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<p>On 01/14/2018 10:12 AM, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers wrote:<br>
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<div dir="ltr">Are there smaller, less heavy, less cumbersome
systems you carry around? I want to be able to plug my computer
into it when I have an event that's not live music or just to
use it to amplify my voice over acoustic music (7-8 musicians)
-- a couple of small but lightweight speakers.
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Things that I've encountered in the wild:<br>
<br>
* Quite Carr-ied Away, the house band for the Roseville
(Sacramento-area) English Country Dance, uses a Bose L1 to provide
sound. It's more than adequate for a single caller (though you
might want to use a small mixer to provide more flexibility in terms
of adjusting voice tone response) with a laptop or some other device
for tunes, plus it sounds really good.
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/L1Compact?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7qzFhprY2AIVQ2V-Ch21zw2OEAQYASABEgJZQPD_BwE"><https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/L1Compact?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7qzFhprY2AIVQ2V-Ch21zw2OEAQYASABEgJZQPD_BwE></a>.
I've noticed that this technology is mature enough that lower-cost
knockoffs (such as the Harbinger MLS800) are now available. The
main shortcoming of these systems is that they're really meant more
for a coffeehouse or house concert setting, where you have folks
seated in chairs. The sound can be more easily blocked by folks
standing in front than you'd find with speakers on stands.<br>
<br>
* Most MWSD callers and round dance cuers that I know use
purpose-built gear from Hilton, combined with Yak Stack speakers.
Because it's designed for the MWSD trade, its frequency response
tends to emphasize human voice over other instruments, but that may
be more a function of the speakers that I've noticed being used more
than anything else -- think about the old 6x9" speakers with
whizzer cones that you used to see in car sound systems in the '60s
and early- to mid-'70s. It also uses 1/4" inputs for mics, rather
than XLR, and 1/4" outputs for passive speakers, rather than
Speakons, if that matters to you. Finally, MWSD gear tends to be
really, really pricy when compared to comparable pro audio gear
these days -- a Hilton mixer/amp, Yak Stack speaker, and the stand,
case, and cabling for same can set you back $2k or more.
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="https://www.hiltonaudio.com/store/c4/Hilton_Sound_Systems.html"><https://www.hiltonaudio.com/store/c4/Hilton_Sound_Systems.html></a>.<br>
<br>
* For gigs where it's just me and a sound source, I use an Alto
TS212 powered speaker with stand and a small mixer. The speaker is
more bulky than it is heavy -- Its carbon fiber enclosure is lighter
than either my Yamaha A12 passive speakers or my Behringer B212D
powered speakers, much lighter than similar powered speakers from
Mackie or QSC, and sounds as good as the Yamaha with a Crown amp and
better than the Behringer.<br>
<br>
For small mixers, if it's just me and a digital device of some sort,
I use one of these:
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Mix8?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8LqLy63Y2AIVgq_sCh1dZwy4EAkYASABEgLT5fD_BwE"><https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Mix8?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8LqLy63Y2AIVgq_sCh1dZwy4EAkYASABEgLT5fD_BwE></a>
if I'm on a stage, or one of the new Behringer shoebox-size digital
mixers with an app on my phone if I'm going to be dancing.<br>
<br>
--Nick<br>
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