Battery-powered DJ setup MEGAGUIDE – Controllers, lights, and speakers!

I think we’re all loving live beats in the park or sketchy locations, but lack of AC mains power is hard. I’ve spent a long time trying to sort out the best battery-powered portable DJ party setup for the cash. I value weight, size, and quality above others. Ability to stuff it all into one bag is huge in case you need to escape in case of emergency.

I’m going to cover controllers, mixers, speakers, and lights from $50 to $2,000+ to turn your party into a rave.

portable battery powered DJ setup
One of our older setups

My portable battery-powered DJ setup

First I’ll start with my personal and current system. This is subject to change in the future. This system provides L/R stereo and a centre channel, as well as a booth monitor for when you don’t want headphones on. This system cost around $1,200 all-in, not including laptop.

  • 3 x Minirig 3s – Two for audience-facing with L/R stereo, and one facing me as a stage monitor if I don’t bring cue headphones. They’re tiny, light, have excellent sound quality, high relative SPL, and great battery. In & out 3.5mm for daisy-chaining and pass-through charging to keep the sound going.
  • 2 x Minirig Subwoofer 3 – Bass in your face. Okay they’re not too crazy outdoors, but small-medium sized rooms can get a big amount of fill from these and for the size/weight, to me it’s a no-brainer to bring along. The entire 5-speaker Minirig setup is around 3kg and sounds excellent for hanging at parks with a few friends.
  • 1 x dB Technologies B-Hype Mobile 10″ – The big boy. It’s big and heavy at 12kg but more than pulls its weight in the sheer sound output. Wireless microphone transmission, a fine battery, professional looks & construction – I can’t find a better speaker at this price. Nice bass, crisp trebles, and loud volume.
  • 1 x Traktor Kontrol Z1 (optionally an X1 too) – Light, small, compact, USB-powered mixer. Easy to use, inexpensive, works great!
  • 1 x laptop – This has all the music and connects to the mixer. Don’t need to say anything else here. (Macbook Air M1).
  • 2 x Eurolite AKKU Mini PARty – Just 2 of these is enough for setting vibe and doing sound-reactive duties. A headlamp is useful for DJ booth ordeals.
  • 18650 power-bank & extra 18650 batteries – Light, compact, lots of power density. For charging the Minirigs, lights, phone, or anything else.
Portable-Battery-Powered-DJ-setup
All the gear for the battery powered DJ setup, plus a laptop

This entire setup is good for around 50 people indoors, fits in my (large) bag which I can bike away with. Setup time is mostly in connecting the cables between all the Minirigs and mixer.

Portable controllers & mixers

There are a couple standalone and battery-powered DJ controllers out there these days. They are however quite expensive. I’ll cover them.

Denon DJ Prime Go

  • Price: ~$1,000+
  • Software: Denon Engine OS
  • Displays: 7″ touch display
  • Power: Battery, DC19V 3.42A

One of two fully standalone battery-powered DJ controllers, the Denon DJ Prime Go is a really impressive piece of tech and perfect for the short party. Is it worth the $1,000+ price tag..?

denon-dj-prime-go-test
100% battery powered and standalone

The battery lasts around 4 hours which is fine enough, however an M1 Macbook which costs the same as the controller will have double the battery life and can power the Xone:K2 or Traktor Z1&X1 combo while being much lighter, though to be fair not as great as using a fully-fledged DJ controller.

WiFi and ethernet means connection to SoundCloud, BeatPort, Dropbox, TIDAL, etc and StagelinQ for wireless DMX/light and video control. SD Card, USB, XLR, TRS – it has all the connectivity you’d expect in a pro product.

If you’re serious about your craft as a portable DJ, then the Denon Prime Go is the way, otherwise hobbyists and enthusiasts will be fine with a laptop + USB mixer setup.

amazon-logo-png
Link on Amazon

Numark Mixstream Pro Go

  • Price: ~$839+
  • Software: Engine DJ (standalone), Serato and Virtual DJ (computer)
  • Displays: 7″ touch display
  • Power: Battery, DC12V, 3.0A

The newest battery-powered DJ controller to launch, Numarks Mixstream Pro Go crams a ton of features into a fairly compact and decently priced package at $839.

numark-mixstream-pro-go-review
100% standalone

SD card, USB, and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity for various access methods to your music library (Soundcloud, Amazon Music, Tidal, DropBox, etc. Built-in speakers, XLR & TRS output, 6.35mm and 3.5mm cue headphone out.

Also for lighting control you can control Phillips Hue, Nanoleaf, and DMX interfaces right from the controller. This is really great to see included since lighting is what can take a great party into an excellent one!

Essentially, the Mixstream Pro Go aims to do what the Denon DJ Prime Go does for a bit less money. Personally, the Denon controller has better feeling knobs, smaller jog wheels, and is a little more compact, but a bit more expensive. Both are great – choose the one which you think works better for you!

amazon-logo-png
Link on Amazon

Standalone DJ controllers

Standalone means no laptop needed – just a USB drive or WiFi/WLAN. These controllers/mixers do need a power source though to operate. Some can be powered from a power station, others from a power bank.

Pioneer XDJ-RR

  • Price: ~$1,000
  • Software: Rekordbox
  • Displays: 1 x 7″ screen
  • Power: DC 12V 3.0A
pioneer-xdj-rr-review
Fully-featured but quite big and heavy

A fully-featured 2-channel controller, it pretty much has everything you need for a professional performance and familiarity with a CDJ system. Only downsides are the size, weight, and only 2 channels. Otherwise, an excellent controller with no laptop needed.

There is no wireless streaming, DMX, or anything like that – just a pure high-quality controller with the fundamentals as good as can get.

If price is not a factor you can go even bigger and better with the XDJ-RX3, XDJ-XZ, or OPUS-QUAD all from Pioneer – they’re all standalone and translate very well into the professional world of gear.

amazon-logo-png
Link on Amazon

Denon DJ SC Live 2 and 4

  • Price: ~$1,000+
  • Software: Denon DJ, Serato, Virtual DJ
  • Displays: 7″ touch display
  • Power: DC12V 3.0A
denon-dj-sc-live-2-review
Portable, but not quite portable.

Another pro-level kit, both the Denon DJ SC Live 2 and 4 are fully-featured and bring wireless streaming with Amazon Music, Beatport, SoundCloud GO+, TIDAL, Dropbox, etc – or good old SD card and USB input.

It also has wireless DMX for controlling lights and compatible with Phillips Hue. Essentially it’s an all-in-one system with all the advanced wireless tech – a great option if you want to do it all with one.

amazon-logo-png
Link on Amazon

Numark Mixstream Pro+

  • Price: ~$700
  • Software: Engine DJ
  • Displays: 7″ touch display
  • Power: DC12V 3.0A
numark-mixstream-pro-review
Very compact and still well-featured

The Mixstream Pro+ is like the DJ SC Live 2 but cheaper. All the wireless streaming integration you could want (including lighting and DMX) but a notably cheaper controller/mixer section.

However it’s quite a bit cheaper, lighter, and smaller than other options here and to be fair the mixer is more than enough to put on a good show. It’s the best cheap all-in-one standalone controller out there for sure.

amazon-logo-png
Link on Amazon

Pioneer DDJ-FLX4

  • Price: ~$300
  • Software: Rekordbox, Djay Pro AI, Serato
  • Displays: None
  • Power: DC 5V 0.5A
pioneer-ddj-flx4-review
Powered with phone and power bank!

Though not fully standalone, the new DDJ-FLX4 is really good to consider. You can connect it with iPhone or Android via USB or Bluetooth to act as the software and music storage and connect to Soundcloud Go+, Beatport, etc.

It’s USB-powered so you can run it off a power bank or laptop with a standard DC 5V, 500mA or DC 9V, 3A cable/power bank. This pretty much means any power bank can power it!

This is true for also the DDJ-Rev1, DDJ-FLX6, and FLX6-GT.

However having a phone as your only display may be a limitation and file management can be tricky and in my opinion isn’t optimal. Having a device like a Surface Pro or iPad would be better for sure.

With Bluetooth as the audio source you can have a fully wireless setup, however keep in mind that latency can be particularly annoying when DJing. Well worth considering though as the setup can work really well!

amazon-logo-png
Link on Amazon

Opinion: Standalone controllers are cool, but you need a power source anyways – which means carrying something which outputs 12V DC or plugging into mains.

Honestly, just run with a light laptop and whichever controller or mixers you like most. A laptop display is bigger, easier to navigate, and more powerful than standalone controllers. Many like the Reloop Buddy due to the size, price, and function. Too, many controllers can be powered with just the USB power from your laptop, opening up the possibilities.

Be aware: Some controllers offer standalone mixer function (like the Traktor S4 MK3), however that means it controls external inputs, it doesn’t act as a full DJ controller.

Portable battery-powered speaker setup

Arguably the most important aspect of any DJ set is the sound – if your speakers sound like shit, no one actually cares about how good the mixing or selection is. There are tons of options available in my actual best portable speakers megalist, but I’ll just go over a few.

Minirigs – Smallest battery-powered DJ speakers

Minirig-1.1-vs-2.0
My array of Minirigs

The Minirigs are compact, lightweight, and powerful. Aux-in and aux-out on each driver, L/R stereo, dedicated subwoofers, and impressive sound for the size, there’s nothing as small and light which produces such good sound.

These are the best for small groups, small rooms, mixing in the park and just a compact overall package. ~$180 per speaker is what hurts, but considering the sound and size it’s a compromise to live with. Check my full Minirig 3 review here!

?u=https%3A%2F%2Flirp.cdn website.com%2Fa2192854%2Fdms3rep%2Fmulti%2Fopt%2Flogo black 800x266 452w
View current price here

HK Audio Pro Move:8 – Best mid-size speaker

Stepping up in size from the Minirigs while still small enough to fit in a bag and light enough to not be a nuisance, the HK Audio Pro Move:8 is a serious piece of tech made for professionals. It has tons of inputs from Bluetooth to aux, XLR, TRS, etc.

Two of these provide a serious amount of high-fidelity sound and my #1 pick for portable DJ applications. The EV Everse 8 and S1 Pro are good alternatives to consider.

HK-Audio-Premium-Pro-move-8-review
The best portable PA speaker IMO

dB Technologies B-Hype Mobile – Best priced strong battery-powered speaker

Significantly larger than the JBL Eon One, the dB B-Hype M has a 10″ woofer & 1″ compression driver in a ~12kg package. It has great sound output, a basic +-10dB treble & bass EQ, terrific wireless mic/headset integration, and a professional build. Two of these would easily work great for a professional gig for a small audience, with a subwoofer added to really make it a professional option with the B-Hype coming in at ~$500.

Minirigs and dB B Hype Mobile 10 1
To me it’s a balance of size and power.

Soundboks 3 – best large party speaker

16kg, 2 x 10″ woofers, dead-easy setup, great battery, and solid build, the Soundboks is definitely ‘overpriced’ from a raw audio point of view, but definitely terrific from a simplicity point of view.

At around $1,000 it’s a tough pill to swallow as that enters the range of 2 * dB B-Hype mobiles which benefits from better sound and stereo separation. It does have wireless L/R stereo though and I’ve seen these move crowds of 50+ outdoors every weekend.

Soundboks-2-and-3
Soundboks 2 and 3 – well-rounded devices

Teufel Rockster – for real raves and big sound.

Way beyond the portable aspect, the Teufel Rockster is just a behemoth at 32kg but undoubtedly the king of sound. Excellent high and low-end extension, big power, and professional in construction, this is the speaker for legitimate events.

Two of these in a mid-sized club actually produced proper live sound which could really have a crowd bumping. At $1,000 like the Soundboks, it clearly sounds better but far less portable.

Teufel-Rockster-vs-Soundboks-2
The Teufel Rockster is far larger and heavier – needs a trolley and vehicle to easily move.

Portable or battery-powered mixer setup

Unless you want to put on some mixes from your audio source or some Spotify or Soundcloud action, you’re going to want a battery-powered DJ mixer or controller. Unfortunately you’re very limited for options.

Portable mixers

Two mixers in particular stand out. The Traktor Kontrol Z1 (and optionally X1) and the Allan & Heath Xone:K2. I’ll go into both setups.

Traktor Kontrol Z1 and X1

USB-powered-DJ-mixer-Traktor-Z1
Traktor Kontrol Z1 and X1 work great as USB-powered mixers!

I run a Traktor Kontrol Z1 and occasionally an X1 alongside it. These bits of kit are very affordable and powerful while being compact. They’re not battery-powered, however they run perfectly fine off the USB power/data cable from a laptop.

This setup is very plug-and-play with Traktor and Virtual DJ and works just fine. Serato and Rekordbox may be a different story, but I don’t have experience running this combo with those workflows.

Allan & Heath Xone:K2

Marginally larger than the Traktor Kontrol Z1 but definitely more powerful & versatile, it has 4 audio channels and big potential in terms of keybinding. Personally, I’d go for the Xone:K2 instead of the Traktor Kontrol Z1 if you have the money and time to invest into keybinding and finding your perfect workflow.

Opinion: Without jogwheels or touch-strips, your mixing is quite limited. Therefor I recommend a USB-powered controller like mentioned in the above DJ controllers section.

Portable battery powered DJ lights setup

Don’t turn away now that we’re done with the sound setups!

Lights are criminally underrated in a portable setup. For dark-environments it can make or break your entire performance. I’ve browsed far and wide and there’s a rather limited choice in what’s available.

apelabs-lightcoin-maxi-and-lightcan
Lights can seriously transform your dancefloor.

Eurolite Akku mini PARty – battery powered PAR lights

These things are actually pretty solid. They look professional, are lightweight, and do the trick when it comes to simple tasks. What I mean by simple tasks is sound-reactive lighting and solid colors. I picked up a pair of these and they really add a lot more to the mood.

The remote is kinda jank and their battery life is only around 4-5 hrs, but once you figure it out you can deal with it – especially considering the price. For what it is, they’re fine and affordable. They do have DMX input/output if you’re so keen, but I just set it and forget it on sound-reactive mode.

Portable-DJ-rave-setup
The lights makes a significant difference!

APELight Lightcans

They’re expensive but definitely worth it. A very attractive light show, these are nice for up-lighting and have wireless DMX and synchonization. Sound-reactive, smartphone control, and the whole 9, these last 10+ hours per charge and are suitable for professional applications.

They cost a ton but not much can match the APEight LightCan when it comes to professional setting and battery powered party lights.

Apelabs-Lightcan-V2
Wireless, beautiful sound-reactive lights

LaserCube – battery powered DJ laser

Boy, is this an expensive bit of kit. Is it even an impressive bit of kit too. This is a fully-fledged and capable DJ laser light show in a portable package. Wireless connectivity, excellent performance, and painful on the wallet at around $1,000.

There is really nothing else like the LaserCube on the market and by far is a powerhouse. At this point though you may need/to be a dedicated VJ or experienced with VDJ & DJ multitasking to really get the most use from this tech box.

Lasercube-LaserOS-wicked-lasers
Battery-powered laser show. The next level.

Battery-saving tips for a portable DJ

  • Have a 4k or 2k laptop? TURN DOWN YOUR RESOLUTION! My little Surface Book 2 gets 50% more juice if I turn the resolution from 4k to 1080p.
  • Also on your laptop – ENABLE COLOR FILTER! Basically, it’s a black & white filter which uses just a little bit less processing power. Anything helps eh.
  • AIRPLANE MODE – Wireless networking, Bluetooth, Cellular connection, and even searching for WiFi networks will drain a noticeable amount of power. You don’t need to use a wireless mouse and Facebook while playing a set anyways 🙂
  • TURN IT DOWN BY 10% (or more). Once you’re at your maximum volume, drop the sound levels a bit. Remember, sound is logarithmic. Running 150w RMS instead of 200w RMS will give you another hour of playtime and only sound marginally quieter (and maybe better/more dynamic). Going all day? Maybe run it at half power.
Battery powered DJ setup
The complete setup – 2 Eurolite Akku Mini PARty lights make a huge difference

Summary

You get what you pay for when it comes to the live sound and audio world. Even as we see with lighting, big $$$ yields you big performance. Of course, I’m not going to spend $1k on lights, $1k on a portable battery-powered DJ controller, and $1k on sound.

My entire setup is right around $1,300 (not including laptop). The Minirigs were about $600, the dB speaker $500, the mixer $100, and the lights $80.

To be fair, you can get a much louder setup (Soundboks or Teufel Rockster) but I like my lil rig – the Minirigs for small gatherings and the dB audio + rigs for more energetic affairs. I value versatility, performance, professionalism, and durability.

Need more bass? The battery powered subwoofers post goes into all the portable subwoofer on the market.

  • (2024) the REAL Best portable Bluetooth speakers – battery powered beasts!

    (2024) the REAL Best portable Bluetooth speakers – battery powered beasts!

  • Battery-powered DJ setup MEGAGUIDE – Controllers, lights, and speakers!

    Battery-powered DJ setup MEGAGUIDE – Controllers, lights, and speakers!

  • (2023) Best battery powered subwoofers – Portability is now an option.

    (2023) Best battery powered subwoofers – Portability is now an option.

9 thoughts on “Battery-powered DJ setup MEGAGUIDE – Controllers, lights, and speakers!”

  1. Hi James,

    Thank for sharing your setup. I am looking for a portable speaker like you have, but dont want latency (or at least not noticeable). What are your thoughts about latency regarding to your B Hype M? When you use a cable, do you hear it?

    Reply
  2. Aloha James,

    Sweet setup thanks for sharing!

    I’m the proud owner of a set of a 2.1 minirig 3 setup. I recently acquired a Z1 but the sound level coming out of the Z1 is extremely low on the minirigs. Do you use a preamp or headphone amp to boost the input signal to the minrigs?

    On a side note do you have the issue where the minirigs go silent if the sound is low or paused for a little while? I usually run source to sub3 then use the minirigs and the minirig splitter to the satellite minrigs. If I pause too long the lights stay on but only the sub makes noise and I have to power cycle them by unplugging and replugging in the aux cable to each satellite.

    Any thoughts or suggestions on how I can make the most of this setup?

    Reply
    • Hmm I never had an issue with output from the Z1 to Minirigs – are you plugging into the high gain input of the MR3? Didn’t use any preamp or anything, just ran Virtual DJ > Z1 > Minirigs

      Check in the app settings to disable auto-powersaving.

      Reply
    • Move 8 is a great speaker but absolutely does not put out as much sound or low end as the B-Hype M (8″ vs 10″ driver and smaller enclosure).

      Regardless, the Move 8 w/ Minirigs is a great choice! Also that light looks pretty good! Would be worth a try and paired with some PAR lights it would be fresh 🙂

      Reply
      • Again thank you so much for all the time you’ve spent putting all this info together and also replying to my questions! Much gratitude bro! 🙂

        Do you know much about the sound upgrades between minirig 1, 2 and 3 and whether its necessary to get the newer models?

        Reply
        • aweh man you’re awesome! 🙂 <3

          Yes the MR3 is quite significant, not so huge in sound quality but rather in battery life it's definitely worth it. I wouldn't get the MR1. Personally 2x MR3 & 1 Sub3 is by far and beyond my favorite soundsystem I've ever owned due to the extreme versatility! I just moved into a new place and have incredible speaker placement and the sound is truly terrific. Not to mention they're small and battery powered with loud output!

          Reply
  3. Building out a mobile rig now and really enjoying some of your posts. About to order the minirig in just a moment! Appreciate your advice!

    Reply

Leave a Comment

FREE things giveaway

I got about $1,500 in products from hammocks to barefoot shoe vouchers or adventure backpacks

I have too much stuff, so, I’ll give it away randomly to those on the list!

Simply enter your e-mail below to enter 🙂

(I will not share or sell your e-mail to anyone!)