Karaoke Forums

I have owned the Nady DKW Duo for about a year and a half or two years and have had ZERO problems with them. They sound just fine. A 9 volt battery lasts around 8 to 10 hours.

I recently found another dual wireless that I believe to be about the same quality and they're the same price and I have a hunch they are "maybe" a tad bit better and a tad bit more sensitive, but I haven't used them yet, it's just a hunch. Here is the link=> http://www.cheapdjgear.us/Gemini_VHF_2001M_Handheld_Dual_Channel_Wireless_p/vhf-2001m.htm, try them out, you have very little to lose. I'm thinking of getting a set and then I would have 4 wireless mics I could use when I start hosting sometime in the future.

The only thing to be concerned about with the Nadys is speaker placement and how high you turn up the channel on the mixer. They could be a hair more sensitive so if your speakers are in back or to the side of the singer you may get some feedback if you turn the mic channel way up. If you have the speakers in front of the singer and the place isn't super small then you'll have no problem with feedback.

As far as I'm concerned, the Nadys are rugged and well built especially considering they are $40 to $50 for a two mic system. I have had no problems with them being VHF either. Are they as good as a $300 or $400 wireless? Well, no, should they be for $40 or $50? I'd much rather hand someone a $50 wireless mic than a $400 wireless mic.

I really like my wired SM58 and my wired Samson Q7, but I really love having no cord too. Life is full of tradeoffs . . .

Actually someone recently 'gave' me a set of the Nady Duo wireless. I used them at a family function that I had a small karaoke setup working (figured I wouldn't bother with the wires there), one dropped accidently & the screen broke off at the threads with the pickup capsule left dangling by it's wires - it wasn't dropped hard either, must've just hit in the right place - these were less than a month old. Pretty much sews up any & all opinions i've had previously and can honestly say I wish I would've brought my 58's instead.

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I'm talking total cost of ownership. Let's say you budget for a 100 show life. I can tell you the AKGs are quite durable, and rate to last that long. Ours have been dropped quite a few times.

The Nadys use about a 9-volt battery per show. Since those cost $2.50 even when you get a good deal, let's say they cost $2.50 per show if you use one mic. The AKG uses a single AA which you can get for 45 cents. (That's not as good a deal as the 2.50 for 9 volt, but we will be conservative to give the Nady a break.) These last a minimum of 3 shows, usually 5 or 6, but we will say 3.

Nady - -$50.00 cost
$2.50 per show battery for 100 shows -- $250.00
Total: $300.00

AKG -- $200.00 cost
$0.15 per show for 100 shows -- $15.00.
Total: $215.00

So they cost less, and they sound better. You only have one, but that should be all you need as you can use your wired for duet mics.

If you think they aren't going to last 100 shows, why would you buy them?

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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.

The reason I would (and did) buy them, is that if a jerk destroys a 20.00 mic, I'll ban him from my show, if he destroys a 200.00 mic, I may have to be bailed out of jail for breaking his face. Didn't want to have to say that, but maybe now you get the picture. I want to have fun kjing, not have to be on pins and needles while some jerk acts like a fool with MY equipment that costs 200.00. I may get a little irritated when they destroy one of these mics, but all I'll do is ban them from singing with me again. Small price to clean up my line-up of singers. The majority of customers respect the equipment, but for the ones that want to act like a fool, this is a cheap way to get rid of them, and at the same time offer EVERYONE the option of lesser quality wireless, or higher quality wired.

Rosario
Serenity Now Karaoke

You asked for opinions, and I gave mine. I don't see a reason to settle for lousy sound when good sound costs less, but you can certainly do what you want.

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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.

Thanks for your opinion mckyj, just thought I'd give you some insight behind my reason for trying this EXPERIMENT. I hope it works out the way I expect. All opinions are welcome, I won't be offended, as the ultimate decision is mine to choose. It's just nice to have a place to go to and discuss ideas, and get opinions. Thanks for all of your input, it IS appreciated.

Rosario

Think of what you've spent $50 on. This a low risk experiment. Most people who have actually bought and owned the Nadys have had little to no problems.

I've dropped my handsets and they didn't break. I transport them by throwing them into a bag with a bunch of other stuff and they didn't break. Durability isn't their weak point. As far as sound quality, for what you want them for they exceed your criteria. The sound quality is just fine and 99% of singers will be glad to be able to use a wireless-PERIOD. Don't let the gear snobs convince you that you're wasting $50 on garbage because that's absolutely untrue.

Again, they aren't as good as a Shure wired or wireless SM58, but they're good enough for most peole singing Karaoke. If you're really concerned, get the $250 AKG Dual wireless. To me that's a lot of money . . .

The point is that Serenity doesn't expect the mic to last long enough to recover the ROI and bring the cost down. So the cheap mic is the answer. He WANTS a throwaway!

I just uploaded a tune in the Singer Showcase using a beat to hell Nady DUO, running right into a Yamaha EMX312sc, and recorded on my laptop using the free Audacity PC recording software.

No effects aside from the Yamahas onboard 'Karaoke Echo' set very, very low, and no post processing besides a simple fade in and fade out on the track before converting the file to MP3.

No EQ on the mic besides the High, Mid and Low adjustment on the channel.

The DUO's do tend to be a bit 'brighter', if you're not careful, but keeping the level on the receiver at around 12'o clock, keeping an eye on your boards mic channel gain (if equipt) and tweeking the channel EQ to roll off a little of the highs and midrange, they're very usable mics in the sound quality department.

Keep in mind that the wireless SM58 is no fragile flower. It's just as robust as it's wired counterpart. If it's a price issue, I totally understand. But being on "pins & needles" worried about someone breaking it? Not necessary.

Good voice, terrible sound quality.

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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.

thecheese, nice job on the Watermelon crawl. Would you mind recording another song and EQ the bass down on the mic channel to around 8 or 9 o'clock? You have a very deep husky voice and it makes it sound a bit muddy. I have a pretty deep voice and I always reduce the bass setting on my mic channel on the mixer. I also turn the mids and highs up to 2 or 3 o'clock too. Give it a try. I'd love to hear the difference on the Nady with those settings.

One more thing to remember about using a cheap wireless for recording, you want to use the best mic you have IMO. For Karaoke in a bar you don't need a large diaphragm gold sputtered condenser mic. A good singer is going to sound good with an SM58 or a cheapo Nady wireless. A bad singer is going to sound bad no matter what mic they use and no matter how good you are at adjusting the mixer.

I have a pair of Shure PGX24/SM58 wireless mics and also two of the Nady DKW-Duo sets. The channel B & D set work great. The channel P & R set have interference on the R Channel which renders that channel unusable. I use the wireless SM58's as my main mics and use the Channel B & D DKW-Duo as extra mics for group singing. I use 9V energizer rechargable NiMh batteries. I notice that I can get another hour of singing out of them after the low battery light comes on. Whereas with the SM58's, using Energizer rechargable NiMh AA's, when the red battery low light comes on the mic goes dead. A few of my singers actually prefer the Nady's, saying they are lighter. There isn't a huge difference in sound although the Shures are surely the better mic.

Keep in mind that recording was made from the 'Record Out' of the Yamaha powered mixer during a live show, and not in a studio environment. My EQ was set for the room I was in, and the speakers I was using (Yamaha S115V's).

If I were tweeking the EQ from the headphones, the record out signal would have sounded a lot better (and i'd have probably added a tad more reverb, too).. since most of the muddy or flatness in the track you're hearing is because the EQ was tweeked based on what the speakers and room were doing to the sound as well.

I can tell you dialing the bass on the wireless mic channel to 8 or 9 o' clock would sound like absolute POOP.. since the Nady mics tend to be, if anything, kind of 'bright'.

What I will do in the next week or so is do another track with the wireless mics in more of a 'studio' type environment, and gear the EQ settings tward record quality, using headphones to dial in the mix.

That should give you a fairer idea of the Nady's capabilities.

Update: I received the Nady's, and used them in my show last night. Battery holder could be a little better designed (very tight fit), but works fine. Took some tweeking on the mixer, but worked out fine. They sound better than all the Vocopro wireless that are being used in my area, but then again, it could be the way they're mixed. Not too much problem with plosives. All-in-all, the BEST 40.00 I've spent on equipment. I told everyone (over the mic) that they had their choice of corded, or cordless. Most stayed corded, some chose cordless. The ONLY problem I have is if they get too close (less than 10') to the speakers, I get feedback. Not too sure I can tweek it any more, without losing strength, or sound quality. So for now, when I give them the mic, I'll tell them just don't go too close to the speakers. Other than that, I am very happy with my purchase.

Rosario

Here is an update for you from our use: Last night a tall person let one of the Nady's just drop right out of his hand and it landed vertically then pogoed another foot or so. It is now cutting out intermittantly so will be the MC mic until we buy replacements. It just reached it's two year anniversary of rough drunk use--I quit counting drops at 8. It had also been slammed down hard on the bar by someone.

I understand that a better mic would be more cost effective over time. But there is just something about being able to shrug and smile when someone has an "accident" like that rather than have to hide resentment that they just cost you a good bit of money.

Exactly my point Leopard, no need for anyone calling the SWAT team because you're choking someone to death for PURPOSELY breaking your 600.00 mic. At least this way I can feel at ease when someone is acting like a fool with my 20.00 mic. Peace of mind is well worth the sacrifice.

Rosario
Serenity Now Karaoke

ummmmmm......Alan?..........why the hostility?

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

...and why do people spell MICS as mikes? That's my cousin's name...Mike Wilson.

M-I-C short for MICROPHONE..not mikecrophone...????????? Ok.. getting off the soapbox now....i know..whatever......life's little annoyances...