Today I’d like to ask a question to our more adventurous, minimal and/or portable gear-loving DJs. That is: Have you ever come across and used any wireless headphones and/or speakers for DJing that are actually useable?
We’ve tested software like Algoriddim’s djay with Bluetooth speakers, for instance, and were also shown a working prototype of a pair of Bluetooth headphones aimed at DJs at the NAMM show (they’ve never hit the market though). We are also big fans of Sonos for throwing music around the home. The problem with such technologies, of course, is always latency (the time it takes for the signal to hit your ears/the audience after you do something on your DJ system), as DJing and latency do not complement each other at all.
The only working method we’ve ever seen has been radio (as in the same kind of technology used for radio microphones or for those little FM transmitters you can use to “broadcast” your iPad to the car stereo on long journeys – great for convoys!), but we’ve never seen any decent DJ-friendly gear along these lines.
The reason we’re asking is purely because a few folk over on the forum appear to be interested in this stuff, we’re hearing rumblings in the industry about wireless / Bluetooth PA systems, and also we just love anything that’s gadgety in DJing… as long as it works well, of course. Ideas?
So, over to you: Have you ever used any kind of wireless headphoes or speakers for DJing? How did you get on ? Anything you can recommend? Or do you wonder why anyone might ever want such a thing in the first place? Please let us know in the comments.
Phil Morse
