Budget Mobile Public Address (Mike System) Buying Guide
Mike Systems (Mobile Public Address) are used for a variety of applications. This guide is for an entry-level, economy system for basic Mike work.
This guide focuses on AHUJA (www.ahujaradios.com) equipment to provide a full "Recommended set" for budgets around $3,000 TTD.
Published: 21th June, 2015
Introduction
The Mike system has the following parts: The Mike (or "Horn" on top the car), the Driver unit (which screws into the horn), the Amplifier and the Microphone (called "the Speaker").
The Mike
The Mike is the defining part of your system. It is the part which goes on top of your car. The job of the horn is simple: take the sound and spread it over a wide area.
Long-Throw horns (pictured above) directly push the sound to the outside world. They offer the cleanest option out of all horns.
Reflex horns 'rebound' the sound inside the horn before it comes out to the outside world. This makes them smaller and more easy to transport, but at the cost of more variable sound quality.
Good horns use thicker construction, heavy paint and ample sound-dampening to 'deaden' the horn against resonances and noise. A good horn should sound sweet, clean and loving.
Recommended horn options are the AHUJA 20" Reflex Horn ($395 TTD street price) or the AHUJA 24" Long-Throw Trumpet Horn ($1095 TTD street price).
The Driver Unit
Driver units are the part of the system that actually create the sound. They screw onto the horn. Public Address driver units need to be relatively full-range, weatherproof and resistant against dust, water, sand etc, in the outside world.
A good budget driver is the AHUJA AU-60 (pictured above) ($325 TTD street price). These are relatively full range and can match a decent amplifier like the AHUJA SSA-80M.
The Amplifier
The amplifier is the make-or-break part of your set. If you do not have a big enough amp, your set will quickly go into distortion and the public will have great difficulty in understanding your message.
The brand that we recommend is AHUJA. There is simply nothing else on the market that has the consistency, reliability, performance and reputation of the AHUJA amplifiers.
In the budget range, the SSB-80M (street price $1695 TTD) is a good option. If you have extra room in your budget, the SSB-120 (street price $1995 TTD) offers even better performance and room for expansion.
The AHUJA SSB-120 also commands a good resale value, as it is widely used by Mike Men as a base for higher-power systems.
Both of the SSB-120 and SSB-80 amplifiers are available with Digital Player (USB) options.
Microphones, Media Players, etc
Cater around $250-$300 for a more than adequate microphone for your set. Any microphone in that price range will be fine, but avoid going cheaper than that.
Many people opt to use the signal from a smart phone, laptop or voice recorder to repeat playback of campaign songs, slogans or announcements.
Summary
1x AHUJA SSB-80M Amplifier....$1,695
2x AHUJA 21" Reflex Horns..........$790
2x AHUJA AU-60 Drivers...............$650
1x AHUJA ADM-411 Mic................$250
Wires, cables, etc... included
Total: $3,385.00 TTD
So there you go. A complete, clean-sounding, reliable, professional-level Mobile P.A. Set at an budget price.
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