Karaoke Forums

Hi guys,

Could someone please help me with understanding what makes a good karaoke speakers and mixer?

Ok so i start with the speakers:

Is there such thing as "everyday PA or DJ speakers " and "karaoke/vocal designed speakers"? I know any PA speakers can be used for vocal ,specifically for karaoke application. But would one be better than the other in term of karaoke use?

Now with the mixer:

apparently you will need effect processor for karaoke vocal thats no doubt ,there are heaps of choices of mixers out there varying from Mackie, Yamaha mgx , behringer...ect... they are all decent for karaoke application and most have the option of built-in effects.

Are all the standard effects the same for majority of them? for example : will "large hall/reverb" on all mixers be as good as each other? is there such thing as standard setting for reverb/delay? or you just have to adjust them according to your ears or singer's preference?

I have 2 pairs of different speakers , RCF art 15s and Alto truesonic 15s , both active. A Yamaha mg10xu . What setting should I have to achieve their optimum quality.

Thank you for checking out this post and I appreciate all comments.

Kevin

Pro Audio is very much a spectrum, and you pretty much get what you pay for. If you want the "optimum" system, well then go out and find one of the most expensive multi-million dollar rigs.

However, there are stats and tricks of the trade that will help you get the most of of any system.

Really, there are all purpose speakers and ones that are sort of tuned to special circumstances or room types. I would suggest you read up on and learn what all of the statistics of a speaker mean. If you have a wide audience listening area, well, you'll want a speaker with a wide dispersion pattern. If you in a small room with good acoustics, you'll get more quality out of a speaker with a narrow dispersion pattern. If you are in a small room with a small audience, you might get great quality out of a speaker with a low SPL rating. If you are in a large room or outdoors with a large audience, you need a higher SPL rating and likely more wattage to get the same quality output to all listeners.

There are several other stats and they all mean different things, and all speakers are rated on how well they handle those things.

Similar with mixers. There are stats for floor noise, separate stats for how good the mic preamps are, etc. You have to know how to read them to know how good the mixer is.

Also, don't EVER buy "karaoke" branded equipment. Pro audio is pro audio. Why would a singer in a band and a karaoke singer not use the same equipment. Retailers brand under spec'd equipment as "karaoke" and sell it at a premium over higher quality pro audio equipment that costs less money because the average consumer doesn't know any better. Any "tuning" to make a speaker more vocal friendly is just a boosting of midrange that can be done with any mixer.

Anyway, from there, there are several factors that go into optimizing the mixer output, but none is more important than BALANCING the whole chain, sometimes also known as GAIN STRUCTURE. Read up on that EXTENSIVELY to get the best out of your mixer and speakers. The basic idea is to optimize the gain usage at each gain stage to the highest possible point before feedback. This not only ensures the highest possible output quality, but protects all components from clipping damage.

From there, it's not as simple as having a single set of settings. The settings will be different for every space, as acoustics of the performance area define the base settings. Even once you have those base settings for the room, settings will be dynamic from there based on the recording techniques of each individual track and the voice dynamics of each individual singer. You really have to put in the work to understand what each knob and selectible variable on the mixer does exactly to be able to know how to dial them in. When I hear a single with a deep voice, I know to dial back the low EQ for their mic channel. Most females need this same setting dialed up. There are dozens of variables like this, where if you don't know what you are hearing, and what is causing what you are hearing, and what setting on the mixer will compensate for what you are hearing, then you can't fix it. You have to put in the work to understand and troubleshoot on the fly.

All that said, it will take you weeks to read and understand the above, but it is well worth it. The equipment you list that you have IS quality equipment, and you will get excellent quality output out of it if you learn the basics of how they are functioning and why and how to manipulate the variables you hear to optimize the sound quality in any given room. All the info is out there, but you have to go learn it for yourself! It's a bit too complicated for a simple forum board post.

Good luck!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

Wow, thank you very much for your detailed comments , I really appreciate it. I do have basic knowledge of Pro audio and majority of them are self learned . Above explanation has somehow given me a light bulb moment and clarified a lot of questioning things that I always wonder why.

By the way, would you please also share some techniques with reducing feedbacks . Even with correct gain structure setting , mic positioning ,EQ adjust , I still seem to struggle with feedbacks which is very common in karaoke/live vocal application.

Regards
kevin

For feedback - #1, you have to understand what it is. When a mic hears the output from a speaker and amplifies it, that's feedback. So how do you avoid feedback at a high level? You make sure the mic never pics up the sound from the speakers.

Mics have a cardiod pickup pattern for this very reason. If the bottom of the mic is facing the monitor speaker, it won't pick up that sound. So mic technique helps if the offender is your monitor speaker.

If the mic is picking up your main speakers, then you have a speaker placement problem. The main speakers should always be places ahead of the singer, with a monitor speaker so the singer can hear themselves.

Sometimes, if a singer just refuses to sing at a high enough level, or holds the mic too far away from their mouth, you really can't avoid it. However, whenever you hear feedback for any reason, the quick fix to reduce it immediately is to reduce the monitor or master gain. Reducing the monitor or master gain (or master volume if your mixer doesn't have monitor or master gain) immediately takes the gain below the threshold where that mic is hearing that output. If that means the singer and music can't be heard, well, that's probably the singers fault. Singers don't know what feedback is, and seem to think it's the KJ doing something wrong. I will literally run right up in the middle of the song and explain to them the feedback is because they aren't singing loud enough or are holding the mic too far away, and hopefully they correct the action.

If you are getting feedback for any reason other than this, or on normal singers, it's a matter of your gain structure being off. With no music or even moderate volume music and proper gain structure, you can literally take a mic and hold it right by the speaker without feedback.

So think about gain structure, speaker placement, and if your singers are singing loud enough or actually singing into the mic. Don't cater to those that do it wrong and try to boost to compensate for them, teach them how to do it right.

Hope that helps!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

When I was hosting, if a person was holding the mic too far away, or pointing it at the ground during instrumental breaks *even I used to be guilty of this before I knew better* usually all that was required was a gentle correction. I would tell the person to hold the mic closer to their mouth or if I knew they would be ok with it, I would just move their mic to the correct distance, or to try and sing louder etc.

-james

any mixer will do as long as there is some FX like reverb or delay... nothing like going to karaoke and singing "Dry" look at the starter behringer mini mixers or even a nice cheap powered all in one mixer and a couple shure quality mics. for speakers, make sure the woofers are 15" and not lower.

12s work just fine and may be preferred in many situations.

what you have now is good, in many cases depending on the income from the venue I will upgrade.

Example if you're doing a show at the same venue 3 nights per week, it may be in your best interest to invest in a system that caters to the venue size.

Maybe adding on a Subwoofer to your existing setup may be essential.

I've been using SoundCraft as my primary choice for mixers, but find what best suits your needs and look for what compliments the size of your venue.

In some venues I used a "Fender PassPort" all in one setup because of it's portability.