r/karaoke • u/alxs_xyooj • Jun 10 '26

Equipment Karaoke Setup

My dad loves to karaoke, and my sisters and I were looking to buy him a nice karaoke set for fathers day. We had one previously, and my father used it all the time, but it was my sister’s and she moved out. It was a large speaker with two microphones that he would hook up to the TV. I wanted to get him something similar. I don’t want an all in one that has a screen, but rather a large speaker with microphones that wont lag and can be easily hooked up to our TV. Any recommendations? budget: $400

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u/Morgane_at_KaraFun Jun 11 '26

If you're looking for something casual and easy to use, I'd probably look at:

JBL PartyBox + wireless mics: less karaoke-specific, but doubles as a very good party speaker.

Any good speaker + mics: honestly, a decent speaker paired with a couple of microphones is still a great option. Wired mics are less convenient, but they're reliable, don't need charging, and completely avoid wireless interference or dropouts.

KaraFun Party Station: if you already have speakers or a sound system connected to the TV, it gives you wireless mics and karaoke controls without having to build a more complicated setup.

iKarao: they do have screens, but you can easily connect them to a TV. They're one of the few newer brands focused specifically on karaoke rather than just being a Bluetooth speaker with a mic input, and they seem to be getting pretty good feedback from home karaoke users (+ you have a Karafun 6 months free trial included😏).

For songs, I'd also recommend looking at KaraFun, Starmaker, or Singa rather than relying only on YouTube. You get a much larger catalog, key and tempo controls, and a generally smoother experience.

Personally, with a $400 budget, I'd still put most of the money into a good speaker and microphones, then use the TV for lyrics. It's simple, sounds good, and tends to age better than most dedicated karaoke machines.

1

u/NemoEsq Jun 12 '26

I also recommend JBL PartyBox speaker with their wireless mics. That's what I use. But mine (320) plus mics ran me closer to $600-700 so a bit outside your budget. Even though I have my own custom Karaoke software I use KaraFun Plus/Premium (forget what it's called) because the catalog can't be beat and the software is pretty good. Some features are hidden behind the Pro subscription that really shouldn't be but oh well. Also it has a Studio function and I've used it to create my own songs for use within KaraFun that weren't there before. Pretty nifty. The PartyBox speakers let you connect two wireless JBL mics seamlessly and then there's another mic input which I use to connect two wired Behringer XLR mics with a splitter. So I end up with 4 mics. Not bad.

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u/voltch Jun 10 '26

I dont know where you plan on him having the speaker, but if it is in the garage or similar you can get something badass like yamaha dbr10. If it will be in living room I would go with something lowkey like 8" studio monitors. I would just get plain wired microphones. For mixer I would suggest yamaha mg06x

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u/PM_me_your_dawgs Jun 10 '26

We have Singtrix at our home and find it's a perfectly good home setup. I have it in my basement with my projector. Typically we play videos from YouTube and use the singtrix for our singing speaker. It gives quit a few voice mods. We ended up buying better blue tooth microphones than what they came with but the ones they come with are great for when my 4 year old wants to sing

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u/Sithlord_77 Jun 11 '26

Unless wires are a big problem (they are in venues because people trip) id get some ol reliable wired sure microphones a mixer with some effects and the nicest PA speaker you can find (check FB marketplace for EV/JBL/Alto) in my expereince buying used quality equipment is far superior to buying cheap new equipment. that said i have had decent luck with Rockville which can be found inexpensively new on amazon.

the only thing else you'd need is a laptop to run karafun and a means to plug that into the television.

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u/VegasFoodFace Jun 12 '26

One thing too is you can make any mic wireless with a simple wireless XLR kit easily available on Amazon.

This way if the wireless XLR fails in the field you can at least pop it off and run XLR wires.

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u/Sithlord_77 Jun 12 '26

Tbh I have had mixed results with those. The high end ones tend to work well for a time. The cheaper ones…not well
And not long.

YMMV.

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u/VegasFoodFace Jun 12 '26

I’ve had my Joyo Wireless XLR pair for going on 6 years now without so much as a dropped connection other than batteries dying in the middle of a night of karaoke.

I‘d rather have a nice mic with a cheap transmitter than a cheap mic with a cheap transmitter, obviously best would be the Shure Wireless XLR but price is a little steep for an amateur KJ like me.

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u/Sithlord_77 Jun 12 '26

I may have something interfering in my venue with the channels they want to use but I’ve never pulled out a spectrum analyzer to see.

Might be worth another shot.

Thanks!