brucecampbell Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 So what does everybody have set up to allow karaoke to work smoothly at home? A lot of people here are like me and have a rack in another room, which makes it hard to use XBox or PS4 for karaoke. I'm looking for a solution where I can just use Youtube on the smart tv, have two mic's and have both sound come out via my AV Receiver.I'm thinking a mixer with two wireless microphones might do the trick.Anyone have a similar set up - anything to keep in mind?? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Yes, I have what you are looking to do. You are on the right track- get a mixer that is designed for karaoke. That is, one that will fade in/out background track with the two mic channels. You may or may not need feedback control depending on where your speakers are in relation to singers. I use a gate rather than a FB eliminator. Everything is run through C4. Anything to keep in mind? Well, you may run into hum. That one took me a few trips to my local pro audio store to fix... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tebery Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Consider a compressor/limiter between your karaoke device and the receiver. I use a separate sound system for karaoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mallom Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Consider a compressor/limiter between your karaoke device and the receiver. I use a separate sound system for karaoke. Same here. My experience using a mixer with my receiver was horrible. 1 powered speaker + 2 Shure wireless mic + Free karaoke songs on Youtube = Party! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 OP, if you have the amp already (which you do), there is no need for yet another piece of amplification gear. What the posts are saying is that typically there are issues with feedback and (in my case) hum. If you can't aim the speakers, this is going to require possible a 2nd set. Nothing wrong with a mixer, any DJ will tell you it is a staple. A mixer will do at least two things for to improve the experience. One is that it will balance the mic and soundtrack channels and the other, like I mentioned, will bring-in fill music between singers. Mixer allows sound curve tailoring beyond what your AVR can provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shareez Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 We are by no means professional singers but do enjoy a good karaoke session once in a while. Our setup is fairly inexpensive. We purchased a sennheiser wireless microphone and the cheapest mixer we could get from the guitar center. We have several apple tvs in our home set up. We just intercepted the audio output for one of the Apple tvs into this mixer, added the microphone as an input, and plugged the output from the mixer to the audio zone matrix where the Apple TV output was originally plugged in. Voila! Now we just find a YouTube video of a karaoke song we desire and AirPlay it to that Apple TV and turn on the mic. (Adjust volumes on the mixer to achieve best sound level) We can have karaoke in any zone of the house now Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 We are by no means professional singers but do enjoy a good karaoke session once in a while. Our setup is fairly inexpensive. We purchased a sennheiser wireless microphone and the cheapest mixer we could get from the guitar center. We have several apple tvs in our home set up. We just intercepted the audio output for one of the Apple tvs into this mixer, added the microphone as an input, and plugged the output from the mixer to the audio zone matrix where the Apple TV output was originally plugged in. Voila! Now we just find a YouTube video of a karaoke song we desire and AirPlay it to that Apple TV and turn on the mic. (Adjust volumes on the mixer to achieve best sound level) We can have karaoke in any zone of the house now Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI want to duplicate this exact thing. Can you share the specific products you're using?Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shareez Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 http://www.guitarcenter.com/Behringer/Xenyx-502-Mixer.gc thats the mixer i used http://www.guitarcenter.com/Sennheiser/XSW-35-A-Wireless-Handheld-Vocal-Set.gc thats the mic we purchased although you can use any wireless mic really. get some cables to do the connection and voila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mallom Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Shure BLX288/PG58 Dual Handheld Wireless PG58 Microphone Systemhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Shure-BLX288-PG58-Dual-Handheld-Wireless-PG58-Microphone-System-/331465882515?hash=item4d2ce7fb93:g:l4gAAOSwBahUzPLR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lippavisual Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Residential gear is not rated for Pro gear, plain and simple. If you want to use your AVR for amplification, make sure you install a feedback eliminator and a compressor/limiter. Otherwise, the first person that drops the mic while you are jamming out will blow your speakers. Guaranteed!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 ^Don't need "pro gear" to do home karaoke. I've been all over Japan,China and Korea and hardly ever found "pro gear" in bars or restaurants that only do karaoke. The only issues are speaker placement and level of voice manipulation (echo reverb, delay). Using an AVR doesn't necessarily mean you need FB control. Anyone getting into this, I highly recommend using powered monitors as opposed to existing ceiling/wall speakers and amplification. Rule of thumb, use active speakers in small spaces, passive and huge wattage in large/outdoor applications. I also don't see the need to spend a lot on your mics. They will get spit on, dropped or won't be put to full potential with amateur singers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecampbell Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Consider a compressor/limiter between your karaoke device and the receiver. I use a separate sound system for karaoke. What does the compressor/limiter do?Is this to prevent damage from feedback? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecampbell Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Yes, I have what you are looking to do. You are on the right track- get a mixer that is designed for karaoke. That is, one that will fade in/out background track with the two mic channels. You may or may not need feedback control depending on where your speakers are in relation to singers. I use a gate rather than a FB eliminator. Everything is run through C4. Anything to keep in mind? Well, you may run into hum. That one took me a few trips to my local pro audio store to fix... Any gear I install will need to be placed in the rack away from the living room.I will be using the existing speaker set up - 4 ceiling speakers, one centre and a sub under the coffee table. OK, so I put a mixer in the rack, with one input from apple tv/smart tv, another two inputs from the wireless mic receiver and the output to the HK AVR.Am I going to need to go to the rack and turn off/volume down the two mic channels when I am watching you tube? or will simply leaving the mic's off be ok?Will I come across any issues setting up the mixer once and then not having to touch it again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 If you use a mixer, there will be just one output from that to whatever input you choose on the AVR. If you choose a Karaoke mixer look for one with IR control. Clone the codes and map volumes for mic level and background music level (if you desire) to buttons on your SR. You won't be running back & forth to the rack this way. You will hear white noise from the amp even with zero-level input from the mixer. Killing the mics only kills-off that source. Optimizing a mixer is something you will have to play around with. I can't say one setting will work for all material or singers. Your YT material will come in at all different audio levels (this is why i don't bother with that stuff, that and damn copyright issues) so you'll be constantly fiddling with either your AVR master vol. or the corresponding mixer channel. That's why I suggested steering clear of Behringer or Peavey types- they don't have control that C4 can work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 What does the compressor/limiter do?Is this to prevent damage from feedback?Compressors carry-out a multitude of functions. The gate feature is what I like about them. De-esser works well but not necessary with amateur talent. Again, I ditched my DBX AFS2 for a DBX 1074 and never looked back. You ceiling speaker arrangement won't work well concerning FB without something inline... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Shure BLX288/PG58 Dual Handheld Wireless PG58 Microphone Systemhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Shure-BLX288-PG58-Dual-Handheld-Wireless-PG58-Microphone-System-/331465882515?hash=item4d2ce7fb93:g:l4gAAOSwBahUzPLRCompletely unnecessary for home karaoke. I use a $150 set of wireless mics and they sound and feel like pro goods. Spend the money on a feature-rich mixer and a tin can & string will sound great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecampbell Posted December 13, 2015 Author Share Posted December 13, 2015 My local AV specialist tells me a mixer and wireless mics will work, but domestic receivers are not built for this purpose and I could easily blow speakers and the receiver if the mixer volumes go too high. Anyone wish to add comments?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 ^Anything is possible (I found with people). Seriously, Your mixer (AKA: operator) is not going to go haywire is it? If you are truly concerned, just go powered monitors and any mixer between those and your source(s). Personally, I have conducted probably a hundred little gigs here with a Denon AVR and Speakercraft ceiling elements for several years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Another way to go (still requires you to spend double on amplification) is to use a mixing amplifier designed for karaoke. It all depends on you. The advice you got is silly IMO. Just think back in the day dropping the needle on vinyl. You don't think that's enough to trash a speaker? Truth be told, the amp in your AVR is probably better than anything found in an "off-shore" karaoke box... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecampbell Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Thanks for all the help. Here is what I am considering purchasing:MicrophonesMixer Hopefully it will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Sure, those two will work (pricewise, that's where you want to be just starting out). I do think background music, in between cuts, is very nice. With that said, a 3 channel mixer would be better. However, in your case, this might not be practical since you mentioned the equipment would not be at arms length from you. Don't forget the XLR-to-RCA cables while you are placing your order. And, as previously mentioned, you may run into hum or hiss and have to deal with that as a separate project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecampbell Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 Sure, those two will work (pricewise, that's where you want to be just starting out). I do think background music, in between cuts, is very nice. With that said, a 3 channel mixer would be better. However, in your case, this might not be practical since you mentioned the equipment would not be at arms length from you. Don't forget the XLR-to-RCA cables while you are placing your order. And, as previously mentioned, you may run into hum or hiss and have to deal with that as a separate project. I was planning on using the single mixed output from the mic receiver as one channel into the mixer, and the apple tv/smart tv as the other channel.I figured I won't need to treat each mic as a separate channel, as the mic receiver can control that for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 14, 2015 Share Posted December 14, 2015 Got it. I can't tell by the photo- looks to be a mono jack and not an RCA... I forgot, you wanted two-singer capability which is typical. I use dual mic elements for a stereo, one-singer config. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucecampbell Posted December 14, 2015 Author Share Posted December 14, 2015 All the spec says is "Mix out: Output jack for both units" it looks like it is a 6.3mm jack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C4Blimp Posted December 15, 2015 Share Posted December 15, 2015 ^It does. Maybe we can find a pdf of the backplane. Or, buy them locally after you get the unit. I've got four pro audio outlets within a few kilometers of my house so easy for me to say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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