Evolution of the Magic Karaoke Microphone
by Staff Writer

There are several terms used to describe the magic karaoke microphone. Commonly called the magic mic, magic sing, magic karaoke, magic microphone, and magic karaoke microphone. There are other terms used but these are the most common. Before continuing it should be noted here that the Filipino community in the United States and the Philippines has played a major role in the popularity of the magic microphone and karaoke in general. With their love for singing and music they have become the main group for introducing the magic microphone to America and countries around the world. One of the owners of Pacific Imports, Inc. is a Philippines native and was the first website to offer the magic mic in 1999 at: www.furnitureandgifts.com that later became www.pacimports.com.

The first magic microphone was built by a company named Enter-Tech. The model name was "Magic" and was black in color, contained 800 built-in songs (not on a song chip) and did not have the capability to work with a 2nd wireless mic. It was also packaged without a mic stand and could accept 2 additional song chips.

The 2nd versions released came in black and silver with a round gold top and were also made by Enter-Tech. These magic mics contained the 800 songs on a song chip, a mic stand was included and a sub mic was offered as an accessory option. The only difference between the 2 units in operation was that the black mic could only accept 3 song chips and the silver magic could accept 4 song chips. The price was normally $10 to $20 more for the silver model. It is important to note that the black model is still available today with one additional feature. It now contains the V/C (Vocoder) option that allows a singers voice to be raised higher or lowered to a deeper sound.

The 3rd version magic microphone was again made by Enter-Tech and was gold in color. It was a more streamlined version without the round head. It is still available today and aside from the color there was no difference in operation when compared to the silver model.

2002 - 2003: Enter-Tech released the silver magic mic IV in late 2002 and the vocoder V/C was included as the only additional feature. At approximately the same time 2 new companies emerged as makers of the magic microphone. Top Notch from China introduced the Magic Star microphone and Koritech introduced the Music Yes. The Music Yes or KT-107 could download 1 song with a small memory capability from the internet. It could also record your singing and then replay it. This was a big feature and the neat little mic was a popular alternative at a lower price. Koritech has now replaced the KT-107 with the KT-113 Handystar Model. It has a much larger memory capability and better sound. The Magic Star was inferior in sound quality to its 2 competitors but contained 2700 free songs! In 2003 another Chinese company emerged as "Prosong". It packaged 2 microphones together and became an instant big hit with its smaller, sleeker look and leather carrying case. Following the introduction of the Prosong units, Top Notch released the Music Star microphone set. With 2 microphones and 2700 songs it is also a very popular package.

In 2004 Enter-Tech released the Silver Magic Mic V with a new record feature and built-in 800 songs as the only difference to its number 4 model. The Enter-Tech and Koritech KT-113 stand as the units with the best sound quality, but the Music Star and Prosong brands are a better packaged value. All of this means that the public has many models and options to choose from and they can find what best suits there taste and budget.

Now, in 2005 Enter-Tech has released its most powerful model to date. The model number is ED8000Plus and it comes with 2058 songs built in. This new version 8 magic mic features two new enhancements: you can upload your recordings to a computer and burn your own CD. The Version 8 has a full 8 minute recording time compared to 6 minutes with the previous V6. This Entertech model dominates the industry with MP3 sound quality and a video input where you can play your own video background from any source. This super mic records yourself singing and instantly plays the songs back. Of course it still sports the typcial features of key control, tempo control, song reservations, scoring, and the vocoder function.