Karaoke Forums

hi everyone, wondering if you can help with my dilemna?????

i was wondering if a karaoke mixer with amplifier built in for speaker connections sounds better than a mixer without an amplifier?

to helf clarify what i am talking about take two examples:

OPTION 1: i have an audio 2000 akj7150 digital echo karaoke mixer non-amped hooked up to my home theater receiver outputted to my speakers. karaoke sounds good but i think it could be better.

OPTION 2: i was wondering if i should purchase the same mixer version... audio 2000 akj7050... but with a built in amplifier and hook my speakers up directly to the akj7050 to sing.

WILL I BE ABLE TO TELL A DIFFERENCE, OR MORE IMPORTANTLY WILL THERE BE A HUGE IMPROVEMENT GOING WITH OPTION 2?????

please anyone out there end my misery and let me sing in peace!!!!!

There may be a differance, and there may not, but it has nothing to do with the amp being integrated with the mixer.

If you are running a home setup through home theater components, which it sounds like you are, there would likely be virtually no difference. The real defining factors in your overall sound in that kinda setup would be the power handling of your speakers and the power output of your amp/mixing amp. I have found that most home theater components these days have a pretty standard 100-125 watt/channel output, so just changing amps is not going to do much for you, especially out of the same speakers.

Now if you spent a little bank and upgraded to PA equipment (commercial-grade audio equipment), which is a whole differant animal than the consumer-grade stuff you are running now, then you would see a world of difference, but you would have to replace pretty much everything.

If you are semi-happy with the sound you get out of your consumer-grade equipment, then I wouldn't waste your $$$ on that mixing-amp you mentioned. If you have the $$ and want to upgrade your sound, go get better speakers, not the mixing-amp unit.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

TopherM, i am using a sony 777es 125 watts per channel receiver outputted to my klipsch legend 20's. i love my klipsch, they can take anything i throw at them and they sound crisp. currently i sing without my subwoofer because there is plenty of bass through the klipsch.

i spent $300 on my akj mixer...$250 on my pro2 vhf wireless mics, and about $900 each for my klipsch a while ago.

i know there are a lot of mixing boards out there that are about the $200 range that will sound a lot better than the akj mixer but i'm not sure how i would integrate the mixing board into my current home theater setup.

any recommendations on mixing boards that can be outputted to my klipsch speaker via red/black wires would be most helpful. thanks for the reply.

If you already have a mixer, it would be wasteful to purchase the mixer amp.  If possible, consider getting separate speakers for karaoke.    Peavey makes decent budget PA speakers.  I first tried to run karaoke through my home theater towers and was not impressed.  I moved  to a stand alone system and was pleased by the improvement.  However at first I was simply running my JVC player to my receiver without a mixer.  When I went standalone I added the mixer/amp and speakers.

Cheers

marley rules, what stand alone setup did you end up going to? i have been to a couple of karaoke places and they use the same speakers i have and sound is really nice. but i am sure they use individual separates for mixing, echo, delay...

i was thinking of just getting a mixer/amp and getting extra speaker cables so when i want to sing i just switch speaker cables that run from my home theater to my klipsch to unplugging those and plugging in the cables that run from my mixer/amp to my klipsch. hassle but i don't mind if i get better sound out of a mixer/amp.

either that or i am just not adjusting my echo, delay, music settings correctly on my mixer. what settings do you have on your echo, delay on your existing setup or is there a preset that i should usually start at and slowly adjust from there?

thanks for the replies.

I first went with the AKJ7050 mixer amp.  I have since upgraded to a Mackie mixer and powered Mackie speakers.  I really like the AKJ unit for home use.  The Mackie mixer affords you more sound control and provides superior effects.  If you are running separate karaoke speakers and your amp does not allow for more than one set of speakers, you can purchase a speaker switch or selector.  That's much easier than connecting and reconnecting speakers.

Cheers

If you tried to run your home theater speakers through a PA mixing amp you would blow them very very quickly. Those home karaoke mixing amps that are geared towards home theater speakers are ALL pretty crappy quality, and would probably sound worse than your Sony home theater reciever.  I have a set of home theater Klipsch speakers and they do sound great for music and my home theater setup.

If you purchased PA speakers to use with a PA mixing amp (or just get powered speakers to add to your current mixer, if it is a PA mixer...it sounds like it may be a home theater component-type mixer), then you would notice an improvement in the way your vocals sound in the overall mix. The music would take on more of the "live concert" sound through a PA, while through your current system you get more of the "produced" or "CD" kinda vibe from the music. In the end, it is all personal preference as to what you are looking for, and I don't think that anyone on here can say that for home use that one option is particularly "better" than the other.  However, PA components is the professional standard if that is what you are looking to acheive.

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C Mc
KJ, FL