I was browsing through eBay the other day and came across something that caught my interest. It was Griffins iKaraoke for a ridiculously low price of just $24 (instead of the retail $69 AUD). Better yet it was new in box and in my neighborhood ready for pickup.
I hit buy it now.
So once I got it home and unboxed it, initial impressions were good; a nice brushed aluminum finish, sweet glowing red ring, clear instructions and just the feeling that this was something quality. And that’s where the positives end.
Getting it to work is a bit unintuitive. You must first cue up a track before plugging it in. You are then greeted by a very 80’s monochrome menu with four options:
FM Frequency, which allows you to change the transmitter frequency.
Music, which allows you to use the mic alone or with music in “karaoke” function.
Reverb: makes it sound like you’re singing in a hall (in theory that is)
Output: Lets you select either line out or FM
Okay so I cued up a song (Iron Maidens excellent “Flight of Icarus”). The first noise I heard was some terrible feedback, so I moved back a few feet. The feedback did not persist so I was able to hear my music clearly. I began sining and found that no matter how I held the mic of altered my singing style, I was unable to get it to pick up my ripping high pitch screams, the kind Bruce Dickinson is famous for.
Deeper Barry White tunes proved more of a success and I was able to hear myself well enough to make it seem realistic.
The much touted “Vocals Switch” which lets you turn of the lead vocal does not work period. It leaves you with a muddy mess of audio.
In the end I repacked the Griffin iKaraoke and put it on my shelf. I will probably put it up on eBay in a few days and let some other dude have a go at it.
Final score: 4/10
