Behringer Europort EPA40 Handheld PA System  

I'm a mobile DJ who has been looking for a light-weight, pro quality sounding, battery powered PA system for occasions when I need to provide music and microphones far away from electrical outlets such as on a beach, in the woods, etc., for wedding ceremonies and the like. I realize the EPA40 is primarily designed for tour guides, teachers, etc., and in that regards, it seems perfect, very light and loud. It has even improved people paying attention to me. Just strap it on and walk around in your day job and people will start paying attention to what you have to say - no soapbox needed anymore! As far as using it for musical purposes, it does provide decent background music (in mono but you need a stereo to mono plug) and is pretty loud but of course has little in the way of true bass. It would be nice if the 1/8" input summed stereo plugs to mono but it doesn't, thus you have to do it with an adapter or change your laptop to mono output. The only other problem is that the back door, made of plastic, rattles a lot. They should have given this a rubber gasket - but I just take it off and no more rattle. If only this had more bass, it would probably be perfect (I realize bass eats battery life and adds weight). Another musical drawback is that there is no volume control on the line input of the EPA40 (except for the microphone). All volume control for the line input is from your laptop, Ipod, etc. I suppose I can get another adapter to plug my laptop into the microphone input and get volume control that way. Overall, not bad at all for the price. I elected to get the 3 year coverage for only $25 more and I was assured this would cover the ultimate demise of the battery. I'm sure the battery will ultimately stop taking charges well within 3 years (all of my clell phone and laptop batteries poop out after 6 months) and it's replacement alone is probably over $25.