Laptop Karaoke or Professional System Karaoke?
Laptop Karaoke or Professional System Karaoke?
Hi, I am new in karaoke and have a question. My bosses want to open a Karaoke bar with very good sound. They looked into professional karaoke systems like Karaoke Evolution and AST-88, but these systems have very poor software and it seems that there is no way to integrate any other software with them. So, the question is whether it is possible to set up digital karaoke system with really quality sound which will be competitive to these systems sound and what would be approximate cost of all the solution? Is it possible to achieve good professional sound with any of available laptop soundcards? Thank you in advance.
If you want professional sound out of a laptop then you want to get a usb card for your computer.
I use one and it made a lot of difference between it and the audio out built into the laptop.
You'll like a laptop over the ones you mentioned because you can dj as well as run karaoke off of the laptop. Before you mentioned the two units I had never heard of them and I am leary of loaded units now that manufacturers of karaoke content are now suing those that don't have discs to back up what they sold you. What happens if your system crashes will they include the songs when they replace your unit. Can you add songs to the unit that they don't possess or are you stuck with what they have available.
with a laptop you aren't limited to just one manufacturer's songs.
I use one and it made a lot of difference between it and the audio out built into the laptop.
You'll like a laptop over the ones you mentioned because you can dj as well as run karaoke off of the laptop. Before you mentioned the two units I had never heard of them and I am leary of loaded units now that manufacturers of karaoke content are now suing those that don't have discs to back up what they sold you. What happens if your system crashes will they include the songs when they replace your unit. Can you add songs to the unit that they don't possess or are you stuck with what they have available.
with a laptop you aren't limited to just one manufacturer's songs.
Good quality sound doesn't come from any single piece of equipment.
It's all of them added together.
Meaning if you don't have a good sound card and good speakers and good mixers and good microphones you won't have good sound.
Professional sounding karaoke PA sound systems are not cheap.
I bought the most expensive sound & video cards Dell had at the time I ordered my karaoke computers. Why wouldn't you?
Today, and it's been this way for years...everyone wants to see how cheap they can be KJs. It doesn't work that way. Cheap sounds cheap. The weakest link in the chain will still make the other good equipment sound bad.
Bad sounding laptops sound bad because someone bought the cheapest laptop they could buy. Then they buy the cheapest PA system and micrphones. Then they wonder why it sounds like cheap crap. BECAUSE IT IS. That's the simple answer.
It's all of them added together.
Meaning if you don't have a good sound card and good speakers and good mixers and good microphones you won't have good sound.
Professional sounding karaoke PA sound systems are not cheap.
I bought the most expensive sound & video cards Dell had at the time I ordered my karaoke computers. Why wouldn't you?
Today, and it's been this way for years...everyone wants to see how cheap they can be KJs. It doesn't work that way. Cheap sounds cheap. The weakest link in the chain will still make the other good equipment sound bad.
Bad sounding laptops sound bad because someone bought the cheapest laptop they could buy. Then they buy the cheapest PA system and micrphones. Then they wonder why it sounds like cheap crap. BECAUSE IT IS. That's the simple answer.
Hi Katya,
welcome to the asylum.
I'm going to be a bit of a Devil's Advocate here and go for the middle ground, hopefully making some sense along the way.
One thing you didn't mention was the size of the venue and whether or not the Bar was to be "themed".
I ask about "themes" as this can often dictate how the walls and furnishing will look and because of reflection/absorption of sound, also affect how your set up sounds.
Obviously, if your main Karaoke area is large, then your power output requirements go up as well.
This leads to another question.
One main amplifier with associated speakers, or multiple set ups.
Trust me, by the way, I'm not trying to confuse you but as you are setting up a static show, then you have the opportunity to get a first time win situation by accurately knowing what is going on in your venue.
O.K. first up, I'm NOT a "buy the best to get the best", I'm a realist.
You're in a Bar, so what's the likely state and musical appreciation level of your "average" customer.
In my humble opinion, they will be getting drunk, already drunk, or totally legless and with the musical knowledge and appreciation of a plank of wood.
So what do you need to get quality sound.
1) Laptop? NO!
Laptops are fragile with keyboards that absolutely do NOT like pints of beer being poured over them. They are also obsolete the day you buy them and if it goes belly up you are unlikely to get spares for it.
As you will be in a static venue, then get a proper PC with a decent soundcard and use a radio keyboard and mouse to keep the unit away from the drunks, (sorry, customers).
You can also get a video sender unit to get the video out from the PC to your monitor screen.
If the KJ is going to be in a booth, separated from the main area then there's no problem.
2) Super duper sound card! NO!
Completely unessessary as you will almost certainly be using MP3+G at 128kB sampling and the quality of a standard sound card will easily outperform any loudspeakers you will be able to afford. However, if you feel you must, then it's a simple matter to replace a card in a full sized PC than use external bits and pieces for a laptop.
Also, do remember 99.99% of the customers in your venue will be tone deaf, drunk or both. As long as they can hear themselves sing, they will be happy.
It makes it all the more enjoyable when you DO get the good singers up.
3) Mixer or mixer/Amp?
If your venue is going to be fairly large, then using only a couple of speakers will cause massive problems.
You can wind the Amp up to get the sound out but what you will immediately have is deafened customers near the speakers in order that the punters at the back can hear at a decent level.
For a large venue, I would go for multiple self powered speakers and use a standard mixer.
This where the "themes" aspect comes in as you will need your mixer to compensate for the wall hangings/furnishing of your room.
This way, you could have 4, 6, 8 or even more speakers, spaced around your Bar that will let everyone hear at a decent level, while also letting them have a chance of conversing with each other, without screaming into their earholes.
4) Microphones.
Here I WILL agree with the posters above. Buy good quality UHF radio microphones and if the budget runs to it, get at least 4.
5) Speakers.
Here, the World is your mollusc. To get massive Bass, you DO need to move a lot of air, so big is best but it is surprising how good modern speakers are, so unless you have loads of space, there's no need to go for huge Bass bins.
Have another more detailed look at what your bosses actually want for this Karaoke Bar and make some decisions from that information.
Have fun.
Sandy
welcome to the asylum.
I'm going to be a bit of a Devil's Advocate here and go for the middle ground, hopefully making some sense along the way.
One thing you didn't mention was the size of the venue and whether or not the Bar was to be "themed".
I ask about "themes" as this can often dictate how the walls and furnishing will look and because of reflection/absorption of sound, also affect how your set up sounds.
Obviously, if your main Karaoke area is large, then your power output requirements go up as well.
This leads to another question.
One main amplifier with associated speakers, or multiple set ups.
Trust me, by the way, I'm not trying to confuse you but as you are setting up a static show, then you have the opportunity to get a first time win situation by accurately knowing what is going on in your venue.
O.K. first up, I'm NOT a "buy the best to get the best", I'm a realist.
You're in a Bar, so what's the likely state and musical appreciation level of your "average" customer.
In my humble opinion, they will be getting drunk, already drunk, or totally legless and with the musical knowledge and appreciation of a plank of wood.
So what do you need to get quality sound.
1) Laptop? NO!
Laptops are fragile with keyboards that absolutely do NOT like pints of beer being poured over them. They are also obsolete the day you buy them and if it goes belly up you are unlikely to get spares for it.
As you will be in a static venue, then get a proper PC with a decent soundcard and use a radio keyboard and mouse to keep the unit away from the drunks, (sorry, customers).
You can also get a video sender unit to get the video out from the PC to your monitor screen.
If the KJ is going to be in a booth, separated from the main area then there's no problem.
2) Super duper sound card! NO!
Completely unessessary as you will almost certainly be using MP3+G at 128kB sampling and the quality of a standard sound card will easily outperform any loudspeakers you will be able to afford. However, if you feel you must, then it's a simple matter to replace a card in a full sized PC than use external bits and pieces for a laptop.
Also, do remember 99.99% of the customers in your venue will be tone deaf, drunk or both. As long as they can hear themselves sing, they will be happy.
It makes it all the more enjoyable when you DO get the good singers up.
3) Mixer or mixer/Amp?
If your venue is going to be fairly large, then using only a couple of speakers will cause massive problems.
You can wind the Amp up to get the sound out but what you will immediately have is deafened customers near the speakers in order that the punters at the back can hear at a decent level.
For a large venue, I would go for multiple self powered speakers and use a standard mixer.
This where the "themes" aspect comes in as you will need your mixer to compensate for the wall hangings/furnishing of your room.
This way, you could have 4, 6, 8 or even more speakers, spaced around your Bar that will let everyone hear at a decent level, while also letting them have a chance of conversing with each other, without screaming into their earholes.
4) Microphones.
Here I WILL agree with the posters above. Buy good quality UHF radio microphones and if the budget runs to it, get at least 4.
5) Speakers.
Here, the World is your mollusc. To get massive Bass, you DO need to move a lot of air, so big is best but it is surprising how good modern speakers are, so unless you have loads of space, there's no need to go for huge Bass bins.
Have another more detailed look at what your bosses actually want for this Karaoke Bar and make some decisions from that information.
Have fun.
Sandy
Your original question...laptop or professional karaoke system is not really a question.
Most of the working KJs today are using laptops.
Beware of anything that has the word "karaoke" in from of it equipment wise...there is no such thing. It's a big ad campaign to suck you into believing it will somehow be better or is specifically made just for karaoke.
You want a quality PA sound system that could be used by a band. The laptop runs through it. How good everything sounds is the quality of all the pieces running together.
I have a really good sounding PA system. I do attract people that are more serious and more talented than the average screaming drunks. I personally am not trying to attract drunks or bad singers. That was not and is not my goal. My goal is to promote quality karaoke as a serious form of entertainment.
JMO you will attract what you use. Crap equipment will attract crap singers, usually. Karaoke is not a "I want to do it as cheap as possible business." Those KJs quickly go out of business. Remember you will be starting a business and your equipment/sound will become part of your reputation. Your reputation is how you will get your jobs.
Let that be your influence on how good or bad your total equipment investment will be. Where do you want to be? Like everyone else or beyond?
Most of the working KJs today are using laptops.
Beware of anything that has the word "karaoke" in from of it equipment wise...there is no such thing. It's a big ad campaign to suck you into believing it will somehow be better or is specifically made just for karaoke.
You want a quality PA sound system that could be used by a band. The laptop runs through it. How good everything sounds is the quality of all the pieces running together.
I have a really good sounding PA system. I do attract people that are more serious and more talented than the average screaming drunks. I personally am not trying to attract drunks or bad singers. That was not and is not my goal. My goal is to promote quality karaoke as a serious form of entertainment.
JMO you will attract what you use. Crap equipment will attract crap singers, usually. Karaoke is not a "I want to do it as cheap as possible business." Those KJs quickly go out of business. Remember you will be starting a business and your equipment/sound will become part of your reputation. Your reputation is how you will get your jobs.
Let that be your influence on how good or bad your total equipment investment will be. Where do you want to be? Like everyone else or beyond?
