My wife and I are starting a Karaoke business that will only cater to house partys. We do not plan to play big venues or bars. We want to to keep it casual.
I'm looking at different types of speakers and they range from $89.00 (Circuit City) to the upper $1,000. Since we are playing our karaoke stuff in someone's living room and possibly their backyard(average size)I feel I do not need a powerful amp or large speakers.
Considering our direction..Do you think 10" speakers would be fine or 12" speakers for indoors?( I want to try not blow people out) I was also thinking about using a old 170 watts surround system for living room gigs and possibly investing in 12' for the backyard parties? Also, I'm concerned about clarity? Do you think a sub woofer adds to the experience?
I have been in the karaoke business for over 15 years and have performed in virtually every type of venue imaginable. I strongly recommend that you do not opt for an under-powered system. Too much power is always better than too little. While 10 or 12 inch speakers and a 170 watt amp might suffice in a moderately sized family room, they will not be adequate most outdoor applications.
The components that I would recommend for your situation would be:
Powered Mixer - Good brand name like Behringer, Mackie, or Peavey with no less than 500 watt output.
Two 2-Way PA Speakers - 15" woofer and at least 200 watt nominal power handling. Good brands are JBL, Mackie, and Peavey.
You might also want a couple of 12 inch PA speakers for the small indoor areas although the 15's work well in nearly all these situations.
Don't limit yourself as what you want to do now may not be what you might want to do later. I wouldn't go any smaler than 12" for any system personally, although I started out witha pair of 10" Radio Shack Speakers. They lasted a long time but in the end I needed more wattage as I had started out just doing small private parties that turned into bigger hals where I found my 10's just weren't cutting it. I now am running a pair of custom built 12" speakers.
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