IXT Systems Karaoke Microphone Review

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Many of the cheaper DVD players these days include inputs on the front panel for connecting microphones for karaoke. More expensive DVD players however typically don’t include such functionality, and that?s where a company called IXT Systems has stepped in to bridge the gap. They have produced a microphone designed to integrate with any DVD Player to turn it into a full-blown karaoke machine.

The microphone comes in a coloured retail box showing pictures of the microphone, and descriptions of what it can do. They definitely didn?t skimp on the package, and it comes across as a quality product.

Also included with my review sample was an additional DVD with 60 songs. This is one of many that can be purchased from IXT.

Inside the box is the microphone, a sample karaoke DVD with 16 songs and a 9V battery.

The microphone runs on a 9V battery, as no power is provided by the DVD player. Fortunately (and these days surprisingly) one is included. Simple pop the cover off the bottom and in it goes.

The microphone has a VERY long cord for attaching to your DVD player. This is necessary as the cable has to reach around to the back of the DVD player.

The cable connected to both your DVD player and TV. The way it works is the DVD player?s audio out ports connect to one set of plugs on the cable, and your TV?s (or audio system?s) input ports connect to the other set. The DVD player?s audio is then mixed in with the audio from the microphone and sent to your speakers.

This works quite well, and there doesn?t appear to be any loss of sound quality with this arrangement.

On the side of the microphone there are two slider controls. The top one is the power toggle, which also toggles the ?echo? mode on and off. There is also an LED indicator to let you know if it?s on. You don?t want to be replacing that 9 volt battery very often!

Below it is the volume control, that adjusts the microphone volume independently of the DVD player volume.

The build quality of the microphone is very high. It has a definite heft to it, and gives you the impression that it will last through a lot of karaoke nights ;). The cord feels very durable too.

The sound quality of the microphone is equally as good, and while I am sure it doesn?t match up to studio mics, its great for karaoke. Of course it depends on how good your speakers are, but on my Teac 80cm TV and on a Sony surround sound system its sounded great. Unfortunately it won?t improve how good the singer is, as I found out 😛 I tested it at a party as well, and it worked great. Much better than when I?m speaking into it!

I tried all the discs that came with the unit (the included 16 song DVD and the extra 60 song holiday 2-disc set) and while there were some good songs on them, I found them to be quite slow versions.

I?m not sure about any of the other available DVDs, but I hope they have some more upbeat stuff. If you can?t find anything you like from their vast catalogue, you can use your regular CDs in your DVD player and sing along to them too. Of course doing this you won?t get the benefit of having the words come up onscreen, or the option to turn the voiceover on or off.

I was going say that I would much prefer if it was wireless, but it appears IXT heard me before I spoke, as at CES they announced a wireless version!!

This is a great idea for parties, and works as advertised. The excellent build and sound quality put it ahead of your regular cheap microphone, and its method of connection allows you to use it on any DVD player.

MSRP: $29.95
What I Like: Excellent build and sound quality, works with any DVD player
What Needs Improvement: Songs on included disc were a bit “slow”

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About the Author

Mitchell Oke
Mitchell is a video producer and director working with Australia's leading motoring news sites and car companies. He's always on the go with a camera in hand. With a Bachelor of Creative Technology (Digital Video Production), Mitchell's worked for News Limited, CarAdvice.com and as a freelancer for many years.