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The Importance of Quality Speakers for Wedding DJing
As Los Angeles wedding dj with over 17 years of experience, one of the most important things to me when djing weddings are the quality of speakers I'm using.
I could be playing the best mix of music ever but if the quality of the speakers are terrible, it won't sound as good or have the desired effect on the dance floor.
In this blog post I will discuss why having good speakers is important and also provide some of my own personal insight into the topic.
The reason why I bring this up is because 99.9 percent of couples that book wedding djs don't know much about speakers.
It's not their fault.
They shouldn't have to know.
They assume the dj is using high quality equipment but that's not always the case.
I’ll be honest, when I first started djing weddings I didn't have the best speakers.
I was only djing as a hobby so I didn't feel the need to spend the extra cash on top of the line speakers.
I was also charging a lot less than most of my competitors since I didn't have that much experience doing weddings.
Over time though, as I did more weddings and increased my rates I knew I had to invest in myself and get the best speakers I could.
Nowadays I use the best brand of loudspeakers for all events I do: QSC.
Aren't all speakers the same?
Nope, not even.
Are all cars the same? All TV's?
Speakers are just like any other type of technology, you get what you pay for.
There are dozens of brands all selling speakers at low prices and also at high prices.
As an event lighting specialist I also setup lighting at events that I don't dj so I get to see a lot of different kinds of djs.
I recently did a wedding at the Sunset Restaurant in Malibu, a beautiful beachfront venue that is not cheap to book.
The DJ for this wedding caught my eye, in a negative way.
His sound system was just laughable.
He had these 2 super old (10+years old at least) and ugly Carvin brand speakers.
He didn't even have speaker stands for them.
He had them placed on the floor which is also a huge no no for djs.
There was no stage either, the speakers were sitting on the floor with all the chairs that the guests were sitting on.
To top it off, he didn't even use a laptop.
Instead he actually had a very cheap Windows desktop computer with a clunky monitor.
He actually had the monitor on top of the speaker.
Just shocking stuff.
One of the ugliest DJ setups I've ever seen at a wedding.
Now , if this was a dj just starting out, maybe, just maybe it would be ok.
But this guy was definitely in his 40’s and probably had been djing for years.
That's the real sad part.
There are a lot of these types of guys out there who are overcharging couples while using super cheap and completely outdated equipment.
I use QSC speakers for several reasons.
Unlike every other brand, they have 6 year warranties on all their speakers.
This a big deal because other brands only have warranties that are 6 months or 1 year at most.
Not only are they the most popular and reliable speakers for wedding djs, but many bands use their speakers and amplifiers at events throughout Los Angeles, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Orange County.
QSC speakers can handle more power than any other speaker.
QSC knows their speakers will last a very very long time and will never blow or have potential problems.
QSC speakers also come in three sizes: 8 inch, 10 inch and 12 inch (K8, K10, KW12).
The cool thing is that no matter the size, the speaker has 1000 watts of amazing sounding power.
I usually use the 8 inch speaker for cocktail hour at weddings.
For weddings up to 120 people I usually use two 10 inch QSC K10 speakers for my main dance floor setup.
For larger weddings I use the 12 inch speakers for my main setup and sometimes include a QSC subwoofer for extra bass.
For ceremonies under 120 people I use the the K10 speaker.
I always keep my speakers on stands so they are above shoulder level, if not higher.
I also like to cover the speaker stand with a black fabric cover so it looks much cleaner and professional looking.
Now in case you haven't figured out, QSC speakers cost much more than other speakers.
The QSC 10 inch K10 goes for around $700 while a JBL Eon 10 inch speaker goes for $300.
Big difference right?
QSC speakers are also much better looking and are built like tanks.
They don't scratch easily and they won't break apart.
I used to own JBL speakers when I first started djing events and within a year of owning some of their speakers the handles on the speaker broke off.
As you can guess it was much harder to transport and looked pretty ugly too.
So what can you do to make sure your dj uses quality equipment at your wedding?
Ask them what they are using.
Get the brand name and model name of their main speakers if you can.
If they are using QSC, then your good.
But any other brand, you should be cautious.
What are the worst brands for speakers?
It's actually a tie between 2 brands: Behringer and Alto.
These 2 companies are notoriously known amongst real djs and sound technicians for creating the cheapest and worst speakers ever made.
Their speakers are heavy, clunky, dull looking and can easily be blown.
I have a friend who works at Guitar Center, the biggest retailer of dj equipment, and he tells me every time people buy Behringer or Alto speakers they always return it and end up buying more expensive speakers because they sound terrible or they blow the speakers after using them just one time.
If you're trying to book a dj that is using speakers by Behringer or Alto, don't do it.
You will thank me later.