Now, it's easy to karaoke

Doharto J. Simatupang, Contributor, Jakarta

Today, a karaoke system is already part of the daily life of many people in Indonesia, particularly in big cities. Rather than going to karaoke lounges, many people like to enjoy their own karaoke set at home. Having worked hard throughout the day, people can relax after hours by singing some of their favorite songs. A karaoke system is also a must-have for those who wish to become a singer.

Karaoke technology has been developing rapidly. For instance, the technology has become computerized. With the assistance of certain software, a request for a song can be made using a personal computer, therefore making access to songs easier. This practice is common in karaoke lounges where a personal computer is used to store a large database of songs.

Even now you can find DVD players crammed with thousands of songs. This means you don't have to buy DVD karaoke software disks any more.

Obviously, it is increasingly easy now to perform karaoke. However, if you wish to have your own karaoke system in your own home, you must consider what systems are within your budget.

The Advante KDJ-111 is the first DVD-recordable player with full karaoke function. It consists of thousands of your favorite songs and films. Equipped with an 80 Gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive (HDD), it can be used to record films and songs and to edit your recordings. You can use the DVD player to play back a film, or perform your own karaoke. Buying this DVD player needs your well-thought-out consideration, however, as it costs Rp 5 million.

Another system you may consider buying is the Hyundai HDT HDV- 204, which is provided with 30,000 songs on one DVD disk in Midi format. We can also reserve 30 songs, and of course play DVD/VCD/CD/Midi/JPEG/MP3 formats. Physically looking like an ordinary DVD player, this set is sold for Rp 4 million.

Meanwhile, the Super Karaoke SKM 6628, which is provided with 30,000 songs in midi format, is capable of reserving 99 songs and playing back DVD/VCD/CD/Midi/JPEG/MP3 formats. This system is sold for just Rp 2.5 million.

But there are still other choices. The Magic Microphone Karaoke ED-9000 looks like an ordinary microphone. It is in fact equipped with 500 to 1,000 built-in songs and also has its own echo, key and volume control features. The songs can be updated through an additional song chip built into the microphone.

If you want to put together a reliable karaoke system, you generally need speakers and amplifiers specially designed for karaoke functions, such as BMB, Teac, BIK and other brands. As for a power amplifier, the BIK BA-88 has an audio output of 2 x 180 W and costs Rp 11,000,000. As for the speakers, you can buy Japan's BIK products such as the Bkara CS-B500EX (Rp 3,250,000) with spec power of 450 W, frequency response of 40 Hz-20kHz, impedance of 8 Ohm and sensitivity of 90dB.

So, just for speakers and the amplifier you'll need to fork out Rp 14,250,000. You could even spend up to Rp 20 million if you want to add an equalizer, processor, mixer, microphone, DVD player and so forth. Obviously, it is much cheaper to use a mini- compo DVD karaoke. In this respect, you need to remember that the audio output capacity of mini-compo DVDs are way lower than systems with separate power amplifier and speakers that have been specially designed for karaoke.

Indeed, you can perform your karaoke using a mini-compo DVD, a micro-compo DVD or an HTiB, but don't forget that the last two mentioned are rather limited in their capacity to reproduce voices.

If your budget is limited, a mini-compo DVD is the best choice. There are many mini-compo DVD sets that have a fairly good audio output and are offered at relatively low prices. They have Aux-in facilities can be connected to a keyboard, guitar or a bass. Mini-compo DVD systems of certain brands are even provided with a karaoke scoring.

Mini-compo DVD sets with fairly powerful audio output that are now available in the market include the Aiwa JAX-TD8 (5,000-watt PMPO/Rp 3,800,000), JVC MX-DXT9 (12,000-watt PMPO/7 speaker/Rp 4,300,000), Panasonic SC-VK90D (7,000-watt PMPO/Rp 3,930,000), Philips FW-D796 (8,500-watt PMPO/Rp 4,150,000), Pioneer EV1000DVD (7,500-watt PMPO/Rp 5,250,000), Samsung MAX-DS750 (4,600-watt PMPO/Rp 1,970,000), Sharp CD-DVD700H (4,000-watt PMPO/Rp 3,850,000) and Sony MHC-GNV111D (7,900-watt PMPO/Rp 5,200,000).

Some of the above products are equipped with a pair of surround speakers, a pair of front speakers, a sub woofer and a center speaker as well as a AC3/dts decoder. Thus, they are home- theater ready.