The Best Karaoke Gear for Jamming Out at Home
There’s nothing like a fun night out capped off with some terrible creative singing among friends, but if you’re looking to avoid the crowds, the best karaoke machines bring the fun to you. Whether you’re throwing the ultimate birthday bash or just jamming with the fam on a boring Tuesday night, you may be surprised how much laughter, entertainment, and even catharsis you can find performing at home, without the need for cheesy KJs and pricey drinks.
Our crack team of WIRED reviewers has been evaluating speakers of all kinds for over a decade, and we love karaoke, so we know how to find great sound, usability, and value in this burgeoning category. Below are our favorite karaoke machines (and accessories) we’ve tested at a variety of price points, sizes, and setup requirements. Rest assured: There is something here for every karaoke junky in training. Be sure to also check out our list of the Best Bluetooth Speakers, the Best Bookshelf Speakers, and the Best USB Microphones for more ways to get your groove on.
What Makes a Good Karaoke Speaker?
Karaoke speakers aren’t just about flashy lights and loud music, although those make for a good start. The best karaoke machines offer intuitive usability, multiple ways to connect a source device such as Bluetooth and 3.5-mm aux input, and features like EQ and vocal effects.
The top options we’ve tested, like the Soundcore Rave 3S, go even further, providing accessories like dual wireless microphones so that you can simply plug and play, and advanced features like an AI Vocal Remover that lets you use any song for your next karaoke jam session, including private recording if you wish. An app for addressing vocal effects or features on the fly is also very helpful, especially if you’re hosting a party and want to make sure your guests sound their best.
How We Test Karaoke Speakers
We test karaoke speakers by singing karaoke! A shocking number of Gear Team writers have dedicated lists of their favorite karaoke songs and regularly go out to sing, and we use a large studio space to test the speakers. We listen to the way each device performs relative to others, judging them on usability, how easy they are to pair, and other features like lights, mics, etc.
Where Do You Find Karaoke Songs?
YouTube is the best open-source option, but there are numerous sing-along apps in various app stores. We tend to stick to YouTube for testing, but where possible, we also use Spotify (some devices have vocal deletion) or other streaming services that feature lyrics. You can also play your favorite songs and sing along, which is a good way to learn them properly before you bring them to showtime.
The Best Karaoke Mic
The Bonaok Karaoke Microphone (or any of the myriad of identical Chinese karaoke mics) is great for small rooms, kids, or taking with you to parties. The USB-rechargeable mic has a built-in Bluetooth speaker around the rim, along with a series of playback and mixing controls. You can adjust the microphone volume, echo effect, and music volume with simple sliders, as well as play, skip, or pause your backing track.
It's not the loudest thing in the world, but the mic and speaker are well-balanced, so that the song and your voice are usually at a good volume together. It's not loud enough for a full-on dance party, but you can't throw a PA speaker in your purse or backpack to surprise and embarrass your friends with your best version of “My Heart Will Go On” on their birthday, can you? There are even lights. —Parker Hall
Specs Battery Life Up to 10 hours Weatherproofing N/A Accessories N/A Special Features Echo effect, customizable lights The Best Karaoke Speaker
It’s amazing how much value budget portable speaker brands offer these days, especially if you’re looking for an all-around party starter like the Soundcore Rave 3S. I set this speaker up for our summer block party and was showered with compliments for its smooth and rich bass, clear and peppy upper register, and 200 watts of power to fill our street with yacht rock fun. As you might guess, it doubles as a killer karaoke machine with everything you need for a portable party, including two conveniently mounted wireless mics, wired microphone and aux inputs, customizable lighting and EQ, and intuitive controls via the Soundcore app.
The marquee feature is Soundcore’s AI vocal remover, which does a brilliant job stripping vocals to put any and every song at your disposal. The system sometimes gets overzealous with what’s removed, but you can customize it with four different levels, from full to none, directly on the mic. The claimed 12-hour battery is ambitious (I got more like seven to eight at mid volume), but my friends and I were able to enjoy hours of karaoke hijinks on my patio. —Ryan Waniata
Specs Battery Life Up to 12 hours (less with higher volumes) Weatherproofing IPX4 Accessories Two wireless mics (and batteries) Special Features AI Vocal Remover, EQ, reverb effect, customizable lights
The Best Karaoke Boom Box
After extensively testing the Tribit Stormbox Blast 2 as a Bluetooth boom box, I had an embarrassingly fun time coming back to it for karaoke, while also cheering up my 40-plus-weeks pregnant wife in the process. Not only did we have a blast (pun mildly intended) diving through duets in our living room, much to our dog’s chagrin, but we also found out which songs we can pull off (Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” is a go), and which ones we can’t (my apologies to the late David Bowie and Freddie Mercury for what we did to “Under Pressure”).
There are a few things to know about karaoke with the Stormbox. You’ll need your own microphones and XLR to quarter-inch cables for starters, which is a notable investment, and it may take a while to balance the microphone volume with the music via the controls on the back. I also noticed the microphone auto-mutes when you’re not singing, but it’s not an issue once you get going. Overall, it’s a relatively involved operation. On the other hand, the Stormbox sounds great, and its versatility and portability give it an edge over larger setups. —Ryan Waniata
Specs Battery Life Up to 30 hours Weatherproofing IP67 Accessories N/A Special Features Stereo pairing, reverb effect, customizable lights Best Portable PA Speaker
This battery-powered speaker from JBL is a perfect option for off-grid venues. It features up to four channels of amplified audio and has hot-swappable batteries, which makes it great for outdoor festivals, weddings, or anywhere else you might need a microphone. You can pair up to four Eon One units together wirelessly at a time, and operate up to two of the speakers in stereo, which makes these great for slowly building a bigger system over time, or for audio pros who want to grab as many as they need at a time and not worry about power issues. Each Eon One unit is also expandable with a tower speaker that sits on top for even more coverage.
This professional pedigree means it works great as a karaoke speaker, too, especially given a high-quality built-in reverb effect, and the easy-to-use mixing knobs on the side. This is the kind of PA speaker that anyone with a cell phone or tablet, a microphone, and a cable can use easily, which isn't something I can say about most portable PAs that I have tested. I also like that it can sit upright, or it can be tilted on its side to aim audio at your head, which is ideal for singing along to music. —Parker Hall
Specs Battery Life Up to 12 hours Weatherproofing N/A Accessories N/A Special Features Vocal effects, hot-swappable batteries, ability to pair together with up to four units (two in stereo), built-in universal pole mount
Will.I.Am's Karaoke Machine
Most of Will.I.Am's forays into consumer electronics have been legendary in bad ways. But though I wouldn't buy his iPhone case, two failed smartwatches, or objectively horrific concept car, I am (ahem) happy to recommend his karaoke machine, a collaboration with LG.
If there is anything Will.I.Am knows, it's how to perfectly set up a singer for accurate lip syncing to cool lights on stage. This small karaoke speaker has lights on the top and bottom, and sits like a stage monitor in front of you. It has a quarter-inch jack for a microphone or guitar, as well as built-in reverb for easy dialing in of vocal tone. It's a mono speaker, but it manages to sound very full thanks to two midrange drivers and a big 6.5-inch woofer in the middle. —Ryan Waniata
Specs Battery Life Up to 12 hours Weatherproofing IPX4 Accessories N/A Special Features Vocal effects, built-in pole mount, cool lighting effects
Awesome Accessories
Which karaoke accessories you need will depend on what kind of system you buy. For example, if you’re buying a portable Bluetooth speaker that doubles as a karaoke machine with traditional microphone inputs, the first thing you’ll need is a good microphone like the Shure SM58 and a cable (or two). If your device offers only quarter-inch inputs, you’ll want to add an XLR to quarter-inch cable or an XLR to quarter-inch adapter.
That’s a great start, but even if your machine comes with built-in wireless mics, there are some good accessories worth considering to raise the experience a notch or two.
The Shure SM58 ($109) is the most popular stage mic on Earth for a reason: they're bulletproof and they sound great. If you need of a mic, we highly recommend picking up the SM58; they're probably what you've used at your local juke joint.
Our favorite mic stands are from the German brand K&M ($83), but you can totally get away with an Amazon Basics Mic Stand ($23) at home. I like colorful microphone cables like these ($12). If you need one, snag a quarter-inch to XLR adapter ($10 for two) so that your mic can plug into every karaoke machine you find.
If you want to mess with the way voices actually sound, or to create cool harmony lines with yourself on the fly, we highly recommend the new Antares Headrush VX5 pedal ($299). This thing can make you perfectly in tune, but it can also do things like stack layers of your own voice on top of or below each other. You can even hook up an instrument and play along with tunes and have it match the key of your axe.
If you're not using a TV in your living room, it's an awesome idea to grab a cheap but quality portable projector. We like the latest small model from Anker ($530), because it is relatively affordable and includes a decent pair of speakers for when you're watching movies outside and don't want to hook up a PA.
If you don't already have a way to cast content from your phone to your TV or projector, we highly recommend any of the latest 4K streaming devices. These all have a way to share stuff from phones to screens, and you can download YouTube or other karaoke apps.
Ambience is a key part of a good karaoke party. We really love this light from Soundboks ($299), who also make big party speakers. It can sync to your music and is USB-C rechargeable for off-grid vibes.
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