On 01/14/2018 10:12 AM, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers wrote:

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.

Things that I've encountered in the wild:

* 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. <https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/L1Compact?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7qzFhprY2AIVQ2V-Ch21zw2OEAQYASABEgJZQPD_BwE>. 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.

* 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. <https://www.hiltonaudio.com/store/c4/Hilton_Sound_Systems.html>.

* 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.

For small mixers, if it's just me and a digital device of some sort, I use one of these: <https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Mix8?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8LqLy63Y2AIVgq_sCh1dZwy4EAkYASABEgLT5fD_BwE> 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.

--Nick