Karaoke Forums

Merry Christmas All,

I am looking to purchase a system for my wife. I think she would like something like a KJ and DJ type combo system if possible. She wants to use at parties but not professionally. Would it be better to get a system that works with a computer? Also what components are needed and what brand of equipment should I purchase? We do a couple of big out door company parties so speakers would be needed also. I am looking to save as much money as possible but am willing to spend, if needed, around $2000.
I am traveling from Modesto, through Sacramento and Reno to Northern Nevada for Christmas. Is there any place to purchase needed equipment around that route?

Good Evening

The easiest most modern Karaoke player is actually software that runs on your personal computer.  Products like pcSongster at www.pcSongster.com do more for you and your audience than any hardware CDG player.  You can load your computer hard drive with the built in ripper and play the karaoke songs with lyrics right on your computer screen

Your PA system plugs right in to your "ear phone" plug on the laptop.  Any modern PC will do and you don't need any particular sound or video cards  You'll get big sound and top lyric quality with all of your karaoke music stored on the hard drive.  There is nothing more powerful and less expensive.

Your karaoke music must be purchased on CD's or downloaded from the web.  This will be your biggest expense by far.  Do not be tempted to purchase "bootleg" karaoke music.  Penalties are severe.

MC

there are LOTS of computer software options. Winamp with the cdg plugin, karafun, and others. I personally like the one that Tig talked about recently called clubdjpro (version 2 is now available)... like some of the other more well known softwares, it works as a dual player, with the ability to go from playerA to playerB, allows movie .mpg, .avi and I believe .mov files

Do some searching around... clubdjpro has a fully functioning demo that will work for around 20 minutes before  it makes you shut it down. it does have reminder popups.

Also take a look at Mobile DJ Pro (by the makers of Club DJ Pro) it also plays videos and karaoke.

_________________
Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

INFORMATION REMOVED
sorry as stated by Jian i can not tell you where to find good equipment or music you will
just have to fend for yourself - Good Luck"

_________________
Karaoke Kyle
Good Time Karaoke
1-800-200-9935
Watch the Karaoke King Show Live Thursdays 9pm
http://www.karaokeinbakersfield.com
[/url]

300W per channel and no mixer and no subwoofer, for $1799? I strongly disagree with this choice. No microphones? No music?

I think this is way off base. For that amount of money, you can get a pro PA system, a couple of decent wired mics, a player, and probably even some reasonable amount of music. You can avoid the portable rack case for home use, and buy a simple studio rack for $100 or less.

Good Point

_________________
Karaoke Kyle
Good Time Karaoke
1-800-200-9935
Watch the Karaoke King Show Live Thursdays 9pm
http://www.karaokeinbakersfield.com
[/url]

I suggest something like my little rig, which works great for a home with a good-sized living or rec room:

   * Behringer PMH880S powered mixer  $250
   * Peavey PR12 speakers $170 each, $340 pair (18 pounds each)
   * Shure SM-58 main mic ($100)
   * Behringer XM8500 secondary mic ($20)
   * Live wire mic cables ($60 for two, lifetime guarantee)
   * 14 gauge speaker cables (Speakon to 1/4 -- total $60.00)
   * Wall mount speaker stands (I use them in my living room, $60/pr)

That gets a decent base PR great for home use, decent bass, lightweight, not too much speaker size in your living room. (Later you could add  a PR sub and run mono with the two PR12s in parallel, and the PR sub off a BBE enhancer/crossover). PMH880S doesn't need a rack to start. The total of the above is less than $900.

You still need a player. You can take a PC or laptop and add the $180 Compuhost or MTU Hoster to it for a great player. Or you can spend $350 on a decent player (if such exists). Personally I think it doesn't make sense to invest lots of money in old technology like CDGs, but that is your call. I think you would be better off buying a $500 laptop and a $180 computer program and getting something generally useful.

If you buy the laptop and program, that is $700 to bring you up to $1600. That leaves you $400 for music:

    * Supercore karaoke starter set ($129 regular, or $69 on sale a year later)
    * Selected $5.00 PH, SIN, DK karaoke disks on sale (over time), at karaoke.com or the like.
    * Online purchases of single songs or custom disks, to get you material to do yourself.
    * If you want sheer volume of titles, look for SGB on sale for $80 or so for 66 disks. Not great music, but reasonable for home use on a budget. If you are a purist or are disgusted by finding bad lyrics or bad versions, don't use.

Later on, you may want additional items like a compressor or a better effects unit. At that time, you could rack mount everything.

P.S. For a CDG player, I think you could do worse than the Gigman plus. It has the player, and also works as a portable unit to carry around or use for practice on vacation. Only $229, with radio tuner. Makes a great boom box at 100W.