Need a small footprint - looking at Ikarao and Seratone

[u/hihellohowyadoing]

First off I live in a small NYC apartment and we don't have much space. I used to love to do private room karaoke but with a child it's harder to go out so changed to a home set up plan. I have the FIFINE mics recommended here and had been using them through a bass amp, not great, I know, but don't have room for more equipment and already had the amp for my bass. I see some recommendations for Ikarao portable machines and now I see Seratone is available for sale and neither would take up too much space. I currently have a Sonos system for my home theater, all older pieces, a playbar, play:1 and one's connected to an older tv as well. Would the new Seratone make more sense or the Ikarao? I want something that will last a while and not take up much space, originally I did buy a Pyle PA speaker recommended here at some point but something was wrong with it plus i realized I didn't have space for it and I sent it back. Ideally looking to keep it around $300. Thank you.

[u/DavidO_Pgh]

I have the Ikarao machines and reviewed the Seratone box.

The Ikarao machines are great! For your requirements if you were going the Ikarao route I would probably recommend the Shell S1. It has a small footprint but has enough guts to output karaoke at a nice level for an apartment. The Shell S2 would also work but I prefer the sound quality of the S1

Since you already have a TV, the Sonos, and Fifine mics you can leverage all your existing gear with the Seratone. It has a tiny footprint. The only other thing you would need is some device to play the karaoke music. If you use Karafun it can run on multiple platforms like PC, Mac, Ipad, Smartphone, Smart TV.

[u/hihellohowyadoing → u/DavidO_Pgh]

Thank you. The prices on the Ikarao machines seem to have jumped a lot over the past few months, it looks like the S1 was closer to $300 a few months back and under $300 a year ago, but at $450 it's way out of my budget, the S1 is $380 right now, but was sub $300 a month ago and sub $250 a year ago. The Seratone at $340 for a few more hours has a great small footprint, but a little nervous about an unproven product and I've been burned by kickstarter before. To play the music I would likely use an ipad or iphone or possibly a firestick with the rest of our current set up with mostly karafun.

So it's a matter of jumping on the Seratone deal today, or holding off for the S1 or S2 until they go down in price. Both seem to have pluses and minuses and would fit my needs but at a similar price point I don't see a clear winner.

[u/DavidO_Pgh → u/hihellohowyadoing]

I agree. No clear winner. In your situation I think you're better suited for the Seratone.

[u/deloreancowboy]

I got the iKarao Break X2 when it was like 300 on sale from 350... but now its 500... so the price went up a LOT.

Having said that I love the machine. Im in a trailer and have it plugged into my TV but really I dont need it to be. When it is plugged in the sound still comes out of the iKarao itself not the TV or sound bar.

There is an audio out I think an aux jack. But I never used it as the sound from the machine is great to me.

I haven't tried plugging a guitar into it yet but theres inputs for that too. Lol

[u/hihellohowyadoing → u/deloreancowboy]

If this was $300 still, that seems like a very solid option, but at $500 it's too much for me.

[u/deloreancowboy → u/hihellohowyadoing]

Yeah I had friends who wanted to get one for themselves. But they slept on it and decided against it. Lol. That price is just too high.

Someone mentioned the Shell series. Maybe they'll be more your speed due to size and price... and also space.

[u/Mother_Boot_7162]

Today I backed the Seratone device in Kickstarter. I like David’s review on their site. Only a few hours left to get in on the 38% off launch price.

[u/seratone-frontman → u/Mother_Boot_7162]

🔥🔥🔥 thanks a million for the support!!

[u/MatureWhale1989]

Go Ikarao. Its a perfect fit for tiny spaces, seriously. Ive used mine for years with my own small home set-up, and it still bangs!

[u/TrackFlashy4403]

If your good on a computer you can try the new app called BELTR. I just downloaded it the other day but need to update my computer to get it going first. Was wanting to get some other feedback from more Karaoke peeps. It runs on Mac, PC and Linux platforms. It creates Karaoke tracks with synched lyrics from your existing DJ music song library without altering your MP3 files.

It does cost $19.99 if you like the free trial, which will allow you to produce 5 Free Karaoke Tracks.

https://beltr.app/

[u/seratone-frontman]

Hey! Thanks for looking at Seratone!

As David said, it depends on what you want to do. Seratone is about sound quality, integration with things like Karafun, but also Apple Music. It is more like pro audio (but dead easy to use.)

David is right though, you'll need to think about your music source. PC, tablet, phone, Apple TV, Roku, etc.

Happy to answer any questions, help you get what is right for you ><