Karaoke Forums

Happy Holiday Season to all...

I understand that regular HIFI speakers are not suitable for Karaoke as the tweeter can go bad easily but how about Studio Monitor Speakers?
Are these suitable for voice & acoustic instruments application, e.g. tweeter blowing up?
How about the sound quality on these compared to traditional PA powered speakers such as the Carvin LM12A or Yorkville NX25P or YX15P?

The reason I ask is b/c Studio Monitor Speakers are more compact, blend pretty good into existing HT equipment and less expensive too.


Tapco S.8 $250 ea (qualified as near field application)
====================================================
# Acoustic Performance
# Free Field Frequency Response: 40 Hz 20 kHz (±3 dB)
# Lower Cutoff Frequency: -3 dB @ 40 Hz
# Upper Cutoff Frequency: -3 dB @ 20 kHz
# Sound Pressure Level @ 1 meter, 7.5 dBu into Balanced Input: 100 dB SPL @ 1m
# Maximum SPL Per Pair: 113 dB SPL @ 1m
# Enclosure: 0.625" (16mm) thick MDF with 1" (25mm) MDF front panel
# Damping: Adiabatic fiberfill
# 16.2"H x 11.6"W x 13.8"D (411x295x351mm)
# Weight: 35.2 lbs. (16 kg)

Transducers
# Low Frequency: 8 in/203 mm with steel frame, polypropylene cone woofer
# High Frequency: Wave guide loaded 1 in/25 mm silk dome tweeter

Amplifiers
# Low Frequency Power: 60 watts, 4-ohm load, 100 watts peak
# High Frequency Power: 60 watts, 4-ohm load, 100 watts peak
# Slew Rate: > 15 V/microsecond
# Distortion (THD, SMPTE IMD, DIM 100): < 0.035%
# Signal-to-Noise Ratio:
# Low Frequency: > 101 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, unweighted, referenced to 60 watts into 4 ohms
# High Frequency: > 93 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, unweighted, referenced to 60 watts into 4 ohms
# Type: Monolithic IC, Class AB


Mackie MR8 $250 ea
=====================================================
Acoustic Performance
Free Field Frequency Response: 40 Hz – 20 kHz (±3 dB)
Lower Cutoff Frequency: –3 dB @ 60 Hz
Upper Cutoff Frequency: –3 dB @ 22 kHz
Sound Pressure Level @ 1 meter, +4 dBu into Balanced Input: 100 dB SPL @ 1m
Maximum SPL Per Pair: 116 dB SPL @ 1m

Transducers
Low Frequency: 8 in/203 mm with steel frame, blue polypropylene cone woofer with rubber surround
High Frequency: Wave guide loaded 1 in/25 mm silk dome tweeter

Amplifiers
Low Frequency Power: 100 watts, 4 ohm load 200 watts peak
High Frequency Power: 50 watts, 4 ohm load 100 watts peak
Slew Rate: > 15 V/μs
Distortion (THD, SMPTE IMD, DIM 100): < 0.035%

Signal-to-Noise Ratio:
Low Frequency: > 101 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, unweighted, referenced to 100 watts into 4 ohms
High Frequency: > 93 dB, 20 Hz to 20 kHz, unweighted, referenced to 50 watts into 4 ohms
High-Frequency Type: Monolithic IC, Class AB with DMOS power stage
Low-Frequency Type: Discrete bipolar Class AB

Electronic Crossover
Crossover Type: 24 dB/octave
Crossover Frequency: 3 kHz
Sensitivity: +4 dBu at 300 Hz for full output
Input Impedance: 20 kΩ, balanced bridging; 10 kΩ unbalanced

Physical Dimensions and Weight
Enclosure: 0.625 in/16 mm thick MDF with
0.750 in/19 mm MDF front panel
Damping: Adiabatic foam
Height: 15.75 in/400 mm 16.00 in/406 mm including top of waveguide
Width: 10.85 in/276 mm
Depth: 13.60 in/346 mm
Weight: 27.6 lb/12.5 kg


Any other suggestions?

Notes:
- I did not include the Behringer B2031A, B3031A b/c of recent company built QC issues even though they are quite popular and less expensive too.
- If the Studio Monitor Speakers are suitable, I will couple these with my Yamaha MG82CX mixer.

Thanks,

Only thing about studio monitors is they are designed to reproduce the flattest response possible, no colorization like speakers made for live or stereo use. They are also really designed to be nearfield monitors which means not very loud and within 5-10' from the speakers.

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Roland makes some near field studio monitors that are worth a look:

http://www.roland.com/products/en/broch ... Bro_72.pdf


A couple years ago, I bought a pair of Roland DS-5s for my very small guitar practice area and I've been happy with them.

Tom

So I can conclude that the answer is that Studio Monitors Speakers are NOT SUITABLE for Karaoke purposes as it is more "LIVE" application.

Besides, b/c of the flat response with minimum coloration, the sounds may not sound as good as one would expect. And that would make the singers - amateur or pro - not very happy and disappointed. That would also defeat my entertainment goal which is to try to make the amateur singers - including me - sound as best as possible - even better than they actually do - so that everybody - singers and especially the listeners) can enjoy the experience and not running away from the scene

Again, thanks for all the valuable feedback as I have learned so much on this forum and hope that other wannabes could also learn from my experience...

Cheers...

In a studio setting you want as falt of a response as possible. PA & home speakers are generally voiced & eq'd differently to hide some of the sharpness that studio speakers can create. Studio speakers can work, but you will hear everything in your voice you may not actually want to really hear

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