anticipated I might also use them as a PA system for small venues, much like you're describing.
And last fall, I actually ended up doing this, when I did a couple of electronic music shows in an art gallery. They worked very well for that purpose.
I was initially concerned about not having a subwoofer, but nobody noticed the lack of low end. The HS5s have a good frequency response down to almost 70 Hz; you won't get sub-bass out of them, but in the kind of situation you're describing, I doubt anyone will miss it. I found my kickdrums had plenty of impact.
Yamaha does sell a sub you can use with the HS5s, but it's another $500 -- not in my budget, and probably not in yours either.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:33 AM on April 15
« Older What do you think happens after you die and does... | iPhone 16 ProMax Compass App Weirdness Newer »
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
The only concern I'd have for your applications is that they don't really have any bass response to speak of - so they may be a bit disappointing for disco purposes depending on the kind of music you're playing. You may want to consider adding a lightweight subwoofer to fill out the bottom end a bit.
posted by offog at 4:46 AM on April 14