Karaoke Forums

I will just recommend gear that I have used or am familiar  with.

Mixers: Mackie CFx12 (has mid eq) or DFx12 or DFX6 (great for home use).  Some users like Behringer as a decent budget alternative (I am not a fan..bad experiences)

Speakers:  For easy set up go powered.  I like the Mackie SRM450s, but there are alternatives like the JBL Eon G2 , NX520, and the budget Peavey Pro Lite series

Player:  JVC, RSQ or Numark (no key changer on the Numark)  Using a computer with MP3 + Graphics files is gaining popularity, but I am still old school.

Optional:  BBE Sonic Maximizer will add "sizzle" and body to your overall sound

Microphones:  I use Sennheiser (my favorite) Shure SM58 and Audio Technica

Then there is all the other items which you must have that is not always remembered. You should invest in good  professional qualtiy cabling (not necessarily Monster Brand or the like)  a video converter/switcher, a rack to hold the equipment, a monitor and stand, speaker stands and most costly.........your music library.  Also a monitor speaker is recommended if you want to put on a professional show.  The Mackie SRM450 makes an excellent monitor, but it is a little expensive for most starting KJs to use solely as a monitor.  A Yamaha or other reputable brand should suffice, but you will need an amp to power it.

My advice is to buy the best quality you can afford and buy your gear in increments.  Don't get temped to buy a package deal that includes sub-standard components.  You will only find yourself upgrading prematurely.  But if your intent is not to go pro or have the best sound, then do not go overboard.  It can get really expensive.

Cheers.

I've used both the JBL Eons and Mackie's.  I personally like the Mackies by far.  They are expensive, but when you think about using them regularly for several years, a few hundred dollars more isn't really isn't too expensive, is it?  I rather be happy with my equipment, than thinking about what I could've gotten for the next few years.

All you guys are awesome!  That's for all the help and pointing me in the right direction.  I attended a club last night that had a KJ using two 15" JBL Eons.  The sound quality was really annoying.  Most people had to cover their ears it sounded so bad.  Which makes me lean towards the Mackies.  Personally I haven't listen to them yet.

$1400 for a pair of powered speakers really isn't that expensive considering they come with a great quality amp built in.  Most of the powered speakers above are pushing approx 400 watts per speaker (not the JBL EON series, the EON "G" Series do).

If you were going to buy separate components of the same quality, you'd still be spending upwards to that same amount.
$600-800 for a pair of "quality" speakers & another $400-600 on a "decent quality" amp of the same wattage, then you have to figure speaker cords - another $100-200 (depending on the length & guage, I use anywhere from 12-14 guage).  
Now the Mackies (JBL EON G Series, Yorkies) are also bi-amped - meaning there are 2 amps with a built in electronic crossover inside, set for maximum efficiency for the drivers & box design.  If you bought all of these in separate components, the total for the whole system would easily exceed the cost of 1 set of good powered speakers.

The guy you heard the EON's with probably just didn't know how to run sound, if properly run, i've heard the straight EON's sound ok, although I don't really care for them personally except for a stage monitor.  They may have been the straight EON's & not the "G" series which are higher powered, so he was tending to turn them up higher which probably drove them into clipping which is why ear fatigue occurred.  If you have a local music store, they should be able to demo them side by side.  Only your ears will be able to tell what you like.

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The diiferences between the first generation and second is minimal I have a set of both Jbl Eon and Jbl Eon G2's I replaced the diaphram in  a system I maintain and if I remember right I think they both use the same horn. Have actually paired them in some situations and with the G2 adjusted I couldnt tell any difference between the two however you can get more bass from the G2 with the bass control. The amps are basically the same and  but of  course the finals in the G2 are higher wattage. Two or three times in an emerency at small venues we actually used the Jbl10 Eon G2 as a main. It looked funny but the crowd didnt know any difference. Well one drunk asked if that was one of those Boze speakers.  I told him it aint a speaker its a transducer..He said ok.

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The "G" series is over double the wattage of the original, higher SPL (output) levels, deeper bass response (as you said) with the addition of a high & low eq - gives better overall tonal shaping, has a more sensitive input rating, adds 1/4" balanced connectors along with the XLR in/out, a limiting filter is added to the woofer, the high & low drivers are identical in both, although JBL should have incorporated a driver with at least a 3" voice coil insted of a 2".  
Don't understand the amps are basically the same comment.  There is a pretty big difference between a 100 watt amp & a 300 watt amp for the woofer (which is also partly why it has a deeper low end response) & a 50 watt amp vs a 100 watt amp for the tweeter.  [/i]

In a side by side with the same music program, there is a noticable difference between the original & "G" series - bottom line.

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[quote]on't understand the amps are basically the same comment.  There is a pretty big difference between a 100 watt amp & a 300 watt amp for the woofer (which is also partly why it has a deeper low end response) & a 50 watt amp vs a 100 watt amp for the tweeter.  [/i]

 I still wonder why I have to defend every tech post I make on this forum With 2 degrees  in engineering and 40 years experience in electronics and sound system installations Here is a link to to the g2  series schematic and i will proviide the link to the Jbl first generation hen I find it

http://www.jblproservice.com/pdf/EON-G2 ... matics.pdf

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Exactly!  That's the same place I found my info, (except it was for the 15" series) plus listening to them personally - that's where the main difference is.  I may not have 40 years in electronics, but I do have over 20 years in on hands sound engineering with both live shows (mains & monitors) & studio engineering & knows what sounds better - again this is just my ears, I could be wrong.

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Well, I would agree with you, the highs always been the problem with this product, not the mid or the bass.  The Mackies will be smooth on the highs but the mid, you better have a good EQ to lower it, it pushes it way to much!  I know I'm repeating myself, but EV will give you the best overall sound!

I haven't read all the replies to this thread, but I'll offer my 2 cents worth anyway.

I've owned powered speakers and ended up giving them away.....No, I didn't bother to sell them, I gave them away to another member of this forum, DrDeath I believe was his forum name.

Powered speaker are a really cool concept, but they have their disadvantages.
i
For one, they need 110VAC and it can cause some real bad ground loops when you have to plug each into different circuits.  Also, their amp input gains are located in the rear and that makes them a little hard to reach when you need to make a mid-show tweek or two.

And like most all pro level PA enclosures, few are best suited for DJ use. Very few high power stage cabs are voiced for DJ program material. Instead, they are designed to reproduce live band sounds.

A few makers have offered true DJ type enclosures where the speakers are designed (voiced) to reproduce pre-recorded music. And those that do actually sound better and cost less than even the best JBLs, EVs, and EAWs when playing DJ/KJ stuff.

Peavey, for one, entered this market with their DJS series and now are soon to produce their powered TRIFLEX system.  The TRIFLEX cabs have been around for years, but now they offer them as powered units.

The Peavey DJS enclosures are passive and require outboard amps. The speakers are voiced to play back pre-recorded music, not live band material....And they are much cheaper than the normal stuff that we "adapt" to Karaoke and DJ stuff.

The new Peavey TRIFLEX system is a powered system where the amp is located in the huge subwoofer cabinet along with the crossover and Kosmos bass/stereo effects unit. The amp is 1000 watt and it supplies both the sub and the two matched tops. The system comes complete with speaker stands and has built-in casters.  Peavey designed this system for mobile KJ's and DJ's. The speaker cabs are voiced for pre-recorded music playback and the whole package stacks for easy transport. Such a system is a really painless way to setup up night after night. You need to remember tho that the TRIFLEX isn't intended for really large venues, but will work perfectly in small to adverage size clubs/bars.

MSRP is $1999, but my experience with Peavey dealers tells me it can be had for perhaps $1499.

Go take a look at it here:

http://peavey.com/products/browse.cfm/a ... riflex.cfm

Whatever you do, don't mix powered cabs with passive cabs. You will never get them to sound right together.

too funny....somehow I can Just picture that....

I can understand that using seperate amps/speakers can be more flexible but for those of us that play fairly small venues or have limited space powered speakers make sense.  I started doing karaoke in a small venue with a Fender PD-250 which was already overpowering the venue and drawing complaints if I wasn't careful (a small hotel bar).

In the current venue I play most often tweaking mid show isn't a problem - even with the speakers up on a stand I can reach the controls to tweak them mid-show if I have to.  Most of the time I only have 2 speakers for the show (plus the monitor which I can control seperately) which makes things much easier since I can reach both of them in a matter of seconds and I've only had to tweak them once in a series of  10-15 shows.  When we upped to 4 speakers I could get the bartender to tweak the sound on the back speakers (they're his speakers and provided by the venue).  I set up for a crowded venue and adjust the board to compensate for when it's not as crowded.

No, I'm not a veteran sound engineer with decades of experience but I have VERY limited space to carry my setup (a Miata and a small 3 1/2 x 4 trailer) so powered speakers make sense to me at this time.  I'm about to buy my own set of speakers (steering towards the Yorkville NX750) and if the general concensus is that it's a bad idea I'll listen, but with only $1500-1600 to drop on speakers/amp it seems like the best route to go and end up with over 1000 watts.  If I opt to upgrade again later I can always use the Yorkville's as monitors (which is what I'm doing now with my Fender PD-250).  Remember, I'm slowly upgrading my equipment - I added a Peavey Twin DeltaFEX unit last year and have put a Mackie Onyx 1620 on order.  In the meantime I'm learning all I can from the people here and listening to what they have to to say.

Ok check this out.  I went to a local karaoke shop to try out and listen to some equipment.  I really liked this combo because of quality of sound and price.  What do you think?
RSQ MV 333
RSQ DA 4000 mixing amp
BMB CS 450 V speakers
Shure 58 mic

If it sounds good to you, then that is all that matters.  
Personally I wouldn't use anything BMB & the mixing amp.

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Why is that Lonman?  Do they suck?

I'm not going to go that far, however I feel they aren't of professional quality - the player & mic are.  For home use & the occasional party, they'd probably be just fine, I wouldn't want to try & make a living with it - but that's just 1 mans opinion.  
Again, if it sounds good to you that's all that matters.

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Right on.

Hi:

Chances are you can get better quality gear for less.  Check out your local Sam Ash or like music superstore.  Usually speakers, amps, and mixers which are made expressively for karaoke use tend to be relatively expensive for what you get and are usually not up to par with professional grade equipment.  I still recommend a Macke mixer (the DFX series is very reasonably priced).  I personally have had a good experience with my AKJ7050 mixing amp, but its mixing capabilities and quality of effects does not compare to my Macke CFX 12 mixer.  If I had to do it all over again, I would not have bought the mixer amp and just purchased the pro grade mixer  and either an outboard amp or powered cabs from the get go.  However, the mixer amps are great for home use.  They are easy to set up and controls are straightforward.  They are practically plug and play.

I second that, Stevie...
Check out Carvin.  I learned about them on this forum[b](thanks Lonman!!!!).  [/b]Their Powered speakers(similar to the Mackie and JBL with 15") are a little more than half the price($370 including shipping, I believe).  I've not heard anything bad about them, and a lot good about them also.  I was going to do their powered speaker, then decided to do a full PA package.  Anyhoo, they are shipping right now, so I haven't been able to actually hear them, but Carvin has a 10 day trial period.  There is quite a buzz about them on Carvin's forums also.  Just 2 cents!  WWW.Carvin.com

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I have the original JBL EONs and am very satisfied with them.  Personally, while the G2s have more inherent umpff for sure, I found them to be a bit more prone to line noise/buzz, much more so than with their predecessor.  (I bought mine from a company that upgraded 7 systems with the G2s).  With the original EONs, a sub (the G2 sub is nice) is a necessity, IMO.   I think between the G2s and Mackies, I'd probably lean toward the latter.

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