Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We purchased this product for my children who are avid singers (one of which takes lessons and sings regularly. This product can clearly be rated a 4/5 star for most people who still buy this AFTER reading this review. It can also be a 1/2 star product if your expectations are not aligned with reality. I give this product 4/5 stars because our expectations were based on reality AND we knew Youtube existed BEFORE we purchased the system (shocker I know). THE UGLY (however this is 100% avoidable and will likely only upset if you fell victim). Many unsuspecting people will feel they need to download the Singtrix application on their smart device, since the company who made the product will likely have the best quality of songs that naturally work with the system correct? WRONG. SAVE YOUR MONEY. The application is basic enough, but you can get higher quality songs (in many different variation) by using YouTube. Just type in Karaoke (insert name of song here) and you will likely get a half dozen options, from instrumental on piano, to many times the real song with no vocal, or vocals reduced. My families favorite are the VEVO Karaoke songs on Youtube. My kids are singing their favorites from recent songs like Titanium, Dynamite, All of Me,etc. while there are literally thousands of songs for my wife and I from our generation from artist like the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, etc. The $20 per month Singtrix asked for their music is ridiculous... and the quality / version are often boring instrumentals my kids didn't like anyway. You also can't easily preview their songs... until you drop the monthly subscription fee... so save your money. The only downside to Youtube? With many songs you will have to listen to 3-5 seconds of commercials (which you can immediately skip). THE BAD: (Again, only Bad if your expectations were off) (1) If you are a bad singer, this system will only make you slightly better... don't expect to see results like the videos on YouTube where those actors could already sing. Trust me, if we had a dog, he would still be howling during select notes my wife hits.. (ok... me too). My daughter who sounds incredible live in front of 200 people with only her voice does sound great... but some effects can make her sound worse as well. There are ~300 settings... so finding the ones that make you sound good can take a little time and practice. Great thing is you can save your favorites so you aren't looking for them for long. Some people only are really upset that this system didn't make them sound like good .... and I understand the videos make it seem like anyone can become a great singer. Not true... and the AXE commercials make you feel like if you use their product you will have supermodels draped all over you. So I live in reality... I sound better... it is great fun... so the fact that I don't sound like John Legend going with only a mix on the Oprah show doesn't bother me. (2) This is a system consisting of an AMP and a effects box (which is very cool) but DOES NOT COME WITH ANY SONGS. It is NOT a karaoke system. But for us, who cares... we use our iPad and Youtube. Problem solved and we avoid monthly subscriptions and having to managed specific files like most karaoke systems use. Not sure why SELECT people are so upset with this online and recommending system that use specific karaoke songs you pay for and manage with specific file types. These people obviously haven't found Youtube. (3) The feature where you can use your own music and hit the "song voice" button to REDUCE the vocals on your own iTunes music doesn't work well... it kind of mutes the entire music on the treble side and doesn't really work well. But again, we use real Karaoke songs off YouTube with no vocals... so this didn't impact us much, but I will admit I was a little disappointed. I expected more from this function, but realize now there is only so much one can do. However this had ZERO impact on our enjoyment of the Singtrix. THE GREAT: My kids didn't expect this gift this holiday. I got lucky enough to get one from a large mass retailer online since Amazon was backordered until Jan. My kids were "eh" at first... as they didn't completely understand it. All I can say is once they used it once... it was a non-stop singing session all day. Even my wife, who rolled her eyes and swore she wouldn't use it slowly migrated towards the kids this AM and within about 90 minutes she was singing. My family had a blast today with this system. After lunch, the family left once we finished a hearty meal, my 3 girls were passed out from getting up so early... my wife was STILL on this system singing. I myself spent at least an hour today singing old 70's and 80's classics... and I sounded pretty good with some setting (which you need to play with). Which leads to another GREAT thing about this system... there is an earphone jack. Because as great as the wife and I sound... there is only so much one can take. I literally heard the YouTube Karaoke version of Christina Perri's "Thousand Miles" at least 40 times today... so if you are getting this for kids, make sure you have a good set of earphones for those times when you can't take another round of "Let it Go" today. But overall the system is a blast... and as long as your expectations are in-line... you will have a blast. If you read this review, and understand what you are getting, you won't be disappointed. Conclusion: Don't let the negative consumers who complain about not going from tone deaf to Usher turn you off... I am still using AXE and haven't gotten a second look from a supermodel... much less two on my lap. Don't let the negative consumers who wanted a full Karaoke system turn you off... because with an Smart Device you DO have a Karaoke system. No need for a big monitor and system specific Karaoke files to manage. You can literally pick this entire system up and carry it from one place to another in about 2 mins (plugging in the two power supplies will take 75% of that time). Use YouTube Karaoke videos... they are great and offer more songs than you will ever use. Have fun... keep your expectations realistic. You will have a great time with this unit... if you sing well, you will sound great. If you sound mediocre... you will sound better. If you are tone deaf and sound horrible... you will be tolerable on this system (at least for a while). But no matter what skill level you are... you will have FUN. If you host lots of parties? It is a must have. I couldn't imagine having this back in my younger days. Combined with alcohol, bad break-ups, crazy friends, etc... this would be an insane amount of fun.