Karaoke Forums

Looking forward to take advantage of the expertise on this board. I am new to karaoke world and considering buying my very first karaoke system. After going through some reviews I have narrowed my choice down to Emerson GM527 and GM522 karaoke player. I don't know much about features, but both have same prices. I found them at http://www.dealrocker.com/promotions/thenerds/deals . Need your advice and suggestions to choose the best one. If you have any other better recommendation, please let me know.

Thanks in advance.

Alicefred,

I don't think you are going to find many people on this board that can give an accurate review of consumer-level equipment, like those Emersons. Most of us are KJs or karaoke enthusiasts with pro-level equipment.

The systems that you are linked to both have all the basic features you need to do karaoke at home if you just want to do it by yourself or in a small group.

Compared to a PA system, like you'd find your local karaoke venue using, however, these systems are not even going to be close in physical quality or sound quality.

You can put together a pretty basic pro-level PA system with a CDG player for about $300-400.

I would say that if you consider karaoke a infrequent hobby, you'll probably be happy with the Emerson systems. If you want to throw karaoke parties at your house and consider yourself somewhat serious about it, and most imporantly how it sounds, you should save up for a PA system. If you need suggestions to head that direction, you will find a wealth of knowledge on this board.

Either way, have fun!

_________________
C Mc
KJ, FL

I used to have the GM522, got it at radio shack for $80(on sale) last fall but have since handed it down to my daughter.

I loved it for what it was. It was all in one unit that could even run on batteries if I needed it too. I loved that I could put hundreds of songs on one CDr, usb drive or SDcard, but it was kinda slow navigating through all those songs sometimes.

Built in speaker did OK, as those portables go and it had hook ups to connect audio to your stereo and video to your tv... I thought it was all I needed at that time, but I have since spent lots of money on a better system. My daughter is away at school, she and her roommates love it. She had other toy karaoke machines growing up and says this one just sounds better, she does not hook it up to tv or stereo.

Pros
Played mp3g off of multiple sources
Could be used as stand alone device, or with stereo/tv
individual mic volume and echo(two mic inputs)
Portable party
It does have a key changer(not great but it is there)

Cons
Volume will get drowned out at any decent sized gathering(but hooking upto stereo helps)
Included mic cable is very short
Included mic is horrible.
song listing on screen can be random(when using hundreds of files on memory card/stick)


Conclusion
Would I buy it again?? Yes
Even though I could have used that money towards my system, I dont consider it a waste. Without having this little machine I might have never taken the next step towards better gear. It was fun during that time, and fun does not always mean PRO LEVEL gear.