Customer Reviews

Griffin 9757-IKAROKE iKaraoke Microphone for iPod

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

I'm using kJames on my Mac to convert mp3/cdg files to Quicktime mp4 files. With that and a video iPod, I get a true karaoke experience and the iKaraoke works great. In my experience, vocal cancelling never really works so I expected nothing more from this. However with true karaoke files, I think you'll be pleased. We used the iKaraoke on a car trip today, and it was a blast. I only wish there were built-in mic level controls on the microphone.

I purchased this item from Amazon for under $40 and am totally satisfied. I read some of the other reviews and could not understand why the comments were so negative. I used this product with a 2GB Nano transmitting to an FM station on a Sony DAV X-1 Home Theater System and it worked as advertised. It's not comparable to a full scale karaoke system, but what do you expect for the price? If you're looking for a very portable mic to sing along with original music and having some fun almost anywhere, this item is for you. My only negative comment is that Griffin should supply a line-in cable to the stereo to give you a choice of line-in or FM "out of the package".

Griffin always has great ideas, but I think all too often they rush things to market before they are ready for prime time. Of all the Griffin products I own, this is one I was immediately disappointed with and planned to return after fiddling with it for an hour.

The controls are counter-intuitive and not always responsive. I did read the directions, and followed them, but I still get problems getting it to pick up on a static-filled, unused FM station. The transmitter is so weak (probably a limitation by the FCC, not necessarily Griffin's fault), you have to be really close to the radio. When you're really close to the radio, you get really bad feedback.

I had to turn the volume on my stereo up all the way and then practically shove the microphone in my mouth to get it to register my voice through the speakers. The packaging says you can use it as a PA system, which is why I got it. I cannot sing well and had no aspirations of being a karaoke singer... but I did try to fake my way through a tune and my summation is either that this was rushed to market too soon just so it could be ready for Christmas, or I could have just gotten a dud. Considering the other 1-star review already posted, I am tempted to believe it's the former, not the latter.

Like all their products, the execution on the design is flawless - it is a beautiful device and whoever designs the outer casing gets a gold star in my book - but good lucks don't cut it when you plunk down fifty bucks and the gizmo does not work.

Like the first iTrips that needed you to install 99 .mp3 files on the iPod to work, this is a product that just hasn't been field tested enough. After about a year or so, they came out with iTrips that had LEDs that you could control externally without putting a bunch of crap on your iPod... I have hopes for this device in a newer model of this mic, but this one is of poor quality in functioning. Some of their products, like their PowerMate, are executed flawlessly, but this one did not make it through my own QC.

The company does excellent retail packaging. The devices they make are beautiful to look at - but they all need to work! Can you tell I'm irritated? I remember seeing this device as a 'coming soon' on their site for the past month or so and I was chomping at the bit to get one... I was so tickled when they were finally available, not now I wished they had just finished working on the thing and did a push for Valentine's day or something. Ok, enough horse beating - suffice to say, no worky.

Griffin made two versions of this both ending in 9757. The first version DOES NOT work with the Touch--in the packaging the connector is facing left toward the microphone. The second version DOES work with the Touch and is searchable on Griffin's website:[...]. The packaging shows the connector facing right away from the microphone and has a yellow label in the upper left corner. It also displays the Touch on the back for compatibility. I also verified with Griffin support that this earlier model does not work with the Touch.

So even though you see both listed on this link and that people have bought the items together, they do not work together.

There are two vocal settings: on and off. Supposedly, with vocals on, you hear the orignial song. However, with vocals on the the song is distorted; its quality is clearly inferior to that of the original song. This is even with reverb turned off on the microphone. It's as if you are listening to a cd player with several blankets wrapped around it.

However bad that is, it does nothing to prepare you for the atrocity that is the vocals turned off. You hear strange distorted vocals in the background. The entire bass range seems to be knocked out. At least with vocals on, the quality degradation appeared to be spread out over the whole spectrum. It's as if you are listening to a cd player that someone has smashed to bits with a bat.

Sorry Griffin. This is a great idea, but I would not have released such a horrible product. Maybe with some more R&D it can be saved.

After reading about all the things the iKaraoke was supposed to do, I was immediately skeptical. Still, tho, for less than I'd spend on a good meal for two somewhere, I decided to take a chance.

The mic has two modes, one with the original vocals intact, and one (in theory) with the vocals removed. For the latter, I've tried many different songs with a wide variety of ranges, tempos, styles, etc, and the best I've gotten from the iKaraoke is to severely muffle and distort the vocals...but never completely getting rid of them. Another problem, is that anything in the same frequency range as the vocals (including instruments and YOUR voice as well) are also severely muffled. I had some fun with it, and noticed that the more 'off key' I sang, the more I was able to hear myself.

The bottom line is this: The iKaraoke does NOT do what it claims to do. If it's worth $40 to spend the evening tinkering and TRYING to get it to work, instead of blowing it at a bar, the movies, etc, then have at it. Understand that your money WILL be spent for nothing, however, and in the end, you'll find that it was more fun singing without it.

This is a good product for extremely amateur singer. Great for the car though so long as you music isn't too loud (alot of feedback if it is). At home I couldn't find a long enough cord to get away from the speakers so I wouldn't get any feedback so I bought an extension cable from Wal-Mart and that solved the problem. If you use the FM modulator you have to be pretty close to the stereo and that picks up some feedback. Also, the mic picks up alot of breathing noises so I put some foam from some cheap headphones over it secured with a rubber band. You think at the price it would have something over the mic to stop excessive noise. All-in-all though its a fun product and with some tweeking you can have alot of fun.

This is not a bad little tech product to add to you list. It's fun to use; my wife and I sung songs in the car while going somewhere.

The product is cool. The only negative, I see is that it doesn't fully mute the original singers voice. That's okay to me because, I probably need the original singer as my back up.

The cost was not that much, so I didn't expect that I was actually get a Karaoke machine.

On the other hand there's really no reason why they couldn't make the original singer voice muted, with todays technology.

I got it from Radio shack, which lets you try it. Mic works great, but you can barely hear the music track, even at high setting. I got an old Pioneer karaoke mixer that works beautifully, was hoping this would work without all the gear, but does not work.

I like the thought of this item. It pretty much does what it says. The radio frequency is a little challenging to get good quality sound. When it "minimizes" the lead vocals, it minimizes everything making it harder to hear. I like it and will use it again, but I think there is room for improvement.