INTRODUCTION

   When i first started using and subsequently testing various gadgets i was very intrigued by portable/mobile speakers since especially back then i liked to listen to my favorite music regardless of where i was at. Granted a headset would be a far better choice if i was the only one who wanted to listen to my favorite tunes but most of the times friends tagged along as well. Back then however the largest portable speaker wasn't nearly large enough to cover our needs while the much larger and far more powerful PA (public address) systems lacked several key features like rechargeable batteries (portability), Bluetooth connectivity and built-in audio players. Today things have changed and so PA systems are not available only in many sizes and designs but they also feature rechargeable batteries, Bluetooth connectivity and built-in media players (some even come with built-in radios). Since so far we've tested some of the largest PA mobile sound systems available by E-Lektron today we decided to test their two smallest ones and more specifically the EL20-MB and the EL16-P.

   E-Lektron started its business in 2007, its target to offer DJ & PA electronics online at competitive prices and with premium service. At that time regular suppliers were not so keen on their products being offered online so E-Lektron started developing their own products, starting with speakers and amplifiers. Our products are being manufactured by contract-manufacturers with E-Lektron’s high standards and are shipped to our customers in the EU with DHL from our warehouse in Paderborn, Germany. Our prices are competitive since there's no “middle man” and our products are covered by a 2-year warranty (after which we can still repair them in our own workshop thanks to our large stock of spare parts, also for older products).

   Both the EL20-MB and the EL16-P are compact mobile PA sound systems that feature robust ABS plastic housing, built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery packs (3-5 hours for the EL20-MB and 2-5 hours for the EL16-P), MP3/WMA audio players (via USB port and micro SD slot), FM radio receivers (20 stations memory), intergrated mixers, battery powered wireless microphones (UHF) with feedback suppression, top VFW displays, Bluetooth v4.0 connectivity via CSR's BlueCore CSR8635 QFN chip (AVCRP v1.4/A2DP v1.2/HFP v1.6/HSP v1.2/DI v1.3), carrying handles and remote controls. This is however where their similarities end since the larger EL20-MB packs a 2-way (20cm/8inch woofer with 7.5cm/2inch tweeter) bass reflex speaker (45-20000Hz frequency response and 91dB sensitivity) with a peak power output of 200W (PMPO) whereas the smaller EL16-P has a single (16cm/6.5 inch) bass reflex speaker (50-18000Hz frequency response) with an max output of 100W (PMPO). These speakers also have several secondary differences however (most notably the telescopic handle of the EL20-MB and the front RGB LEDs of the EL16-P) so let's continue with our review/comparison and take a closer look.