Karaoke Gear Buying Guide: Bring Out Your Inner Rock Star

These karaoke PA systems include a portable speaker, with digital echo/delay/reverb to enhance your vocals. Most systems include one or two microphones, and some even have a built-in light show or projector system. This is a great place to start if you're building your karaoke system from scratch!

So you've already got some nice stereo speakers in your living room? Turn your current entertainment center into party central with these karaoke players. A multi-format player like the VocoPro DVX-890K can read just about any popular format -- such as CDs, MP3s, DVDs, CD+G, and DivX. It also has an HDMI output, so you can hook it up to your TV, and two microphone inputs so you and a loved one can perform touching duets.

Want a truly professional karaoke setup? Get a mixer! Karaoke mixers have vocal effects on board -- like delay and echo -- so you can customize each performer's vocal sound. Not only can mixers make you sound like a better singer, they also make it easier to keep the music level and vocal level balanced with volume controls, and EQ knobs so you can adjust bass, treble and midrange. Plug your computer into a hybrid mixer that has USB output, and you can capture a stereo mix of the performance to your recording software.