Looking for suggestions for VERY portable "FRFR" or PA

[Boudoir Guitar]

My guess on this thread is that there are no actual very small ""FRFR"", right? :)

Studio monitors are "FRFR" - indeed, their range is generally more extended than that of a PA speaker. Very few things are genuinely 20hz-20khz ruler flat, so what is or isn’t “"FRFR"” depends on how flat and how wide bandwidth you want. It is often used as a generic term for “a powered speaker that is designed for playing music through, not an instrument speaker” and that seems to be the way you are using it?

More relevant parameters would be:

-budget.

-robustness (I.e. are you worried about drivers getting poked/dinged.)

- needed output.


It seems to me you have been suggested lots of great options for your use case in this thread.

 

[molul]

Aaah, I see. Excuse my ignorance. I was very focused on getting an answer like "this device is like the headrush fr108 but half the size and power".

On the other hand, I was worried about robustness, but as I'll be playing at home, I guess I should just be careful when moving from one place to the other. I won't really need much power.

Thanks everyone for the replies!

 

[AFKAEjay]

Used genelec 8010s for years…currently 8040…highly recommend them…without a clue of what else is out there

If it’s just for practice..I wouldn’t shy away from those portable Bluetooth boxes…that also have a mini trs input. (Bluetooth = latency, not gonna work) Many sound decent enough, build for the road, battery powered.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Aaah, I see. Excuse my ignorance. I was very focused on getting an answer like "this device is like the headrush fr108 but half the size and power".

On the other hand, I was worried about robustness, but as I'll be playing at home, I guess I should just be careful when moving from one place to the other. I won't really need much power.

Thanks everyone for the replies!

The Behringer and Carvin things posted are the closest things to "like an fr108 but half the size". Not much going on in the 1/2 the size/power but like the fr108 market segment because...at that size/power, its really difficult to make a cost effective speaker that can generate high enough volumes to be used as a public address system. So the stuff that is 1/2 the size/weight are mostly just studio monitors/personal listening speaker type things.

 

[Jarick]

The Genelec 80x0 are made out of cast aluminum and both the woofer and tweeter have metal screens to protect the drivers. The little one is listed at 3 pounds I think. They are incredibly solid build and should be rugged enough for travel assuming you pack them well.

Last year I had a big shelf over my desk that fell off the wall and crashed onto my speakers. No damage at all, just a little scuff that wiped off.

 

[sashimi]

Used genelec 8010s for years…currently 8040…highly recommend them…without a clue of what else is out there

If it’s just for practice..I wouldn’t shy away from those portable Bluetooth boxes…that also have a mini trs input. (Bluetooth = latency, not gonna work) Many sound decent enough, build for the road, battery powered.

Unfortunately a lot of those have pretty bad latency even at the trs input.

 

[AFKAEjay]

Unfortunately a lot of those have pretty bad latency even at the trs input.

At the trs input….really?..surprising..

 

[Elric]

Would not want even one studio monitor for portaging between cities - a driver's gonna get murdered. Or a pair of ilouds either - ugh dongle fest of two boxes with a link cable, etc.

It's too bad they stopped making it but at one point IK made an 'iLoud' standalone speaker. It's perfect for what the OP wants and sounds great. I'd recommend it but its no longer being made so if you picked one up it'd have be NOS or used.

Edit: Late to the party as usual, looks like @paisleywookiee already gave this guy a shout out. Anyway, had one for a long time. Big fan.

Honestly in this form factor and for 'portable' stuff, I'd just get a standalone 'bluetooth' speaker that had an 'Aux' in and then EQ correct the output of the modeler. Most tiny monitors are going to be wildly 'off' "FRFR". The trick would be finding a consumer product that is not voiced /tuned for Hip Hop.

 

[quadgear]

The trick would be finding a consumer product that is not voiced /tuned for Hip Hop.

See: https://thegearforum.com/threads/looking-for-suggestions-for-very-portable-""FRFR""-or-pa.4859/post-193390

The other tricks are low latency and headroom.

 

[Elric]

See: https://thegearforum.com/threads/looking-for-suggestions-for-very-portable-"""FRFR"""-or-pa.4859/post-193390

The other tricks are low latency and headroom.

Good points. Re latency, I forgot, nowadays, a lot of these things have DSP in them.

 

[sashimi]

At the trs input….really?..surprising..

Yeah, I think some dsp going on in these without concern for latency due to the intended application. I have only tried a couple of these bluetooth speakers personally but both had unusable latency even direct in, felt like well over 10ms to me.

 

[Elric]

Do you remember what the actual model name was? I wouldn’t mind picking one up used.

Unfortunately it is kind of confusing because it was the first product in the 'iLoud' range and they just called it 'iLoud' portable speaker or something like that when I bought it...

I don't think at that point they realized it was going to resonate so well and now they have a very full range of serious studio monitoring products that grew from that point.

 

[Boudoir Guitar]

Unfortunately it is kind of confusing because it was the first product in the 'iLoud' range and they just called it 'iLoud' portable speaker or something like that when I bought it...

I don't think at that point they realized it was going to resonate so well and now they have a very full range of serious studio monitoring products that grew from that point.

How dare you suggest IK would release a product without fully thinking its lifecycle through! I kid, I kid...

 

[holoholo]

Idk man I have a minirig that I use for around the house, at a computer desk, etc. But running a HX stomp into the aux in has a weird almost like limiter cutting in kind of sound on the low end and also it sounds like I’m triggering a gate on and off whenever I play. And this is not at very loud volumes. I’ve played around with the gain settings. Maybe I’m doing something wrong.

 

[quadgear]

I think the OG, rectangular iLoud had some issues with power supplies and issues with batteries?

 

[Alex Kenivel]

Other random suggestions hype: Spark Mini. Disable everything in the signal chain and you're left with your modeler > speaker. I did this with my Spark Go.

 

[three_eyed_otter]

The Three II - Best Wireless Shelf Stereo | Klipsch

With award-winning acoustics and mid-century modern design, the Klipsch Three II wireless shelf stereo brings your music to life from anywhere in your home.

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Have a good one,

3EO

 

[Baba]

Here's a question OP, how do you want to CARRY this solution?

Lilke, in a duffel bag with other stuff, by itself, on wheels, etc?

 

[Rewolf]

If you're looking for a very portable, battery powered solution that can get very loud and is relatively flat, the MiniRig is a good choice.

It's one of the better consumer level Bluetooth speakers with low latency via a wired input by design. Very long battery life. Very portable and robust. 40 watts.

Software/firmware is a bit wonky. Perhaps the latest MiniRig 4 has that all sorted

View attachment 20203

For guitar, it's pretty good. Amazing sound when focused on a single spot (personal monitor). Can fill a room or use outdoors (even better with something behind it to reflect sound). There's an eq setting for LOUD.

To be clear this is a one driver solution (you can add more units and/or their sub) that won't pass deep analysis. Some say they perform as good or better than many small studio monitors at the sub $300-500 price point per pair.

It's not going to replace a CLR, PA, high end monitors, and other devices that are large, heavy, and more expensive ... but you may not need that in all situations. This fits in a gig bag, weighs less than some pedals, is a useful tool for casual situations.

YMMV.

I have two of these, but generally only use 1 at a limited volume. I agree with this.

That little speaker fits in one hand but is 40W and 105dB @ 1m. And they are rechargeable (and can charge your phone if needed).

They sound great for guitar with enough low-end for most uses. I tried other options and they were all too big to be really portable, too quiet or too messy with cables everywhere. Simple stereo jack from Helix Floor Headphone jack into this is all that you need. And to charge it every month or so: 30hr battery on high volume setting, 100hr for quiet practice.

HX Express Go + Minirig 3 will fit in a guitar bag and you can play anywhere. Great for busking.

 

[dbagchee]

Other random suggestions hype: Spark Mini. Disable everything in the signal chain and you're left with your modeler > speaker. I did this with my Spark Go.

I need to try this with the POD Express into the Spark Go