I really like the sleek design and the unique cylindrical shape of this karaoke machine. It comes with a nice blue light to set the tone for a great party. This is a portable karaoke machine that can be connected to your TV and offers various voice and sound controls. It is versatile in terms of connectivity and comes with a sample CD with Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber on it.

In the following Electrohome EAKAR300 review, I have provided more details about this karaoke system and described all the features it offers. Pros and cons are also described so you know what you will or will not get should you decide to buy this karaoke machine for your home.

Please read the details of features and what they do to get a better understanding of this machine capabilities. This is a time well spent and will help you down the road to make a more informed decision.

 

Type of Usage

The Electrohome EAKAR300 is a home karaoke machine. It is portable and light and weighs only 4.8 lbs. The system is a perfect choice for kids’ birthday parties as it is very easy to use. Adults also would enjoy this portable karaoke machine when used for small family gatherings. Note that given the relatively small output power, this is a machine to be used mostly indoors and is not well suited for bigger parties in an open space.

Karaoke Microphone

This Karaoke machine comes with one microphone. Note that there are two microphone inputs available on this system. If you intend to use a second karaoke microphone, you must purchase it separately. The supplied microphone is wired with a 10ft cord attached.

Monitor / Display

This product does not come with a built-in display or monitor. However, The Electrohome EAKAR300 is a karaoke machine with TV hook up. This is done using the RCA cable that comes with the machine. The connection to your TV is done exactly the same way you would connect most video cameras, VCR/DVD players and video game consoles. Use white and red connectors in RCA cables for left and right audio and the yellow one for video. It’s easy and straightforward.

Note that when using an RCA cable you will not get high definition quality video. This connector is not designed to support high definition. In other words, HDMI connection to your TV is not possible with this product.

Song source / Player

This system comes with an integrated player that can work with CD/CD+G/CDR/CDRW as source input. This means you can use both regular CDs we well CDGs. CDG or CD+G means compact disc with graphics. In addition to the song track, these special CD’s provide a video track which is in sync with the song. This is the reason why you can see the song when using such CD’s.

Having an audio input, this home karaoke system can work also with any MP3 player and similar smart devices such as an iPod, iPad or tablet. This means you can play songs from your music library and sing along. In order to connect to the audio input, a 3.5mm cable is needed. The cable must be purchased separately and does not come with the system.

Note that the connection to an iPod is through an audio input. This means, if you are streaming a song in karaoke format that has video lyrics with it, you cannot send the video signal to your TV through your karaoke machine. This has to be done independently from your system and there are two ways to do that as I have explained in this article. If you are looking to transfer both video and audio from your smart device source, you are looking for a karaoke machine with dock and the Singing Machine Karaoke System iSM1028Xa may be a good choice for you.

Speakers

This portable karaoke machine comes with built in speakers with decent quality. This means no additional cables to deal with and therefore a cleaner and more compact setup.

Various features / connectivity

• Blue party light
• Built in speakers
• Auto Voice Control Singing Coach
• Digital echo control
• 2 microphone inputs
• Includes CD+G multiplex karaoke disc with music from various artists
• Audio input for MP3 player

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this home a karaoke machine has a unique design that you cannot see in other systems. Its compact cylindrical shape is kind of interesting. One thing you may want to note that the control panel is on top of this system which means the buttons and controls are all on the top instead of on the front like so many others.  Have you ever used something – like a stereo – that was kind of lightweight but had buttons on the front and it was so lightweight that when you pushed the button you also scooted the thing across the shelf or the table?  I remember having something like that in the past and I would have to put my hand on the back of it in order to push the buttons on the front just to get to the button.  It was annoying. Most compact and portable karaoke machines have their buttons in the front and as they are light, they keep getting pushed around especially when used by kids and this is not very convenient. The unique design of this machine actually avoids such inconvenience. It is interesting I noticed a consumer mentioning about this fact in his review on a retailer’s site.

Recording Options

The Electrohome karaoke system does not come with recording options.

The Electrohome EAKAR300 Sound and Voice controls

Echo control – this is a nice feature that adds depth and resonance to your voice when you are singing. Your voice sounds more rich and professional with this feature without any extra effort. Note that this applies only to your singing voice and there is no impact on the music by this feature.

Auto Voice Control (AVC) – a cool features that is very helpful when you are learning the song and the lyrics. This option only work with multiplex CDG’s. When recorded in multiplex, the CDG has two copies of the same song. One is the music and the lead vocal and the other one just the music and possibly background vocals. With the AVC feature, when you start singing in the microphone the lead vocal is stopped and your are the singer singing with the music. As soon as you stop singing in the karaoke microphone, the original lead vocal starts playing again.

Balance Control – using the corresponding knob you can balance between the prerecorded lead singer’s voice and the music. This is also another feature you can use when learning the song. You can start with full presence of the lead vocal and gradually balance it out as you get more comfortable with the song you are playing.

Audio/Video Input & Outputs

Here are the main audio and video inputs/outputs of the Electrohome EAKAR300:

• Audio In – to connect to MP3 players and/or smart devices
• Video Out – used as part of connection to TV
• Audio Out (left) – used to connect audio to TV
• Audio Out (right) – used to connect audio to TV
• Microphone Input 1 – to hook up a first karaoke microphone
• Microphone Input 2 – to hook up a second karaoke microphone

These inputs and outputs provide you with more options and flexibility. Beside connection to TV, one can use the audio outputs to connect this karaoke machine to your own stereo system.

Disco, Party Light

This karaoke machine comes with a blue party light.

Power – Batteries or plug-in

The system has to be plugged in 120V and would not offer battery option.

The Electrohome EAKAR300 Control Panel

Here is a list of what you can find on control panel to give you an idea about what this machine can do:

• CD door
• Master Volume Control
• AVC (Auto Voice Control)
• Echo Control
• On/Off Button
• Skip Back button – skipping back or searching for a song
• Skip forward button – skipping forward or searching for a song
• Repeat button – repeat playing the song
• Play/Pause indicator
• CD+G indicator
• LED indicator
• Repeat indicator
• Program indicator
• Stop Button
• Play/Pause button
• Program Button – To program your songs in a selected order
• CD door open button
• MIC volume control
• Balance Button

Remote Control

The EAKAR300 home karaoke machine does not come with a remote control.

Set Up

No assembly is needed for this system. Take it out of the box and start playing. If  you are looking for an easy to use, plug and play type of karaoke machine for kids and adults both, this system should be one your top choices.

What’s in the box

Here is what you receive with your purchase:

• Karaoke CD+G Player Speaker System
• Dynamic Microphone (10ft cord)
• CD+G Multiplex Karaoke Disc with Music from Various Artists
• RCA Audio/Video Composite Connection Cable
• Instruction Manual
• 1 Year Warranty
• Lifetime Live Customer Support

What people are saying

I have searched through hundreds of reviews on retail stores’ sites and the majority of customers seem to be happy with this home karaoke machine they purchased. From most reviews, you can clearly conclude that the Electrohome EAKAR300 is a great karaoke machine for kids. Children with the age starting from 5 year old up to teen agers and older seemed to have had an enjoyable experience with this product. Many consumers highlighted the ease of use and portability of the system. Another positive point that has been regularly brought up in the reviews is the quality of speakers for such an affordable karaoke machine.

On the other hand, there seems to be some general complaints about the poor quality of the microphone. Also, few customers had some bad out of the box experience and ended up with a defective system in their hand. For most cases the purchased karaoke machine was returned and the refund was received.

Specifications

• Output Power – 1 x 2W RMS
• Output Impedance – 8 ohms
• Frequency Response (link) – 100Hz – 20kHz
• Signal to Noise Ratio – 50dB
• Number of Programs – 20 steps random access programming
• Microphone – (-73) dB 600 ohms impedance, 6.3mm dynamic (link) microphone
• Power – AC 120V ~ 60Hz
• Dimensions (H x W x D) – 8.1 × 8.9 × 9.8 inches (20.6 × 22.6 × 24.9 cm)
• Weight – 4.8 lbs (2.2 kg)

Accessories

Except for the microphone, there are no additional accessories.

Pros

• Sleek and nice design
• Blue party light
• Versatile connectivity to song sources
• Portable and compact
• Easy to setup and use
• Connect to TV
• Kids friendly

Cons

• No recording option
• No built in screen
• Cannot be used with batteries
• Some consumer complaints about the quality of the microphone

The Electrohome EAKAR300 Consumer Ratings

The ratings for this portable karaoke machine are very good. This is an affordable karaoke machine with an aesthetically appealing and sleek design. The speaker quality is good for a machine in this price range. This karaoke system is very light and easily portable. It is simple to operate with no need to any initial setup. If you are looking for a kids karaoke machine that come with decent quality at a lower price, you must have this machine on your list.

Price

For the reasons mentioned before, I believe the price of this karaoke machine is very reasonable. If this is the price range you are looking for, you may not find that many systems on the market that would match the quality and versatility offered by this machine.

Buying a karaoke machine for home can sometimes be overwhelming given the variety of features these systems offer. I hope that my review has been helpful and have made your purchasing decision a bit easier.