Karaoke Forums

Hi all. I am new to these boards and seeking some advice.

I'm not interested in becoming a KJ, but I want to get a top quality system for home use. I have tons of friends & family who sing and are avid Karaoke fans and I'd like to put together a system that is far superior to the Karaoke in a box available at Best Buy.

I'm comforable spending up to $2000.00, but only if the extra cash I spend over the $300 - $700 systems truly upgrades the experience for me and my guests.

Here's what I'm looking for:

1. I want to be able to store & play a wide variety of songs including a lot of people's personal favorites. What type of system gives access to the widest variety of tunes?

2. I want a system that combines ease of use with great quality sound. So far I've found that the "dummy proof" systems sound cheap and the systems that sound great seem to require a full time operator to run them. Is there a system that offers good balance here?

3. I have no experience dealing with Mixers. Can anyone offer a quick primer and clue me in as to whether or not one is necessary or advisable for a home system?

4. I own a web design company and will have a serious pipe into our home office and top of the line computer hardware available. Are computer based systems better than the other options? Are there hybrid systems that can take advantage of connectivity (like the ability to download songs from the web on the fly?).

5. What specific components do you guys recommend? I know I need a player, quality microphones, excellent speakers and a big music library. Tips on each of these? Anything else I didn't mention that I need?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Take a look through the formum there are many recent topics about home systems. Music is not cheap you will find many people will reccomend different manufactures. Look though the site sponsers and get a feel for what you plan to spen on music.

How many songs do you want in your Library? What quality of music do you want? Pro KJ, Middle of the Road or Most songs for the $$

You will need to set a budget for music and equipment in order for accurate suggestions.

Computers are more work to set up but more convienet in the end, and most people do have a home pc, you will need to add a Video card with TV out, and a Plextor cd drive to read Karaoke CD+g's.

Do you want wired or wireless microphones?

In order to have quality sound you will need to buy a Pro System. Shop pro sound companies or music stores vs comsumer electonics stores.

Thanks for the response. I guess my budget initially is $2000 give or take.

I've been reading up on MP3+G and pc solutions such as the stuff from MTU and the Hoster software. I'm trying to decide if setting up a dedicated PC in my living room for Karaoke is the best way to go. It sounds like getting MP3+G music is going to be cheaper, easier and provide a much better selection that buying disks.

I'm not sure how many songs I want in the library. I'd love to be able to have a couple thousand well known songs readily available and the ability to pull down just about any request someone wants to sing from the web in near real time. Is the availability of MP3+G advanced enough to be able to do this?

Wireless mikes would be better unless there is a noticeable difference in quality, in which case wired mikes are fine. Are there wireless mikes that approach the quality of the better wired ones?

Assuming I go with a PC solution, what components do I need to put with it other than the video card / cd drive you mention?

woah... how can having a pc without any songs be "cheaper" than buying discs?

You still have to convert your discs to songs.

Unless you're talking about buying a hard drive based system preloaded. Most of those (unless it's a CAVS system from a reputible dealer) are illegal... and the CAVS situation won't be MTU Hoster, but a proprietary system.

You still have to pay for the karaoke songs! If you're getting a system with it preloaded, I'll bet you dollars to donuts it's totally illegal!

so much BS... so little time...

Come-on Matt, that's a silly question. Bying a Dell desktop (Approx $299) and downloading illegal cdg tracks is the way to go

I'm not interested in pirating anything. I take it from what I'm reading here that mp3+g tracks have to be created from purchased cd+g discs because there are currently no legal sources of mp3+g tracks?

If that's the case then I suspect I should go with a PC + Plextor drive and purchase my music from a legit source. Is there a legal alternative I'm missing that is a better solution?

savvydog, I was janking your chain, tongue in the cheek aimed at KnightShow . Not to be taken seriously.

#1. Both KnightShow and myself have computerised karaoke, using Hoster from MTU and ripping the original CGD's to HDD.
#2. See http://www.karaoke-forum.com/viewtopic.php?t=5121 for some information regarding the legitimate downloading of MP3&G's