Cheapish Music System with Mic Inputs

Danger Phoenix · 18 Feb 2012 at 21:58

I am looking for a music system that can play CDs and has a 3.5mm line in for other music sources, as well as a few microphone inputs. It should be fairly easy to use and the budget is between £100 to £200 (although the cheaper the better). It doesn't have to be something amazing and I am not bothered by the audio quality... just need something that works and will last a few years (it will only be used 5 or so times a year).

lucid · 19 Feb 2012 at 02:27

A mini-system with mic inputs????? Not just one, but multiples! I think you're gonna have a tough time with that tbh. The world has gone iPod mad so gimmicks like karaoke have been pushed out of the way.

If you don't mind buying second-hand then there's a Philips mini system with twin mic inputs on Ebay. Starting bid is £10, but there's no bids at the moment. The auction finishes soon though, 7pm Sunday. Item no 260955708206 Product leaflet and manual from the Philips site here

Other than that then do a Google for karaoke mini or karaoke hif-fi or some similar term to find something that will have mic inputs.

As for needing 3.5mm jacks for other sources, you don't need to be so restricted. Get the right system (one with a few audio inputs) and the right cables (jack to phono) and you can connect anything you want. This could include a mixer, so you could have multiple mic inputs.

Danger Phoenix · 19 Feb 2012 at 09:29

I'm not too keen on the Philips, but I did try Googling what you said and found:
http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/LTC-Karaoke-Star-3-Sound-System-1-x-Amp-2-x-Speakers-2-x-Mic_i3683.htm

All I need with that is a CD player of some sort... any suggestions?

Lakeland · 19 Feb 2012 at 10:00

I would just buy a cheap small mixer to be honest. That way you can easily add audio input from a 3.5mm jack cable, from your mics, and you can also easily adjust volume.

Then you can simply either buy a new cheap speaker/amp combo or buy something second hand, all it needs to have is some sort of line input.

Doing this will mean you are not restricting yourself to a package that has all of the inputs that you need in one place.

Edit: Something along the lines of this? Not looked at all the info but it is the sort of thing that could work well, all you'd need is speakers as it has an amp built in http://www.amazon.co.uk/A25-3Channel-Mixer-Amplifier-25W/dp/B000L9A6GI

lucid · 19 Feb 2012 at 13:26

Danger Phoenix said:
All I need with that is a CD player of some sort... any suggestions?

any cheap supermarket DVD will do.

lucid · 19 Feb 2012 at 13:35

Lakeland said:
I would just buy a cheap small mixer to be honest. That way you can easily add audio input from a 3.5mm jack cable, from your mics, and you can also easily adjust volume.

I thought about recommending that kind of solution too. What stopped me was that the OP didn't say what he plans to do with the system. We have guessed singing - hence karaoke - but that is just a stab in the dark. If it is singing then the system needs echo otherwise the voices sound awful. That means finding an amp or mixer with effects.

Danger Phoenix · 19 Feb 2012 at 14:15

Sorry I should have explained better... it will be for playing music and using the microphones for talking (no singing). I would prefer it if it was all one set because it will be set up and stored by people who are not technical in the slightest, so the simpler it is the better.

Based on that, is the set I linked to alright (other than the fact that it is missing the CD option?

lucid · 19 Feb 2012 at 16:10

As long as it's for occasional use and you aren't trying to fill a village hall with sound then sure, it's okay. Sound quality will be on a par with a £50-£60 mini hi-fi. Just be careful with the mic cables. There's not a lot of weight in the main unit and you don't want it sliding off a table if someone gets a bit tangled up with the wires.

Something like this is a bit more robust and semi-pro. The mics are wireless; that's really useful. The main unit is both AC mains and rechargeble battery powered, so you have some additional flexibility. The whole unit comes as-one, so there's no speaker wiring to do. The case is made of ABS and there's speaker grilles for protection, so it's more rugged for use and for storage. It even comes with wheels and a trolley handle so would be a bit easier to move around. You still need a CD/DVD player, but you do with the other system as well so there's no real difference there.

Danger Phoenix · 19 Feb 2012 at 16:19

lucid said:
As long as it's for occasional use and you aren't trying to fill a village hall with sound then sure, it's okay. Sound quality will be on a par with a £50-£60 mini hi-fi. Just be careful with the mic cables. There's not a lot of weight in the main unit and you don't want it sliding off a table if someone gets a bit tangled up with the wires.

Something like this is a bit more robust and semi-pro. The mics are wireless; that's really useful. The main unit is both AC mains and rechargeble battery powered, so you have some additional flexibility. The whole unit comes as-one, so there's no speaker wiring to do. The case is made of ABS and there's speaker grilles for protection, so it's more rugged for use and for storage. It even comes with wheels and a trolley handle so would be a bit easier to move around. You still need a CD/DVD player, but you do with the other system as well so there's no real difference there.

It would generally be used in a small hall with no more than 100 people, so I think it would be alright. The portable one looks great, but it is more than our budget

What about something like this:
http://www.hifi-tower.co.uk/Ibiza-160W-Active-Mobile-PA-System-with-CD-Player-and-USB_i1089.htm

lucid · 19 Feb 2012 at 17:22

That's more like it