The 4 Best Battery Powered DJ Mixers – Reviews 2023

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Getting a battery-powered DJ mixer makes a lot of sense if you need convenience and portability out of your equipment. Battery-powered mixers can be tricky to find, though, but they are out there—and they’re surprisingly affordable, which makes them a great back-up or alternative to your main mixer.

Battery-powered DJ mixers use less power overall than a typical mixer. This is a benefit in that it can run for longer without need to recharge or replace the battery, but also means they typically won’t offer the same range of potential effects and options. On the flip side of that, since portability and battery operation often go hand-in-hand, they also tend to be smaller and easier to carry than other mixers.

The options below are some of our favorite battery-powered DJ mixers. They’ll give you a good range of equipment to explore as you’re looking for ways to cut the power cord on your DJ set-up.

Here are our recommendations for the 4 best battery-powered DJ mixers on the market:

Pyle PAD20MXU 5-channel Battery Powered DJ Mixer

Here’s a small but mighty mixer from Pyle, one of the leading names in electronic audio equipment. There are some impressive features included with this mixer, including an independent 2-band EQ and pan control for each channel. It also offers six inputs in four different configurations (XLR, ¼”, 1/8”, and USB) and is designed to work with pretty much any recording or mixing software. Basically, you can think of it as a versatile little mixing box that can go anywhere and work like a charm.

The design of the PAD20MXU is maybe our favorite thing about it, though. It’s not only ultra-compact and lightweight, but it’s also intuitively laid out. You get a lot of control options in a little space, without it feeling cramped or confusing. It gets high marks overall for ease of use, making it a great choice as either a back-up for a professional or a fun tool for a hobbyist.

Pyle PAD15MXU 3-Channel DJ Battery Powered DJ Controller

Here’s another compelling option from Pyle. It has fewer channels than the model above but also has a few more features that let you do more with the signals you’re mixing—far more controls and options than you’ll find on most battery-operated mixers.

Each channel on this mixer (see full specs) has independent controls for the level and pan, along with common sonic manipulations like gain and frequency controls. You can also add echo at the channel level, especially helpful for adding resonance to samples. The included lithium ion battery has a life of up to four hours on a charge, so you can use it on a gig with confidence. This combination of features makes it one of the best battery-powered DJ mixers period.

DJ Tech Mix Free Battery Powered DJ Mixer

If lightweight and compact are the main qualities you’re looking for, you’ll love the Mix Free from DJ Tech. It’s no bigger than a foot in any dimension and weighs under two pounds, so you’ll barely notice it’s there when you’re schlepping gear from place to place. It also has the option of totally wireless operation, communicating with a laptop through the included USB receiver, making it easy to fit into any space configuration.

In terms of performance, it is a bit more limited than some of the other choices here. The lack of inputs makes it unsuitable for scratch players, or any DJ who likes to mix from a turntable. It’s also not optimized to work with Serato DJ or other popular mixing software. Having said that, it does come with its own software, Decadence LE DJ (see full specs), which you’ll find is pretty comprehensive once you get the hang of using it. Overall, it’s a great choice for hobbyists and pros whose main concern is convenience.

DJ-Tech Mix free Demo Effect

Universal Low-Noise Battery-powered DJ Mixer

If you’re shopping really cheaply, here’s one that will definitely catch your attention. This rugged little mixer has up to eight channels (four stereo channels), each with independent level controls. It has the standard inputs. It’s actually impressive that they’ve managed to fit all of these controls into such a compact package with a streamlined, easy to use interface.

You will have to sacrifice a few features to get a mixer at this price. There aren’t any on-board effects or EQ, and you don’t get any faders for controlling things like the pan. If you already control these aspects of the sound through other devices or software and only need a mixer to blend the signals and tweak their balance, this is an excellent way to get that capability in a portable, affordable package.

The Big Picture on the Battery-Powered DJ Mixers

There aren’t as many options out there for battery-operated mixers as there are for wired versions, but you’ still find you have a decent range of choices. As with any other equipment in your arsenal, it really comes down to assessing your needs and deciding what attributes are important to you in a mixer. The type of DJ-ing you do is important, as well. If you use turntables, your needs will be different than for a DJ who works entirely with digital music.

Start by figuring out how many channels and inputs you’ll need for your equipment. A mixer is useless for you if it doesn’t have the ability to blend the right kinds and number of signals, since that is the ultimate purpose of a mixer—more than adjustments to the pitch and tone, or the addition of effects. The models on the list above offer anywhere from three to eight channels, and vary as widely when it comes to the number of inputs, so it is one of the biggest things differentiating one mixer from another.

Once you have a short list of the best battery-powered DJ mixers, with the right number of channels, you can move on to making your decision based on other factors. Consider factors like the battery life and configuration of the mixer’s inputs and controls in addition to what kind of sound shaping options it gives you. In the end, it comes down to functionality, and what will meet your needs in the most convenient package—at the best price.

  • Micah Johnson started playing music in high school, when he taught himself the bass to join his friend’s band. He added guitar and drums during his twenties playing in local clubs, and along the way, he picked up unique, hands-on experience from hand drums to studio mixers. On Song Simian, he aims to share this knowledge from 20+ years playing and recording music. When not in gearhead mode, he enjoys photography and travel.

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