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Having researched Karaoke equipment for the last month or so, I very quickly discovered that there really wasn't the burgeoning market that I thought there would be. A few different manufacturers make a few different level of machines from Kiddie / Consumer Grade to Prosumer / Professional. This particular machine falls into the latter category. It's definitely Prosumer / Professional without doubt.
Having used and messed with most of the VocoPro equipment and EnterTech all-in-one microphones, while they are good, they really don't come close. The problem with the Entertech Mics, is the quality of the actual mic which isn't that great and most of the electronics within the mic, including the song chip leaves you with a really sub-standard sound. Replacing the song chip is semi-expensive to boot, almost half the price of the mic, if you want to add songs. And you WILL want to add songs. The mic is very 'un-dynamic' to put it lightly.
The VocoPro equipment is just plain hit or miss. You may end up going the route so many have with Vocopro and returning faulty equipment that is suspect. Reading the reviews, one quickly discovers A LOT of malfunctioning equipment plaguing the brand. When you drop close to five hundred bucks, I think that's the last thing you want to do. There are undoubtedly some very satisfied Vocopro customers out there, without doubt, but I think they're fewer than the unsatisfied. While the Vocopro (when it works) offers the user to connect to other rackmount pieces, through a basic line out or other component style options, you can actually do the same with this unit very simply.
What I liked:
1) This unit is very easy to set up and get going.
2) The included speakers actually sound pretty good and have a decent range. I actually chose to hook into my home theatre on the second day, but I wouldn't dismiss the speakers as they're fine for small parties or being mobile or using with the kids.
3) The entire unit is very easy to use and has more than enough basic functions for any Karaoke party. It's easy to quickly learn how to sound good with this and you wont get bogged down trying to navigate submenus or anything silly like that.
4) Using the key changer doesn't degrade the quality of the audio like some other devices. I sing a bit flat so I dropped down to a Minus 1 and sounded pretty good right out the gate.
5) The unit seems sturdy enough and could take some basic abuse if you had to move it a lot. It's not indestructible, so I wouldn't pretend that it is.
6) The two mics that come with the unit aren't bad for starting off and sound nice. Obviously, the wired mic sounds much better than the wireless mic, which runs pretty efficiently off one 9v battery. I've used this thing for the last several days and haven't changed the battery yet.
7) This unit actually *looks* nice, too. It doesn't look cheesy or have ridiculous lighting features attached. Several people commented on how incredible this thing is. It looks much better in person than the picture on the box.
8) Can be used with your iPod and streams whatever CD+G files you have or video. You can also feed video in through the jack located towards the base of the unit.
9) I play along with my Guitar wired in, which you can do several different ways, and had no problem sounding great.
I added some photos to the product up above so check them out if you're curious.
All the best ... and have a lot of fun with this ... encouraging music in any form is a wonderful thing ...
UPDATE: I put some photos up here so you can gauge for height if you're getting this for your kids. My 3 and half year old loves this and can easily see the monitor text.
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Click Here to see more reviews about: Singing Machine ISM1010 Home Karaoke System
Pump out the sing-along jams at home just like at your favorite karaoke establishment with the professional quality Singing Machine ISM1010 pedestal-style karaoke system, which features a 7-inch color LCD screen, built-in video camera, iPod dock, and AM/FM radio. And with the speaker built into the pedestal and two tower stereo speakers (7W + 7W for 14 total Watts of power), you'll be able to fill any room with karaoke fun or pumping party music.
You can sing the lyrics from the 7-inch color monitor on the pedestal, or with its video and audio outputs you can hook it up to any TV or sound system. It also has an integrated video camera so you can watch yourself perform live on the monitor or your TV.
The ISM1010 includes a top-loading CD/CDG player that lets you easily swap CDs so that your karaoke party doesn't slow down. Its iPod dock is compatible with video-enabled iPods (see left for compatibility) and it allows you to play back your entire music library (not compatible with karaoke lyric playback) as well as play video content on the widescreen LCD monitor.
The ISM1010 also includes an AM/FM radio with digital tuner, and you can sing along with songs on the radio using either the included wired or wireless microphone. Adjust the master volume and the mic volume to the right level and your voice will be combined with the radio through the speakers. You can also use the ISM1010 as a PA. This karaoke system has two microphones--great for duets. Other features include balance and echo control, auto voice control, and a headphone jack for private listening and previewing. It comes with a free CDG music sampler to get you started.
What's in the Box Karaoke machine (model ISM1010), wired microphone, wireless microphone, AC adapter, RCA cables, iPod adapters, sampler disc, instruction manual
Tech TalkCDG: An acronym for Compact Disc plus Graphics, this is a regular CD with information stored on a data track simultaneous to music. In laymen's terms, CDG has a video output for simple graphics (not full motion video). In the case of karaoke, the graphics function is used to store song lyrics, and display the lyrics in synch with the music. In most cases, CDG software displays lyrics, which change color as they are to be sung. A regular television is all that is required to display CDG lyrics.
Echo: Produced by creating minor controlled feedback in the singer's voice, echo adds depth and resonance. The echo function does not affect the music.
Auto Voice Control (AVC): This useful function is used primarily during practice sessions while a singer is learning a song. Please note that the AVC function only works with multiplex recordings and not with standard audio recordings.
Multiplex: A Multiplex allows you to separate the vocals and music by using the balance control on your Singing Machine Karaoke System.
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