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James

Site owner at Canadianomad

I sold everything 8 years ago to play professional sports & explore the world. After living in 7 countries, I made this to share everything. 100% authentic and strange!

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List updated and valid, June, 2023 🙂

So many bad, sponsored, ill-informed lists out there. You won’t fine Bose or cheap Amazon speakers here. No. Here’s the actual best battery-powered PA speakers out there.

All measurements are as follows: SPL is sustained, power is RMS continuous, response is default from manufacturer.

Yorkville EXM series – Best professional PA speakers

Canadian-based Yorkville has released a whole array of awesome PA speakers for professional use. In their Excursion-series catalogue is:

All of these options are excellent and there are a few reasons why Yorkville is at the very top of this list:

• Separate subwoofer – this leads to better response, speaker placement, and overall performance
• Professionally made – designed for tough use and reliable operation
• Made in Canada – ethically produced and supports local business

True wireless stereo, all the pro XLR, TRS, Bluetooth connectivity, mixing, control, etc – it’s really all you could need.

Sourcing these units may be hard. I see them available mostly in Canada and the US from Long & Mcquade and Sweetwater.

JBL Eon One MK2 – Best battery powered line array PA

This is a fantastic all-in-one line-array setup with solid specs and great performance. If you don’t want to deal with setting up pole mounts like on the Yorkville EXM series, then the JBL Eon One MK2 is well worth considering.

I don’t exactly recommend the Eon One Compact, but I included the specs below for comparisons sake.

You get the advantages of a professionally-tuned line-array in a compact package as the column collapses into the body of the subwoofer itself.

The abundant connectivity is excellent for mixing and wiring for a band or multiple instruments/inputs. A great choice for those who perform alongside others!

JBL being so international has this unit available pretty much globally. They’re even on sale on Amazon here!

Diamondboxx – Best value battery powered PA speakers

US-based Diamondboxx has a rather unique take on bluetooth speakers. They’ve also moved into the PA world and have some very well-priced products out there. Below is a table of their offerings:

These prices are outstanding and rumors are that they’re discontinuing their battery powered PA lineup and instead focusing on a mains-powered DB Pro PA system – so hop on it before they’re all gone!

Being a US-based company, they’re only realistically available to people in the US.

EV E-verse 8 – Best performing portable PA

Electro-Voice is no newcomer to the PA world – lots of people adore their gear for being practical, well-performing, and well-priced. Their latest entry has really taken things to the next level and shames products other giant companies have put out.

In this case, the new E-Verse 8 is the #1 best portable PA speaker to come out yet. It completely dominates and disgraces units like the Mackie Thump GO, Bose S1 Pro, and JBL Eon Compact.

Electro-Voice is an international brand so they should be available worldwide. You can find it on Amazon here.

HK Audio Pro Move:8 – Best small PA

In the same league as the Electro-Voice E-verse 8 is the excellent HK Audio Pro Move:8. It’s clear, crisp, and impressively small. If you’re a musician or DJ who desires a lot of connectivity and customisation, it’s an excellent choice.

It truly does blow away the Mackie Thump GO, Bose S1 Pro, and JBL Eon Compact and it’s not even comparable.

The Pro:Move 8 also benefits from an outstanding app which allows you to configure your sound profile extremely well, and has an excellent hot-swap battery function to ensure you never run out of juice without even powering off.

HK Audio has distributers globally and the Pro Move:8 can be found on Amazon.

Soundboks – Best all-in-one party speaker

Danish Soundboks has become a hit all over Europe for a good reason – they’re simple, attractive, very powerful, and still light enough to carry by hand. They’re tuned primarily for house and techno music.

While I personally prefer a system which separates the sub basses from the mids and highs, the Soundboks is undeniably excellent as an all-rounder solution for those who want to carry a powerful box without multiple components.

They also have the Soundboks Go, however the performance:price is really not quite there so I don’t recommend it.

The Soundboks also uses SKAA audio interfacing which is great as you can connect an unholy amount together wirelessly. Swapping the battery packs out also is a breeze.

Soundboks focuses on the EU market but is available on places like Amazon too.

Teufel – Highest output PA speakers

German Teufel has two particularly strong offerings – the Teufel Rockster and the Teufel Rockster Air.

Outstanding in terms of sonic performance but limited in terms of weight/portability, these are some serious units which generate a ton of output and don’t compromise in any way at all. Their Rockster is really a marvel and ready for professional application both in indoor and outdoor venues.

On the other end of the coin, you’re going to need a way to transport these unless you carry just a single Rockster Air, which, is a fraction of what you really want! Heavy-duty, fully-featured, and well-priced, these are just excellent all around, and the honkin’ 15″ driver on the Rockster really blows away even a Soundboks.

A unique feature the Rockster has is the ability to connect more car batteries as a power source – so if you have spare deep cycle AGM batteries, you’ll be set!

Teufel makes their products mostly available in Europe – other parts of world may have a hard time acquiring.

Summary

There you have it – the current best battery powered PA speakers in the world that I know of.

There are tons of competitors out there from Bose, JBL, Mackie, The Box, dB Technologies, LD systems, Proel, etc, etc,etc. I’ve tested many but not all but from what I can gather, these are the current top dogs.

Comments and messages welcome! Always happy to help 🙂

Check out my Best Bluetooth Speakers Megalist, the portable DJ & lighting megaguide, and Battery Powered Subwoofers guide for more info!