Karaoke Forums

Well I have been trying to put together a system on a tight budget, and using my home theater system and HTPC.  I was trying not to buy a dedicated PA system, as it was going to be out of my budget... but looking at the things I need to buy to get the HTPC to sound somewhat decent, it may just make sense to buy a basic PA system.  Especially since EVERYONE has recommeneded NOT using HT for live vocals.

So now my question is, which one?  I am trying to stay near the $300 range for the mixer/amp and speakers (a little higher if the quality is much better).  Less would be even better.  This is mostly for home use, and the room is pretty small, like 15x15.  Muscian's friend seems to have plenty in that range, and some have pretty good reviews.

These have caught my eyes for being in my budget, getting good reviews, and not being to large (i live in a condo):
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=630399
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=636502
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=630130
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=632200
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=608003

Just wondering if anyone had experience with these?  Are these going to play well enough for home use in a small room, or will I be pretty disappointed given how inexpensive they are?  I will be using a PC as the player, and was thinking of having it play through my HT for the music.  I would then have the PA dedicated for the vocals.  Or would i be better off routing both music and vocals through the PA?  It seems I would need to get a better sound card to interface the computer with the mixer, which would be a nice expense to avoid (the PC is small form factor, so a regular PCI card wont work).

I was also planning on buying two mics seperately, as i figured that would be better, but if there is a more expensive system that includes two mics, i would be okay with that.  I was thinking of spending ~$100 for two wired mics.  Is that too much/little to spend on mics when only spending $300 on PA?

To sum up, the questions are as follows:

1. Which if any of the ~$300 PA systems is going to give me a decent sound for karaoke in a small home room?
2. Is there anything wrong with playing the music through the HT, and the vocals through the PA?  Is one way better than the other?
3. I need two microphones for the system.  Better off buying those bundled with the system or seperate?  Suggestions on mics.  

Thanks again!

I personally recently bought the Powerpod 740 by Phonic, one step up from the one you cited.  I am very happy with it and it has WAY too much power for just home use.  So I don't see as how the 620 wouldn't be enough for home use.  The mic that came with mine is excellent.

From the links you provided, I like the Power Pod system the best. It offers more features and it looks like pretty good quality. I think 200W is plenty for your home too.

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Thanks for the responses.  I also found a few older threads that mentioned this system:
http://www.music123.com/SoundTech-S20-i131742.music

Couple people seemed to like it as their budget home system.  Plus the price is right.

I personally own and use a pair of Kustom 15's and love the sound they give for the price. However I cannot recommend their mixer. Very limited, with what I feel is still a tinny sound. When I was in my teens starting out in bands, if you had a Kustom PA it was one of those padded jobs that looked like somebodys cheap leather couch. But the sound was incredible as long as you used another amp to power them. Same today as it was then, love the speakers, but hate the amps.

James
Maninblack

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Being critical of a person's success in any respect speaks volumes about the lack of your own.

Love as though you've never been hurt, Dance as though no one's watching, Sing as though God Himself were listening.

Play everything through the PA.   You will sooner or later ruin the HT speakers.

I dont see how running just the recorded music (not the vocals) through the HT speakers would ruin them... after all, that is what they are designed to do... play music (and movies, mine do both very well).

The music won't ruin the HT speakers.  However you will get a better overall mix putting everything through the PA.

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Thats what I wanted to know.  Thank you.

It will when he wants to play it as loud as we do when we sing.      Singers can not whisper a song and sound any good.   So the volume will be cranked up accordingly.

CDG's will not hurt HT speakers with just the music.  They are mastered & compressed just like standard music cd's.  If he cranks the volume on regular cd's without a problem, then he can crank the volume with the music from cdg's without a problem.  Although again, it would sound better if it all was going through the pa.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

That music 123 link is a hellofa deal.   For $200 I could be my own hack competition.  :whistle:  :shock:

Or conversely a nice little home system.  But then again BD what do you know about sound.  A CDG ruining a home theatre system.  Ya right.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

The system has very good reviews! Also Music123 is running a holiday promotion that knocks off another $15, hmm... very tempting

Toade,

I am using the SoundTech S20 for home use and love it.
The price was right and within my budget.
By the way, are you a member of avsforum.com?