Night after night, the stage at your local dive bar beckons. You rock the resident drunks with some Journey, you move them with Whitney, you get the party started with Flock of Seagulls. But you want to bring that experience home, so your neighbors can listen to your magnificent vocals while they wonder to themselves, is that nice new resident in the apartment above me strangling a cat? Yes, a karaoke machine sounds like a great idea. but are you buying just for you to practice on your weeknights, or maybe you want to throw a party and have enough mics for everybody? It all depends on the experience you are going for.
For Home Use
If you are looking for something in your own house, you don't need a crazy, expensive system. Something smaller and more personal will have just the right acoustics.
* There are smaller sets that plug in straight to your TV or stereo and use those as it's speaker output. Magic Sing has a microphone set that comes with two mics, a remote and a main station that plugs in to your own electronics.
* There are smaller full systems for iPod users. iLive has one that has your iPod clip into the entire system. It's small and easily portable.
* Some karaoke machines are slim and compact, like a DVD player. They can easily be placed on a shelf as part of your entire entertainment system.
For Larger Venues
If you are looking for a karaoke system for a venue, like a bar or dance hall, you are going to need something that's going to be loud and clear enough for larger places.
* Larger systems can have separate speakers set up on tripods that you can move to get better sound coverage.
* Most systems come with one or two microphones; consider buying extras for more people. Group karaoke can be a great experience!
* Some karaoke machines can have more than one use. There are often 31 systems that can also be used as P.A.s and guitar amps.
Kids' Options
Kids love singing to their favorite tunes, so why not encourage their talents? There are plenty of kid friendly systems. Consider the Fisher-Price karaoke machine for your the smaller kids. Disney also has a great system so kids can sing their classic songs. Because these systems are so much cheaper than full home systems, you won't worry about your kids being around the equipment.
