How To Put Together A Killer Karaoke Setup At Home!
Karaoke is a whole lot of fun wherever you are, but if you prefer to create your own setup in the comfort of your own home it can quickly become somewhat of a minefield! Do you need new speakers? Are wireless microphones better? Is your room big enough? The complexities of Karaoke can at first seem quite overwhelming!
If you’re keen to put together your own home karaoke setup for family get-togethers, parties, or for those times when you just want to sing along to your favourites, we’ve put together the following guide to help you understand the best way to go.
Find the right space
A killer home karaoke setup is only as good as the room you keep it in, otherwise, you might find yourself limited in several different ways. Firstly, you’re going to need to think about acoustics, which is how sound reacts to the space around it. We recommend hosting your karaoke setup in a nice, open room to allow the sound to dissipate properly. Of course, you don’t want to go too big otherwise you’ll end up with echoing and other distortions.
If you want to host karaoke parties with friends and family, the size of your room also relates to their comfort. As well as accommodating all of your gear, the room needs to have enough space for both performance and audience areas.
Choose your karaoke machine
There are many different karaoke machines designed for different room sizes and levels of expertise. As the heart of your home karaoke party, your karaoke machine’s job is to maintain the database of music tracks to sing to, as well as playing them and more. If you’re a first-timer, we recommend getting a system that is a little more ‘all-in-one’ as the more complicated ones will cost more, and will require additional equipment.
If you’re looking to build a serious system, you’ll need to think about the supporting tech such as microphones, speakers and video. However, by being able to pick every component yourself, you can build the overall outcome exactly as you want – which can lead to some very powerful and unique results.
Speakers & Sound equipment
Your sound equipment may be the thing that turns your home karaoke party from ‘cool’ to ‘epic. After all, nobody wants thin sounds coming from a television or laptop. The right setup can really improve the sound quality of your output and deal with the acoustics of the room a little better as well.
If you’re not choosing an all-in-one option and really want to get the most out of your system, we recommend that you pick up some high quality powered speakers! For an affordable option that really packs a punch, we recommend checking out the line of AVE Revo powered speakers. Get yourself a pack with accompanying stands, and you’ll really take your setup to the next level.
Karaoke Microphones
Your microphone is probably the most important choice when it comes to creating a fantastic karaoke system. Like most things, the price of your microphone is more likely to provide the kind of precision you want, but there are plenty of good mid-rangers and entry-level choices out there as well.
Another decision you’ll need to make when it comes to your microphone is whether or not you want to go for wired or wireless. Like most things, both come with their pros and cons, but if you do your research and get a decent product, the sound differences won’t be significant.
In terms of recommendations, classic wire vocal microphones by brands such as SHURE or Sennheiser provide great sound quality when used with professional karaoke systems. And, since they are wired you won’t need to worry about recharging. If you’re not looking to break the bank, DJ City also has a great affordable range of options from brands such as Max and AVE that are going to do the job!
If you like the idea of not being constrained by wires, there are plenty of fantastic wireless microphones for you to try. By having a bunch of wireless microphones, you’ll have more freedom to pass them around the room and whoever is singing can really let loose with their dance moves if they want to. Just like their wired counterparts, wireless microphones can produce high-quality distortion-free transmission and can often go as far as 40 meters – which is more than enough for most uses. And, with modern battery technology, you could probably enjoy up to ten hours of use between charging.
Video equipment
The best karaoke systems aren’t complete without a great video system to back it all up. Although you can use a monitor, television, or even a projector, you can even get karaoke machines that have everything you need from the mic, speakers, to a built-in screen. So you can read and sing along to the lyrics as clear as day.
Controls
Getting the perfect balance of sounds and videos is a skill in itself. Depending on your needs, you can pick a karaoke system with a mixer that allows you to fine-tune and adjust everything in the way you want, including the song queue and supporting video content. By having a good mixer, you’ll be able to find that delicate balance between voice volume and that of the background music. If either of these is too loud than the other, the overall sound will suffer as a result, no matter how good your speakers are. The same applies to bass and treble levels, which also need to be regulated.
A karaoke machine that already has all of these different mixer options preset or pre-built may be a good solution for more casual karaoke fans, but it might not be the best for those who want to get everything just right. If you’re a pro (or want to become one) we advise that you build your system yourself with a selection of parts that complement each other, both technically and aesthetically. Check out our full selection of digital mixers here!
Sing for success
So, there you have it. With the above considerations in mind, you’re much better placed to build a killer karaoke setup that’ll be the life of the party. If you’re a beginner, you don’t need to get stressed out about all of the different options out there – just talk to our team about what you’re looking for and we’ll steer you in the right direction.
Building your own system is very rewarding and fun, but do make sure that when you’re picking your parts, they will work together properly. You should also be careful about noise levels, so if you live in an apartment complex or have neighbours nearby, it’s probably not a good idea to get a system that’ll shake the walls with bass.
To start your journey towards the best karaoke system, take a look at our selection of karaoke products and start planning your first party.
