Birthday sound system: what equipment for the party?

Sound system for a birthday party at home

In a flat or a house, the first instinct is to think too big. A medium-sized room fills with sound quickly, and the walls send back everything you send them. One well-placed active speaker is often enough, provided you put it on a stand rather than on a piece of furniture: the sound passes over heads instead of being stopped by the first guests.

The RCF ART 912-A is hired singly. It is active, meaning it has its own amplifier built in: you just plug it into a socket. Each speaker weighs 19.5 kg, which matters if your home is on the third floor with no lift. XLR and RCA cables are part of every hire.

The main issue at home is the neighbours. Warn them in advance, with a note in the letterbox or by knocking on their door, and keep the volume moderate late in the evening. Moving the speaker away from the party wall also limits what reaches the neighbour. Without a subwoofer, the bass also travels less through the structure of the building: that is a good reason to do without one in a flat.

Village hall: enough to get people dancing

In a hall, the volume is larger, the floor often tiled, the walls bare: the sound echoes and the voice gets muddy. For a birthday sound system where you want to dance, a pair of RCF ART 912-A placed on either side of the dance floor gives more even coverage than a single speaker. The pair is hired with two stands, two covers and two power cables.

For the dance floor to feel the bass, add the RCF SUB 15-AX subwoofer. It is optional and only one unit is available, but it changes how the dancing feels: the speakers alone go less deep into the bass. It weighs 31.4 kg, so plan to come by car and carry it with two people.

Check with the hall: some are fitted with a limiter that restricts or cuts the sound above a threshold. If so, there is no point aiming for maximum volume; it is better to take care over placement and the balance of the speakers. If you do not want to choose each item separately, start from the sound packs put together by use; the detail of each model is on the page speakers to hire.

Garden and outdoors: battery rather than extension lead

In the garden, everything depends on the distance to the nearest socket. An extension lead running across the lawn is a source of accidents and power cuts. The Soundboks 4 runs on its battery: Soundboks quotes up to 40 h at half volume and 6 h at full volume. It is handed over charged, and a spare battery is offered as an option if the party looks set to be long.

Its built-in Bluetooth is handy: connect a phone and the playlist starts. Outside, the sound spreads out with no wall to send it back, so the same speaker seems quieter than indoors. Point it towards the guests and raise it slightly, on a stable support. Our article on the battery speaker for an evening outdoors explains these settings.

Playlist or DJ equipment for a birthday

There are two ways of doing the music. The first: a playlist started from a phone. With the Soundboks 4, Bluetooth is enough. With the RCF speakers, which have none, you need a Bluetooth connector or a sound card, as an option, or a cable; our article on connecting a phone without Bluetooth explains the solutions. Remember to turn off the phone's notifications, which would otherwise ring out through the speakers.

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The second: a friend mixes. The DJ equipment for a birthday here is the Pioneer XDJ-RX3, a standalone all-in-one console: touchscreen, built-in effects, playback from a USB stick, no computer. The DJ Set tool prepares the USB stick from your tracks, analysing their tempo and key; it is not a DJ, it is still your friend who mixes. For what comes next, see how to prepare your rekordbox USB stick before the party.

If the guest of honour collects vinyl, the pair of Technics SL-1210 MK2 turntables plugs into the line and phono inputs of the XDJ-RX3. To learn how to mix two records, read the basics of beatmatching. A pair of headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM3, is available as an option for cueing.

Microphone, set-up and volume

For the speeches and the cake, a wired Shure SM58 microphone can be hired as an option, with its XLR cable and a free mic stand. Plug it into the XDJ-RX3 or the Soundboks 4. Test it with the person who will speak, keeping them behind the line of the speakers: a microphone held in front of them whistles, which is feedback.

Set everything up before the first guests ring the doorbell. The speakers go on their stands, at head height or slightly above, turned a little towards where people will dance. Play a track whose sound you know well, raise the volume gently, and listen from the back of the room as well as from the sofa. In the evening, bodies absorb part of the sound: you will correct by one notch at that point. Also entrust the volume to a single person, because it tends to creep up as the hours go by.

On the practical side: collection in Lyon 3 by appointment, every day from 9 am to 8 pm, with the original of an identity document. At collection, each device is plugged in and tested in front of you. The day before the party is a good time to take it. Online hire runs from 1 to 8 days. If you cannot travel, the sound system delivered to the venue is requested on quote, in mainland France; travel is never included. To keep memories of the party, see also capturing the highlights of a birthday with a GoPro and a drone. To hire a sound system for a birthday, it all starts on the page below.

See sound system hire