Karaoke Forums

I do not know much about building a system so all I have is research from this forum. I have not purchased anything yet. I want to do shows at the clubs and I read that the Peavey XR 8600 Powered Mixer is good to go with, Do I also need an amp if so what would be a good choice. and What kind of speakers would be a good choice to go with. and am I leaving anything out. I would like to do the shows digitally with a laptop. Any advise on helping build my system would so greatly be appreciated.

Two Compaq Presario V5000 series I used for a backup and actually did many shows with it. It is now a "home pc I use for the interent and downlaods at shows. I also use it to capture video from a camcorder and movie editing.

Second one is show backup only with the bare essentials I do have all my karaoke on the internal hard drive but need and external for music. When I get a bigger hard drive and a DVD that will play cdg's I might use it exclusively.

Whoops wrong thhread.

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The XR8600 is OK. Another good choice is the Yamaha EMX512C, with a similar power rating and compression. That is both the mixer and amp.

Speakers are always a contentious issue. For a mobile karaoke gigger, weight can be an issue. The Peavey PR15N matches those mixers pretty well, and only weighs 32 pounds. If you want some higher-end speakers, look at EV or Yorkville. Make sure to get your speakers on stands, pointing them at peoples knees makes no sense.

Microphone-wise, you can't do better than the Shure SM58 wired mic for durability, sound quality, and singer-friendliness. Buy good-quality lifetime guarantee cables for them. I don't like using wireless mics in shows, and won't recommend a wireless other than to suggest that you not skimp on quality. Microphones and speakers are, in my opinion, the most important parts of the signal chain. Cheap doesn't pay in the long run -- I wish I had skipped all the "cheap" gear I bought.

For hosting software on the laptop, Compuhost is the market leader in my opinion. They have the most complete and professional platform.

Someone else might recommend the powered-speaker approach, which works well too. But for a small mobile rig, I think a good powered mixer is a very valid way to go.

Good luck!

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Vikki- As a simpler set up I would also suggest the YAMAHA 512 - I took Mckys advice and use the same powered mixer and have been satisfied with its power and features. Assuming you're looking at small to medium sized indoor gigs. YOU WILL BE FINE. The Peavey PR speakers are a fine choice for a LITE WEIGHT speaker ( need the 15" speaker) If you don't mind hoofing 60lb speakers the Yamaha SV115V are EXCELLENT match for the EMX512C mixer amp.

You'll need a few wired mics to start (SM58) are a great choice but you can get some PACKAGE deals on Sennheisers etc which may be better COST WISE without sacraficing too much quality.

For a strict KARAOKE software I've been very happy with a progam called KARMA from Latshaw Systems. ( $99) can't go wrong . GOOD LUCK

I agree with Mickey. Speakers are a pain issue. I'll review my system, and the logic behind the setup and perhaps that will help you in your choices.

I've seen KJ with $5000 Bose Pole speakers (which a frick'in AMAZING, sound great, and are EASY to transport... but jeezus kay-rist... $5k??? ack!), and I seen 10" 2-way crap.

For a nice system, 15" trapaziod style passive speakers are a nice way to go.

I use 15" Yamaha Clubs, but those bad boys weigh 75lbs a piece. I got them second hand because the KJ that was using them couldn't lift them anymore.

What he got were the 15" PR15N Pevy's that Mickey was talking about and they sound great. I sing with him all the time and they work great, and even new they are reasonably priced, and only weigh 32lbs a piece. Furthermore, if lifting is an issue, there are tripod stands the have a crank to raise the speakers... they are a little pricey, but well worth it!

For microphone, there is no need to go into a huge expense. $300 Shures sound beautiful, but remember, the drunks don't care and your heart will jump out of your chest the first time somebosy drops one.Wireless is the best and singers prefer that. Make sure they are UHF frequency. Here's what I'm using and they sound great!

http://www.acekaraoke.com/rsq-uhf-9004- ... ystem.html

An amp mixer with about 500 or 600 watts is sufficient for most venues. My amp is 600 watts and I've played large VFW halls and it is more than enough power.

I use the Acesonic AM-825

http://www.acekaraoke.com/acesonic-am-8 ... r-usb.html

This is a wonderfully featured amp. It has every feature you could want from a karaoke amp.... it is heavy though. It has all the Mic adjustments you need... base, mid, highs, echo, etc. It has a huge internal cooling fan.... overheating is never a problem, and it sounds beautiful!

This thing really puts you in control of your show, and has ALL the connections to support a variety of formats. It has Speak on jacks which are great for the traveling KJ setting up and taking down night after night.

I would submit that an EQ is impractical in a karaoke setup. The recording levels from karaoke manufacturer to manufacturer varies greatly, and the singing styles you will encounter change drastically. You need to be able to adjust the music mix and make mic adjustments quickly during a performance. Trying to adjust an EQ is a pain.

Instead of an EQ I use a BBE sonic maximizer

http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/p ... 240313.jpg

This has a base and effect control for the left and right channel that you can adjust in a moments notice, and I keep the amp tone adjustment mix mostly level.

You will also need a power conditioner to filter electrical noise, protect against surges and provide clean power to your components. If you're rack mounting you might also like one with lights!

http://www.zzounds.com/item--FURM8LX

A single space karaoke player with an A/B switch will allow you to switch from computer to disk player so you can play other singers disks.

http://www.acekaraoke.com/api-dv-330-pr ... layer.html

Let me also point you in the direction of a great rack maker. Inexpesive, attractive and rugged!

http://www.pearsoncases.com/deep_racks.htm

Of course we've already addressed the computer and hosting software in other topics on this forum so I won't go into that here.

You might also consider adding a smaller second set of speakers and a second low powered amp to fill the dead spots in the room. This works great, allows you to keep the overall volume level down, and not kill the ears of the folks up front.

I also have a small 8" speaker amp connect to the vocal output of the mixing amp to give some minor singer feedback during performance.

Thats what I got!

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Note that amp will not drive the PR15N speakers. It has 200w/channel at 4 ohms, which is probably at most 125 at 8 ohms. The PR15s want 400.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Well it will run them & make sound. Just won't sound as good as they could at higher volume & the risk of blowing them at higher volume increases quite a bit. 400 watts would make them sound their best with less risk of blowing them.

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

Lonman is right about matching your amp and speakers. You don't want to have your amp go on you in a show. Mcky's powered mixer is a better way to go in my opinion.
I also agree with Mcky on the hosting program. Compuhost has got it all except for playing outside discs, but I have yet to have anyone who brings his own discs come to my shows. If they do I will invest in a video capture card and bring my dvd player which also plays cdg.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

About the Mic... The Shure sm58 is indeed a good microphone but know that if you were to have a singer like me, he'll be disappointed because this mic sounds terrible for my voice A microphone is VERY personal but this sm58 is of course a must have for people with powerful voice, you should also have a brighter mic for people who have smooth voices

Beside it's reputation for it's durability, I think this mic is simply passed date, for less you can have MUCH better, but the reliability, don't know

This is a 600 watt amp... it will totally drive these speakers. Speaker and amp matching is tricky because first and foremost manufactures exaggerate.

That's 200 + 200 for or 200 per channel at 4 ohms = 400 watts total. (i.e. you are running two speakers off a single 8 ohm channel)

300 + 300 at 8 ohms = 600 watts. (one speaker per output channel. The way 99.999999% of the KJ in the business do it).

If you run only 2 and don't daisy chain them you will be running at 8 ohms, and thus 300 watts per channel.

These are 400 watts RMS... 800 watts max. You do not need a 400 watt amp to drive speakers rated at 400 watts. That's a complete myth since manufactures frequently exaggerate (lie!) a speaker's rating. I always take the manugacture's rating with a grain of salt, and use it as a guide. Obviously, you won't be running these with a 100 watt reciever...

This amp has MORE than enough power to drive two of these pevy's.

Here's the specs on the amp.

Integrated USB Audio Solution using C-Media CM106 Audio I/O Controller
Maximum Output: 300W + 300W @ 8 Ohms Max
RMS Output: 200W + 200W @ 4 Ohms RMS
Microphone Input Sensitivity: <20mV
Music Input Sensitivity: 250mV / 47K Ohms / 1kHz
Microphone Frequency Response: 20hZ - 20 kHz / 3dB
Music Frequency Response: 20hZ - 20 kHz / 3dB
Microphone EQ characteristics: Treble: +/- 10dB (10kHz), Bass: +/- 10dB (100Hz)
Music EQ characteristics: Treble: +/- 10dB (10kHz), Bass: +/- 10dB (100Hz)
Key Control Range +/- 6 Half Tones
Speaker Wattage Impedance: 4 Ohm - 8 Ohm
Voltage: AC 115V - 230V Manual Select
Dimensions: 17"(W) x 6.5"(H) x 14"(D)
Weight: 33 lbs.
1 Year Manufacturer Warranty
Designed in U.S.A.
Package Includes:


Not only will it drive these speakers, it will drive these:

http://www.music123.com/Yamaha-S115V-2- ... 6.Music123

Its what I do 4 times a week. I've never had the main volume control on this amp even make it to halfway... even in large VFW halls, and it sounds awesome, delivers powerful sounds, hard base, crisp highs and clear mids, and the AMP runs cool as can be. What else do you want?

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Actually that 600 watts is 300 watts per channel PEAK/MAX power, not a continuous rating. The 200 watts per channel at 4 ohms is a continuous rating. Which means the 8 ohm continuous rating is about 125 watts. A 4 ohm rating is never going to be lower than an amps 8 ohm rating. This is a sales gimmick to lead people to believe they are getting more than they really are.
When you connect 2 8 ohm speakers together, it does bring their load to 4 ohms, however it also doubles their PROGRAM power rating so the 400 watts they require individually now becomes 800 watts needed at 4 ohms when tied together.



Actually this is a myth. Having less power can clip a speaker faster than having an amp with more power. Say a speaker is rated 200/400/800 - 400 being the PROGRAM rating. Someone gets an amp that pushes 100 watts thinking they can never blow the speaker. The amp is rated at 100 watts continuous/clean power. It will go much louder than that, but usually at the cost of distortion (clipping the amp) which is the leading cause of speaker failure. Now if that same speaker had a proper rated amp, using the same volume, the sound will not be distorted as it's in the amps comfort zone still, providing cleaner fuller sound.



Sure it will drive them, but not to the fullest capacity. A properly rated amp (those speakers require 500 watts at 8 ohms), will sound MUCH better at higher volumes and less chance of blowing the speaker.


Glad it works for you!

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

Lonman, this is why speaker and amp ratings discussions can get a little contentous.

The first thing to understand is that these rating have NOTHING to do with playing music. They come from some sound engineer shooting straight pitch power through the speaker.

Music is not continuous.... it constantly varies.

What's loud? I can never use but a fraction of the potential for Karaoke. People want to be able to talk while the music's playing.

I know what you're talking about with the clipping... that happens because the amp doesn't have enough reserve power when the music peaks because its all used up maintaining the level output.

But reality is, that if your in that room your ears would be ringing because its so darn loud. We aren't playing in a band, and we aren't DJ's at a dance club. We play karaoke at parties, bars, Moose lodges and VFWs. We simply won't be playing our music that way. In those venues that kind of volume is not necessary (or wanted).

So for the OP, all I'm saying is, don't get to caught up in trying to get this monster amp that's going to drive your speakers at peak output because you will never use it.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

That is simply wrong. In very many ways. But both Lonman and I have said our piece to disagree with you, and others who read this can decide who's right.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

You don't. My club is pushing close to 3000 watts total. I want people to feel like they are playing in a live band & the audience to experience the same thing - we have very large crowds most nights & weekends are SRO (7 nights). But the club is pretty large as well. Caps at 200 with SRO around 250. Yes I do use that kind of volume. But it's also cleam volume because all the power is properly matched to the speakers. No high end tinniness when cranked up to compensate for bodies in the room!
Too little power would cause that. There is a difference if you don't need volume, yes then any amp will suffice.

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

I would agree, the same rule would also apply in world of "Home HiFi" the more power you have, better the sound will be! It's not a question of needing all that power or not, you can easily drive your system at 40-50% of it's capacity, but you'll have the reserve needed for that nice peak signal

Now of course, you still need a well balanced system with good components