Hi all,

I am in the process of building up my own home laptop based Karaoke System & have already got the software installed, I have also ordered a Behringer USB Mixer & standard XLR Microphones, all that I am missing now is an PA / Active speaker(s). I know that there are plenty of makes out there, but am not sure which should be avoided at all costs & which are good to get. I am not looking for a complete powerhouse that will destroy my bank balance, but just something good enough for home use.

Can anyone offer any suggestions ?

Many Thanks

First off you need to specify a budget. But before you can do that you should do a little research about the products out in the market.

The sort of speakers you're looking for ideally aren't just 'active' because that covers a huge range including a lot that are totally unsuitable. What you're looking for is 'active PA speakers'. These are the type where they're designed to cope with higher levels of distortion than would be the case with Hi-Fi/AV/computer active speakers. Distortion is a speaker killer. You can burn out a tweeter in a 100W speaker faster with a distorted 20W signal than you would with a pure signal at 150W.

Thanks for the advice there, I am willing to go up to £150 for a starter system as my living room isn't that big and it would only be for home use. I have seen various makes well within that price range like Skytec, Ekho, The Box MA100, and even Behringer can be bought new when looked for in the right places. But of course on various customer reviews from places like Amazon, there are alwas the odd reviewer that slates the product but the majority of reviews is good.

I'd recommend you give both Skytec and Ekho a wide berth. Neither are good brands.

So much gear is made in China now, even big brands, but there's a huge difference between well known brands such as Crown or Mackie using Chinese manufacturing to keep their prices competitive and unknown Chinese firms using the web to direct sell lookie-likee products with hyped up specs at knock down prices to the uninitiated. That's what Ekho, Skytec, Pyle and several others really are. There's a saying that sums up these products "Buy cheap, buy twice"

For the price you want to pay and of the products you listed I'd have little hesitation choosing the Thomann MA100. £100-£150 isn't a lot for a powered monitor speaker to put up with the rigours of singing. It'll do for you for home use and the occasional trip out for friend's parties so long as you don't expect it to be the main speaker for a club-volume DJ rig.

That didn't cross my mind with them being made in China which is a silly error by myself as I know that a lot of cheap Tablets are made there, so does make sense that speakers now are as well. I will have to do some more research on known brands as did see some nice Behringer Speakers / monitors within my price range, as they are rated pretty highly in the Karaoke community of people that I have spoken to on various forums, but the majority of them live in the USA, so am unsure if their Behringer speakers are manufactured in China or not.

Thanks for the heads up on that tho , it is appreciated

Behringer is designed in Germany and manufactured in China. It's mainly budget to lower mid-range gear. Some of it is pretty good; I have a small Behringer 6ch mixer for use when I am calibrating audio, along with a Feedback Destroyer and a little cable testing box and all work great. What I wouldn't buy from Behringer is their power amps. Don't get me wrong, they're nowhere near as bad as the Pyle, Ekho or Skytec stuff, but they're still not that great; the specs are vastly over-egged.

I don't recall ever using Behringer speakers, so have a chat with those more knowledgeable with first hand experience of the model you're looking at.

I knew they were German but wasn't sure where they were made, I will have a chat to those in the know & see what they say . In all honesty it is getting pretty exciting, I love most things in technology & am getting quite excited to be getting my Mixer & Mic later on today when the courier turns up,. So then all I need to get over the coming weeks is the speakers and hosting software.

Years ago I used to do loads of Midi sequencing on Cakewalk with the keyboard connected to the PC soundcard, but the sound was from the keyboard only. This dealing with an external mixer & speakers, is a new ball game for me. As the Mixer can take a music keyboard, I may even think about getting back into sequencing as well.