DJ Amps and speakers

For any aspiring DJ they will always start their career mixing it up, locked away in their bedroom and cranking all they can from there Multi Media system or struggling hi-fi system. Everyone has fancied themselves as a DJ at some point in their lives and everyone has given it a go, blasting out intermittent commentary to their poor unsuspecting neighbors, on the mentioned equipment. This is all very well and good if you want to spend the rest of your life as a bedroom DJ but if you have any ambitions then you need to be taking that next crucial step and get hold of a proper DJ Amp and DJ Speakers.
An amplifier and speakers allows you to take all of the sounds that have come from the turntable and into the mixer and turn them into legible noise that fills the room where you are playing.
In some cases you can buy the amp and speakers combined but this tend to make it more expensive so for now you’re much better buying these two pieces of DJ equipment separately.
Before we move on to the product reviews we would like to first give you a basic lesson in understanding in how your amps and speakers actually work.
How does an amp work?
Amplifiers surround us in many different guises. The most well known type of amp will obviously be present in the form of your personal stereo or your television. These two devices are both amplifiers in a sense as they both receive sound vibrations and amplify them outwards so that you can hear them. And the list doesn’t stop there. Amplifiers can be found in computers or CD players and in fact anything that uses a speaker to transmit sound.
Obviously sound is the one thing that the amp feeds upon. Sound itself is a very unusual yet totally natural phenomenon. Sound waves are formed when an object such as the string on a guitar is plucked, and the air around the string then vibrates in unison with the vibration of the string. This vibrating air is then resonated outwards in a pulse like motion until it reaches your ear and appears as sound. The ear itself works by picking up this vibration and fluctuations in air pressure and then the brain begins the process of deciphering these signals so that you can make sense of it.
An amplifier does pretty much the same thing by receiving an electric current and then converting it into another signal whilst boosting this converted signal at the same time.
Ok so this is a pretty basic explanation but hopefully you may be able to understand a little bit more about the process.

DJ Headphones

For as many different types of Decks and Mixers there are probably 3-1 headphones to match. The choice is dazzling and you will be amazed at how many there are. What you’re looking for when starting out is fairly simple headphones that do what there supposed to do. Try to avoid working with or buying in ear headphones, they have a tendency to allow in noise pollution which complicates things when you’re attempting to work with the beat and get your timing right.
The best bet is to go for headphones that close over the entire ear which is known as a ‘can’. I could spend all day going on about the best model vs the worst model but that would be pointless and it wouldn’t help you in the slightest.
As makes go it seems that Sennheisser are the most popular choice amongst DJ’s but Sony are chasing there tail very hard with innovative and new models being developed all the time. With this in mind it all boils down to budget and what you can afford. There is nothing wrong with buying second hand and then upgrading your equipment once the money starts rolling in.
What headphones to buy all depend largely on what kind of DJ work you are aiming to specialize in? Obviously the main priority is to hear the music without any outside pollution. A lot of stores will be happy for you to try out there equipment before buying so it might be best to visit a DJ equipment store so that you can try out each range.
Bigger tips to follow are making a list of each model and try to determine your choice on the benefits of each brand. Once you have your list you can then begin the selection process. It is important at this stage that you investigate each product using the internet. What you will find in many cases is the cost on the internet can sometimes be half the price of what you might pay at a bricks and mortar store.

DJ Mixers

Just as important to any DJ as the decks is the DJ Mixers. Like Decks the market is awash with every conceivable variety of mixers. Choosing the right one that will not only suit your budget but will also give you the consistency and quality that can be relied upon, will take more than just a lucky buy.
It is important that before we feature or review any type of mixer that you first understand some of the jargon that can be associated with DJ Mixers as this is an important step if you want to master your art.
Apologies for the DJ’s out there who already know their business but we all have to start somewhere and this is as good a place to start as any.
The DJ mixer will give the DJ the ability to have ultimate control over the input and output of their music. This will aid them when cutting in from one track to another, cueing the next song and mixing the next song with perfect timing and precision. It is quite popular for Mixers to control the lighting as well as the sound.
The typical Mixer will have:
• Two channels both left and right. These channels are used to source the sound from each of your two decks. Obviously the left channel controls the source from the left turntable and the right channel controls the source from the right turntable. This will give the DJ control over which source, left or right, they wish to cue music or sound from.
• Selector switch that allows you to cue your headphones. This will also give you the option on which source (turntable) you want to hear from. DJ’s will use this function to find the right place to cue the music from so that they are one step ahead of the crowd.
• Gain switch which controls the volume of sound coming into the mixer from the two decks.
• Equalizer which will give you low frequency, medium frequency and high frequency.
• Basic cross fader. Allows you to fade music in and out of your two sources.
We have to stress that buying the mixer doesn’t make the DJ and to our earlier point you will have to work long and hard at becoming a success in this profession. The great news is anything is possible and if you put the time and effort in you will and cannot fail.
In later articles we will be exploring the varying techniques that DJ’s use to get the most from their mixers and how they form a unique DJ Mix style that becomes a recognizable footprint of their work.
The mixers set out below are featured again with budget and practicality at the forefront of our research. We will aim to give you reviews on each of the featured products but this isn’t always possible.