Karaoke Forums

Feedback generally occurs when your MICROPHONE can "hear" the sound from your speakers and amplifies that sound through the amp. It then hears the same sound it just amplified, and amplifies it again, and again, and again into infinity.

To combat this, most good microphones have a somewhat limited gain pattern. It is that weird looking schematic that looks like a bunch of loops on graph lines in the mic's documentation. Basically, a good mic will pick up sound within about 100 degrees of the top of the mic grill in all directions, but will not pick up sound within the remaining 160 degrees around the base of the microphone.

So, as far as speaker placement for your setup, just keep in mind that if the microphone picks up the sound from the speakers, it is likely to feedback, and it will not pick up sound when the base of the mic is pointed right at the loudest speakers.

So, you might have to fiddle around with your particular setup due to the unique acoustics in your room, but I would say that you probably want the singer in the middle of the room facing the loudest speakers (the mains) but slightly closer to the rear speakers. You could also place the singer behind the main speakers facing the rears.

Just keep in mind WHAT feedback is, and test your room out. If you understand what is causing the feedback, then you should be able to conceptualize where the sweet spots would be for a singer where their mic will not amplify the speaker output.

Hope that helps!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

TopherM,

Thank you so much for your answer. It is greatly helpful.

I ordered SM58-SLC mics, since I heard they cut/suppress feedback to a good extent.

I also spoke to a few friends, one of them has the same Sony Bravia surround and does karaoke parties at her home. She insistsed that she never encountered any feedback problem with singers standing with the TV and centre speaker/sub-woofer behind them about 3 feet away. Her living room is of course larger - 30 by 15 to my 24 by 11.

I am thinking of trying to put the singer along one 11' wall. From that spot at a 30 deg angle ahead to the right of singer is my tiny TV and I will place the centre speaker above it on the wall, and one front speaker along the same wall 5 feet away. On the opposite wall, I will place the subwoofer across from the centre speaker and the second front speaker across from the first front speaker. I will place the 2 rear speakers at the two ends of the other 11 feet wall right across the room from the singer. And I will see how this works out. As you said we have to experiment/try-err by moving both speakers and singers around to get the best effect.

Will let know here how it all workrs out.

Thanks once again, TopherM, for your patient and detailed reply.

My suggestion in a case like this is pretty simple. Karaoke and most recorded music does not have 5.1 channel information. It is simply recorded in 2-track (stereo). I'd say set your home theater system to stereo in these cases and have the singers face the speakers when singing. This is the easiest way. There are also things you can do with off-axis speaker placement, equalization of the microphone, etc but the simplest solution would be to send the stereo signal out through only a stereo set of speakers.

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Many thanks, Letitrip, for your suggestions. I think that that is the way it will work with what I am planning to do - putting the speakers on ledges on the wall, all facing the room inside, - I can perhaps change the direction to face the singers instead.

That most of the music I play wont be 5.1 recorded but stereo was my other worry. I was hoping that because of recording limitation, it wont come to pass that only a couple speakers from among the 6 are being used. My friend with the Sony surround says that when she sets the DVD to 'audio' the music is output on all her speakers, both mono and stereo sounds. I hope it works for me too.

I will definitely try to do some equilisation once I get to know the equipments and the science.

Thank you again, Letitrip.

This forum is totally awesome ! It is so illuminating to go through all the different threads here. It is wonderful that people take the time to help out others. Thanks everyone !