So I really like the new Soundcore Rave 3S, it looks good, it sounds good, and with the use AI, it can remove the vocals from any song that its playing and it does all of this locally on the device. And this is great for karaoke… And the soundcore Rave 3S also comes included with 2 wireless mics… so if you’re looking for something to do karaoke with, then the Soundcore Rave 3S is a phenomenal option to consider.
Now the mics that come with the Rave 3S sound good and they get the job done. But lets see how this mic compares to more affordable wired options that you can find online… and lets see how they compare to the much more premium JBL Partybox microphones and lets see if they’re even worth it.
Regarding pricing… the Soudncore Rave 3S retails for $350… so you get your speaker and two wireless microphones… now the wired mics that I usually use in my videos go for $25 and these get the job done, no problem. But then there are the JBL Partybox Microphones and these have a retail price of $150 but they go on sale for $100. But more importantly… if you were to get lets say a JBL partybox 120 and JBL’s wireless mics, then this whole set up is going to cost you between $450 and $550 depending if you can get them on sale or not. Nonetheless, if you want to pick any of these products up they’ll be linked down below or you can always press on the YouTube shopping button.
So first off lets talk about the wired mic, now this thing is universal cause you can plug it into any speaker that has a 3 quarter inch input, it doesn’t require phantom power to drive this mic like with some of these other more professional mics, it has a 15 foot long cable which should be more than long enough… and more importantly if you’re planning on doing lots of karaoke, these mics are durable and they can take a real beating.
However, the problem with these super affordable mics is that if you’re handling the mic, or if you’re moving the cable around, all of that sound is going to get transferred into the speaker. Now if you’re doing causal kakroke at home, I dont think that it matters. But if you’re putting on a more professional production, this excess sound isn’t going to make you look good. But overall this is a cardioid mic so you do want to speak into it from the top, and its going to do a decent job avoiding your voice if you’re speaking into it from the sides.
But next up, these are the wireless mics that come with the Soundcore Rave 3S. Now from a connectivity stand point, you just turn them on and they connect to your speaker. There is no external dongle that you have to worry about which is great cause thats one less battery you have to worry about. And when it comes to battery, the Mic themselves take 2 double a batteries, and they have an advertised battery life of 12 hours. And the fact that these mics are using double 2 batteries is good cause you can quickly swap out your batteries if they run out of power… but its bas cause you have to keep batteries on hand.
But when it comes to sound, just like the wired mic this is a cardioid mic so you want to speak straight into it, and its going to do a good job of rejecting sounds that coming from the sides… But just like with the wired mic, if you handle this mic too much, all of that sound is going to come through your speaker…
And finally there are the JBL Partybox Mics which are the most premium microphones here. Now first off these do have a separate dongle which you plug into your speaker’s 3 quarter inch input… so this system can actually work with any speaker out there as long as it has a 3 quarter inch input. However, this dongle does have a built in battery which is going to be good for up to 12 hours. Now I do think that its annoying that you have to worry about keeping this dongle charged… but you can use it while its charging, and it charges via a USB C port
And then there are the mics themselves. Now the mics have an advertised battery life of 20 hours… and they also charge via a USB C port and they can be used while they are charging as well. Overall, I feel that both the dongle and the mics themselves have decent battery lives… but it is annoying to have one more thing to remember to have charged. But the mics do have decent fast charging where a 10 minute charge on a dead battery is going to get you 2 hours of use.
But more importantly, theres the sound of these mics. Now just like the wired mic and the mics that come included with the Rave 3S, this is a cardioid mic, so you’re going to want to talk straight into it, and its going to do a really good job of rejecting noises that come from the sides. However, this mic’s cardioid pattern is a lot more focused than these other two mics. So this mic is going to do a much better job of rejecting noise pollution.
But another thing is that this mic does a much better job of not picking up so much noise when youre handling the mic it self. So I feel your production is going to look a lot more professional cause you’re not going to have that annoying tapping noise. I also feel that this mic has much better clarity than these other two mics and the pop filter on the JBL Partybox Mics does a much better job of blocking out puffs.
And also from a build quality standpoint, these JBL mics just feel more premium than these other mics and I really like that these JBL mics have these rubber stoppers, so when you but them down, they dont roll around on the table or they dont start to bounce from side to side like with the Rave 3S mics. The only thing that I dont like about these JBL mics is the power button… it is to easy to accidentally turn it off… and that’s very annoying especially when you’re doing kaorke with the family and they dont realize that they keep turning off the mics.
So with all of that being said, if you’re buying a box speaker and if you’re looking for a microphone to do kakroke with, then these wired mics work well, they get the job done, they sound good and they’re very durable. However, these wired mics do transfer a lot of noise into your speaker if you handle them too rough and their cardioid pattern isn’t super focused. So they’ll pick up your voice… but they’ll also pick up noise pollution.
The wireless mics that come with the Soundcore Rave 3S sound a little better than wired mics. Their cardioid pattern is a little more focused so they wont pick up as much noise pollution, but they can still transfer a decent amount of noise to your speaker if you handle them too hard. But more importantly these mics are wireless, they take batteries, and there are no external dongles that you have to worry about when you’re using them with the Rave 3S… but for right now, it only looks like you can use them with your Rave 3S.
And finally there are the JBL Partybox wireless microphones… yes these are very premium however, from a sound quality standpoint, the cardioid pattern on these is a lot more focused. So they’ll do a much better job of just picking up your voice if you’re speaking directly into them and they also do a much better job of not transferring as much noise when you’re handling them and they have much better pop filters.
Also, thanks to their dongle, these mics can work with any speaker or system out there. You just have to plug in their dongle into a 3 quarter inch input and you’re good to go. However, you’re going to have 3 extra things to remember to keep charged. But the good thing is these mics and the dongles can be used while they are charging and the mics have good fast chargning as well. I just wish the power button on these mics wasn’t so easy to accidentally press.