Utilizing ‘House’ Speakers

One thing thats sort of annoying about your standard karaoke set up, is the fact that all the sound is coming from one single source…. YOUR main speakers. It’s bad enough that the people in the front row get stuck with an onslaught of off-key country tunes. Now you’re subjecting them to high-volume drunken rambling. So why not tap into the club’s main PA system and deliver your tunes on an even scale?

1. First ask the club owner if you can tap into the main PA (duh… but we all need our permission slips).
2. Then find out if the ‘house’ audio system is owned by the club or not. Some places own their equipment, while others lease it from a vending machine type company. If the later is the case, you’ll need permission and probably assistance for hooking up your system.
3. As long as you have the green light, it’s time to get to work! First thing you’ll need is a splitter to attach to the output of the CD+G Player. You NEVER want to line out from your power amp to the House PA. Doing so could cause very serious damage, and you’ll be stuck doing karaoke for free, for quite some time. The line out from your CD+G player will be perfect as it does not send voltage up the line. Your typical connection from the player is an A/V style plug, and the splitters (you’ll probably need two) should run a couple bucks a piece.
4. Cabling - Since you’re asking for the extra ‘umpf’, you’ll need to supply all the cable as well. This could get quite expensive if the House PA is all the way across the bar. So spend some time shopping for cable. For those really long runs, you’ll probably have to stop down at the local music shop for a custom made set, which is highly recommended but can be expensive.
5. Determine what kind of inputs are allowed on the House system. Since the input can vary widely, you’ll probably have to purchase, yet another, set of splitters and possibly some adapters. If you’re dealing with a leased system, it might be wise to speak with the rental company to make sure you’re hooking your lines up in the proper place. When it comes to electronics…. ‘You just never know’.

When the smoke clears, you’ll have a KILLER sounding system. The bartenders can easily adjust the volume of the house system just like they normally do, keeping the volume at a comfortable level. Meanwhile, you can run your system louder than the house, but not nearly as loud as before, which saves your up-front audience members a trip to the hospital with bleeding ears. The overall effect is a perfectly balanced audio environment!