Best Karaoke machines: The best singing machines to buy in 2020
WHETHER you’re a karaoke aficionado or you’re organising a house party, when buying your own machine, you need to know you’re getting the best option for you.
Depending on your needs, the best karaoke machines can simply act as a speaker for your TV or laptop – or they can be used to create entire productions.
What is the best karaoke machine for home use?
A Karaoke machine can brighten up any party whether you’re with friends or your family.
If you don’t have much space, it’s probably best to pick one that is portable and comes with extra features like fun LED lights, or a set of mics you can share during duets with friends.
For anyone looking for something even more simple or for those who already have a speaker, you can just look for a microphone that comes with it. It’s also usually a cheaper option than buying a full kit.
What are the easiest karaoke songs?
Classics are some of the most played songs at karaoke parlours across the country.
Think “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston or most recent hits like the Killers’ “Mr Brightside”.
When buying a machine these are called backing tracks.
In most cases, it’s recorded specifically for karaoke and might include backing vocals but not the lead vocals.
Some karaoke machines will have come with auto-tune software, some stream songs online and others require separate purchases of CD+G and MP3+G compilations.
CD+G is a form of compact disc that will play graphics, including lyrics, when played on compatible machines. An MP3+G is the digital equivalent.
A number of machine manufacturers on this list sell their own compilation CD+G and MP3+Gs but you’re not limited to these.
You can pick up box sets of generic CD+Gs on Amazon, for example, for around £12 and these can be played on any other machine you decide to upgrade to in the future.
Here are our suggestions for the best machines out there:
1. Best karaoke machine for song choice: Lucky Voice Karaoke Kit
- Lucky Voice Karaoke Kit, £61.42 from Amazon – buy here
Lucky Voice brought private karaoke rooms to the UK back in 2005 and also sell a range of karaoke kits, inspired by their bars, to replicate this experience in the comfort of your own home.
You simply plug the kit into your computer or iPad to transform your device into a karaoke machine, with more than 9,000 songs including classics hits and the latest chart releases.
You can even use your phone as a remote control to queue up songs.
Included in each kit is a single microphone (available in gold, pink, blue, rose gold or white) a track mixer “Party Box”, all the cables you need to get started, as well as a voucher for a Lucky Voice subscription.
This voucher includes a month’s worth of unlimited songs.
If you want to carry on using the service, you’ll need to pay £6.99 a month (or you can buy six-month and yearly subscriptions) – and you can cancel at any time.
Spare or additional microphones are sold separately, too, and start at £19.99.
This may not be the cheapest way to bring karaoke into your life but it’s certainly the easiest, most up-to-date way of doing so, and will be an endless source of entertainment.
2. Best all-round karaoke system: Singing Machine Studio
- Singing Machine Studio, £219.99 from Very – buy here
At the top end of the scale, and for serious karaoke aficionados, is the Singing Machine Studio.
It’s a beast of a machine and comes packed with auto-tune software, including seven auto-tune effects from pop to country.
Its rechargeable battery lasts an impressive 25 hours and it plays full HD karaoke videos via USB when you plug your tablet or phone into the docking station on the top of the device.
You can also record via this connection, and use Bluetooth to stream songs to the speaker without videos. The speaker itself is 150 watt.
You only get one microphone with the Singing Machine, although there are two microphone ports, and individual mics start at just £9.99.
It’s not the best looking of karaoke machines but it certainly packs a punch tech-wise and is more than just a karaoke machine – it’s an entertainment system.
3. Best karaoke machine for style: Vocal-Star VS-1200
- Vocal-Star VS-1200, from £139.99 from eBay – buy here
The Vocal-Star VS-1200 looks most like the kind of karaoke machines you find in pubs.
It resembles a standard DVD player but is fitted with a mixer panel across the front that lets you adjust the tone of music with bass and treble controls.
This panel also features four microphone ports (the Vocal-Star VS-1200 ships with two microphones), plus it has a headphone input.
You can connect your preferred screen to the machine via Bluetooth, print song lists and record your songs to MP3.
However, to get the most from the machine, you need to buy Vocal-Star compilation CDs.
The machine comes with 150 party songs included in the price, and Vocal-Star sells various other playlists from Crooners to 60s Classics.
Prices start at £12 per CD. It doesn’t have the portability as others in the list but is more stylish and professional looking. The machine even scores your singing if you want to get Simon Cowell-levels of honesty.
4. Best karaoke machine for parties: Karaoke USA
- Karaoke USA, £165.43 from Amazon – buy here
The Karaoke USA may not have the auto-tune tools of the Singing Machine or the style of the Vocal-Star but it manages to combine many of the other features found on each of its rivals into a compact, fun form.
For starters, it has a 7-inch colour screen and a mixing panel built in, meaning you don’t need to connect to a separate laptop or tablet screen, and you can tweak the mic levels.
It plays songs via Bluetooth, DVD, CD+G and MP3+G and you can record your performances onto a USB or SD card.
If you do want to set the machine up for a party, you can connect to an external screen and the Karaoke USA ships with two microphones as standard.
Like Vocal-Star’s machine, you get a certain number of free songs but you will need to buy compilation discs separately, but it is compatible with all CDGs.
What’s more, the Karaoke USA has an LED light show in its front panel.
5. Best karaoke machine with lights: RockJam Go
- RockJam Go, £61.99 from Very – buy here
Available with either 5W or 20W speakers, RockJam’s portable karaoke machines have everything you need to get the party started.
The 5W model called the RockJam RJSC-01 BK Singcube is a compact box fitted with two 5 watt speakers, a docking station on the top and LEDs fitted into the front panel that move in time with the music.
It’s powered by batteries and comes with two microphones as standard.
For an extra £30 you can get the RockJam RJGO-BK GO light show speaker.
This has a 22W speaker and a disco ball on the top and you can connect any device to it via Bluetooth. It could even be used as a guitar amp.
The downside is that both RockJam speakers only play the words on a screen if you’ve connected them to a TV via Bluetooth and you’re using a karaoke website, but for the price, you’re getting a nice little entertainment unit for kids and adults alike.
More from Sun Selects tech
Enjoyed our roundup of the best karaoke machines? Then you’ll probably like our selection of the best speakers for parties, too.
To find more best and cheap tech round-ups, and our latest recommendations, head over to Sun Selects Tech.
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