Karaoke Forums

I'm looking at a karaoke mixer/amp combo for home use (not a large room).
They have 2-3 mic inputs and echo, repeat, key changers, etc.

In Vancouver, canada I haven't been able to find much selection.
I've seen the following for sale:
- Prado DA-J 3
- Ales PK 150A
- Famous P70-C
They are between$350-$500 each.
Any thoughts on which one to buy?

What size speakers should I buy? 200, 300, 400 watts?

Thanks for the help

First, rather than recommending a brand, allow me to to suggest that you shop online, where ALL brands are available. Most will be better choices than the above.

Second, though you will probably never need to exceed 200W RMS at 8 ohms per side in a small room, your speakers' RMS wattage should exceed whatever the max wattage output of the mixer/amp that you buy is.

Also keep in mind that when you look at speakers you need to make VERY sure of the wattage specs.

Some mfrs. will post, say, 200 watts max, but that may be at 2, 4, or 8 ohms. Also, the rating that counts is RMS, not max. In other words, for a standard home system, the wattage spec should be at 8 ohms RMS. ( working wattage)

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Thanks.
I really appreciate the advice.
I'm leery of buying online since I'm new to this.
Can someone recommend a good brand or two?

The speaker advice is very helpful.
Thanks again.

You can build a separate PA system that will sound very good, better than the ones you've listed. It all depends on your budget. If you can provide that, we can help you decide.

Click on the Ace Karaoke link on the left. They do have a good selection for home use. Search amps.. I have installed the Audio 2000 mixers in homes with success.

Not familiar with it but one of interest is link

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I too use a couple of the Audio2000 7000 and 7050 mixers. They work just fine for me, and have for many, MANY years!

I will say I favor the 7050 model, only cause I have to put a fan on the 7000 mixer. It does get hot with continued useage!

I'd like to spend about $1,000 for the mixer/amp, speakers and cords.
It's only for home use and I don't want to blow out my speakers.
Thanks

If you can spend that much, you should go for a pro audio setup. It will give you the equipment necessary to do not only karaoke, but other things as well. Good equipment will also have resale value.

I recommend something like:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=630199

Great gear, good resale value, totally pro sound. Has compression and good
effects. You can't do better for $1000.

Thank you for the help Mickey.

I really appreciate the suggestion. The mixer looks a little intimidating but I guess I'll figure it out. Free shipping and a Canadian Co. too!

I wonder if I should go with this lower priced one instead since it's for home use.
I originally thought I had to spend $1000 to get a decent system, but maybe not?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=630196

What do you think?
Thanks again

The system Mcky quoted will yield a better bass response. The system you quoted would still sound good in a home environement. Neither are as intimidating as they may appear, once you learn what 1 channel does you know what all channels do. Then just a couple of send you need to learn. Not a big deal overall and will yield a very nice result once properly adjusted!

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Like Lonman said, either system will be fine for home. Once you have a rig like that though, it is natural to do parties for your church/youth group/service club. The first will be better for that, though the less expensive one would be pretty good for a small room.

I just got the bug and started buying a little equipment. Before long, I had enough equipment for several gigs. I have three full-time rigs out there (one at my service club, one for my voice teacher, and my own) and also a couple of other portable ones.

If I had made the purchase I recommended to you, I would probably still be using it as my main rig.

The four wired mics is probably a bit much -- you can see they are thinking band instead of karaoke rig. And the cables are probably not very good. So it may be beter to buy the first one and save your money for more music.

I started out with the EMX512SC-BR15 PA package. I did have to upgrade all the cables and mic's. It's still a good bargain and sounds great. It is not at all hard to operate after reading the owners manual. For home use the cables and mic's would probably be OK for a while. I'm using this system in a 40x60 room with mirrors on 3 sides. Although it's an acoustically challenging room the system still rocks. Feedback on the mics is touchy. I hope to make it sound better but I'm not sure what to get next. I think you would be very happy with this package.

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I will offer the best two tips I ever got on vocals for karaoke.

A) Midrange freqs:
1. Route the music to a channel with midrange eq (i.e. 2.5KHz)
2. Cut the mid eq on the music a bit -- not much.
3. Boost the mid eq on the vocal mics a bit -- not much.

Bingo, makes most any setup sound better.

B) If your EQ looks like a smile or a frown, it is probably wrong.


Amen!

What do you mean by this?
Is there a problem that is easily fixed?
Thanks

Thanks for the input Mcky.

I don't doubt for a second that I'd be happy with this system, however, I still have to purchase music, a dvd player for cdg's and maybe a used laptop so I'm considering spending a little less.
This is a difficult decision.

He basically means the feedback (squeals/low rumbles) is very easy mainly because of the room he is using. Mirrors on 3 sides, everything is basically bouncing back & going right back into the mic - creating a feedback loop. This is where the mic is picking up something that is already amplified, thus amplifying it again and again forming a continuous loop, making for loud unwanted noises known as feedback. In his situation, covering all the mirrors with some cloth material - hanging about 4-6" away from the mirror is even better - would eliminate much of his feedback issues.
Or simply turn the system down.

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I did not mean to give you the impression my feedback issues were because of the system. Thank you lonnie for the clarification. Mainly I run into problems when I try to compensate for a real quiet singer or bad mic technique by pushing the mic gain too far. Considering the tough acoustics of the room and my lack of experiance as a sound guy, this system has been wonderfull. Thanks also mckyj57 for the tips.

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I understand the mic issues now. thanks.

I haven't decided which package to purchase yet but I'm leaning towards the less expensive one...

So after deciding to buy the $750 yamaha package I find that I can't buy this in Canada!

I'm looking for the same in Canada. Does anyone know of a good/inexpensive Canadian online seller?

Also, I was given an old karaoke pre-amplifier. It looks good -4 mic inputs, key control, echo is the only effect tho.
The audio output level/impedance is 1.5 V/220 ohms.
There doesn't seem to info re: watts so how powerful is this?

I wonder if I should use it with some powered speakers?

Here you go:

http://www.stevesmusic.com/index.php?ma ... anguage=en

They have a store in Toronto and Montreal. You can make your choice based on what was recommended so far and just contact them no more price difference in electronic, in fact, since our dollar when up, we are often less than in the US market Do not try to import from USA, very often the warranty will not be valid and you'll end up paying duty's, shipping... You do have a nice electronic store downtown Vancouver, I just can't remember the name You might want to contact one of our great singer, he's from Vancouver, is name is: Teflon Singer

Good luck!