The mobile DJ can nowadays condense his kit into the dinkiest of mixing and PA units. Rob Green finds the QL combo amplifier from Mister DJ packs a formidable punch...

The specialist DJ equipment dealer Mister DJ in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex is producing a high quality range of DJ monitor combo amps and record flight cases. We tested the speaker out here at the mix, and when I pressed play, it almost blew my socks off.

The sound quality of the unit is impressive, considering its rough, functional appearance, and the fact that its only input is a mono line input. The lads down at Mister DJ have come up with a versatile design, which lends itself to a variety of applications, including monitoring purposes in a club, home mixing or parties.

The beauty of this system is its sheer rugged simplicity. It's tough enough for the most gruelling tour, with a substantial metal casing around the speakers, and well-nigh unbreakable corners. QL use Eminence bass cones in these speakers, along with a Motorola bullet tweeter, next to which is a bass reflex port.

The QLs come in two sizes — 100 and 200 Watts. They kick out an amazing volume, and the line input can be found on the unit's back panel. This would be perfect for club DJing, as all you have to do is bung it on a table, plug it in, and hey presto! You're mixing.

The unit's power is, very sensibly, taken through a thick, kettle-type power cable for quick and easy installation. In my book this is always a good move, because it also helps prevent the unit from accidentally being pulled off a surface or the cable being broken.

At the moment, the unit's lack of volume control suits it to external mixer control only, but there is talk of a separate volume control at some point in the future.

QL have more strings to their bow than combo amps. They also produce a rather nice line in professional DJ flightcases. Made from chipboard swathed in light metal, they're reinforced with steel rims and rounded corner caps.

To ensure the further safety of your valuable record collection, QL have provided soft foam padding on the inside of the floor and roof of the case. The carrying handle is made of strong leather, and preferable to those sharp, plastic ones featured on some other cases.

The case is designed to carry 100 records, but when I put this to the test, I found that it would take a good deal more than that. It's also extremely sturdy and fastened with a heavy-duty butterfly catch. It is a bit on the heavy side, however. At this rate, weight training will have to become part of the curriculum of the busy DJ.