Equipment Advice please - good home setup
 

I am gathering info to purchase my first karaoke system. It will be strictly for my personal home entertaining. I have no desire to go into the business but I want a good system that will handle the room I will set up in.

I have a 40 x 40 shop with 16 ceiling height, and it is completely insulated. It is a big open room. We cook and carry on with friends and neighbors regularly and want to add Karaoke to the list of events.

I am convinced that I need the Hoster and Karaoke Suite 4 so that I can create a library on hard drive. My questions are what other equipment is required.

Speakers - would 100 watt capacity speakers be sufficient for a room this size? What would be the minimum woofer size you would recommend in a speaker?

Mixing amplifier - would 100 watts output per channel be enough for that room?

If I get the MTU cdg burner, can I then just read existing cd's into the computer and use the MTU software to add lyrics to it, thereby creating my own karaoke disks?

What would a reasonable price be for a good, but not top of the line (but not rinky-dink either), equipment set up be? Would $750.00 buy a reasonable setup?

Any help or advice (and even product suggestions) would be appreciated. This is all very confusing for a newcomer to this area.

I recommend two speaker cabinets that have a 15" woofer and a horn. A 12" woofer and a horn configuration will do a good job. The more power the louder the system will be. If you use speakers rated at 100 watts make sure the amp output is no higher than 100 watts. I ran a pro DJ system for small clubs and parties with speakers rated at 300 watts and an amp rated at 150 watts, always loud enough and never blew a speaker. MAKE SURE THE SPEAKER RATING IS HIGHER THAN THE AMP RATING.

There are lots of good power amps available with a mixer built-in to the unit. Get one that comes with a limiter.

You will also need microphones, I recommend Sure SM58's.

Most music stores these days will have what you need. Shop a few, find the gear that you want to buy then compare their price with the online catalog companies like Musicians Friend. Be sure to include the shipping cost. Buy professional gear.

I hope this helps! :)

Jim

More power does not necessarily mean the system will be louder. Power (watts) increase will make the sound clearer & fuller but not always louder. In order for one amplifier to reproduce sound twice as loud as another in Decibels you need 10 times more wattage output. An amplifier rated at 100 WPC is capable of twice the volume level of a 10 WPC amp, an amplifier rated at 100 watts per channel needs to be 1,000 watts per channel to be twice as loud. In other words, the relationship between volume and wattage output is logarithmic rather than linear.
Also, as far as speaker rating goes, you want the amp to match the speakers 'program' rating. So if a speaker is rated at 100 watts continous, 200 watts program, 400 watts peak, you want the amp to push at least the speakers program rating of 200 watts. A speaker rated at 300/600/1200, your amp should push at least 600 watts. Running a low power amp with a high capacity speaker can blow it faster than having an amp rated more than a speaker can handle. A 10 watt amp can actually blow a 100 watt speaker - distortion is what causes speaker failure. This is a very common misconception. People buy an amp that may not be powerful enough, what ends up happening is they start turning the amp up to compensate for room noise & the amp hits it's rated power, but this may not be enough & they start turning it up even more. You may not even actually hear the distortion, but the speakers will first. If it goes on too long, the speakers voice coil starts to overheat & eventually freezes = blown speaker. With a more powerful amp, the volume level won't need to go up as high & will actually sound clearer or more full than an amp that isn't as adequate, however it won't necessarily sound louder.

For this sized room $750 would be more than adequte. I've been hearing very decent reviews on the Phonics PA packs from other users on other forums. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...tem?sku=636503 They do recommend getting better mics & even speaker cords, but other than that...

I use JBL EON15 powered speakers, fairly light, no need for amp, and sound awesome in every place, including outdoors, I've played, and Behringer 1404FX for nice compact mixer, with plenty of nice effects.

Thanks to each of you for your thoughts. I appreciate it.

Sorry about the link admin, I forgot!!!! :r

Both the speakers and the amp (the system as a whole) have to be rated higher in order to get more volume.

Lonman is correct, a mismatched system (too high or too low) will cause the speakers to blow. If you take a very small amp and run it full volume into some high rated speakers the distortion he spoke of causes the coil to overheat and burn out or the coil shorts out against the magnet. If you run a big amp full volume through some low rated the speakers, the speakers will over extend and a lead will break or the cone will tear blowing the speaker.

There is alot to "powered sound" which makes it hard to explain everything in a brief post.

Thanks for the backup guys!

Jim

Thanks again
 

I appreciate the input. I have no musical background and no knowledge of this equipment, so it is pretty confusing at this point. However, I am learning and will make a decision shortly.

I am leaning toward the Phonics PA system. Appears to have plenty of power and volume. Some reviews I have read seem to say it is weak on bass, but those comments come mostly from musicians who may be used to a lot beefier system for trying to play a bass through it.

Do you guys think that the Phonics PA system would have sufficient bass for a home karaoke setup? Again , I'm not a professional, and I wonder how many people will really be able to notice that the bass is not booming.

For $400.00, the price seems unbeatable. Anyone have experience with that system?

Thanks again.

I've had no experience with Phonics gear.

Two different friends of mine who entertained around here used a compact Fender system that did a good job. I've always had good service from Fender gear.

I Hope This Helps! :)

Jim

For home use, I doubt you are going to find anything better for the price. And if you feel the bass is lacking, you can always add a powered subwoofer later on. The reviews i've been seeing on 740D/SEM15 package have been surprisingly favorable. I have talked with owners of this package as well & they are very pleased. Again, they did buy better mics & speakers cords but other than that.

Home System equipment
 

Thanks- I think I will do the Phonics system and be done with the decisions. I appreciate the help.