When someone plans to be a DJ, one of the major stumbling blocks is the astoundingly steep price of the equipment. That said, DJ equipment is not one-piece equipment, but an assembly of several components. A DJ can mix and match components of different qualities and price ranges to make the entire outfit suit a budget.

The greatest margin on price can be made on the sound mixers. Sound mixers can have a great number of features; and so their prices may be as low as $200 and also as high as $2000. A DJ working within a limited budget can opt for a small mixer, which could easily be afforded at $200 to $500. These mixers can work just as fine as big ones and are ideal buys for amateur DJs. Even big names in the DJ equipment market such as Numark, Gemini, Aiwa, Akai, etc. produce such small economy speakers.

DJs that are keen on remixing their music opt for turntables instead of CD, DVD or MP3 players. Turntables are more expensive than players, but Gemini manufactures good quality affordable turntables within $400. Though direct drive turntables are a tad bit more expensive than belt driven ones, DJs prefer them as they play the record faster without any time lag.

Players are much more affordable than turntables; but they cannot provide features such as scratching and back-spinning of records. Players only provide sound output as it is on the CD or DVD and facilitate no scope for its alteration. DJs that just play original records go for players.

DJs trying to reduce their expenses on equipment can also shop around for speakers. The price of a speaker essentially depends upon its output. A low wattage speaker can be selected to save costs. There are small woofer-type speakers available that can output stereophonic sound and are available at prices at low as $20 apiece.

Another way to reduce expenses is to buy all equipment in bulk as a DJ package. A package contains the basic components and the necessary peripherals like headphones. Buying a package entitles a DJ to a discount. Packages are available generally for the mixers. In most cases headphones are given free with the package.

Using cheap equipment may take its toll on the music that a DJ provides; but DJs can make up for their equipment with their talent and creativity. Typically, the major buyers of cheap equipment are the amateur uncertain DJs who are still in the process of trying out the profession.