Saregama Carvaan Karaoke review: A fun upgrade to a retro offering

The highlight of Saregama's latest Carvaan is the karaoke mode that comes with support for 1,000 pre-loaded songs. Here's our review…

Saregama Carvaan Karaoke review (HT Tech)

Saregama's Carvaan lineup is a product unique in its own. Through Carvaan, Saregama aims to offer a modern experience while keeping the old retro vibe still intact. The latest addition to this is the Carvaan Karaoke featuring a 9-inch colour screen, and karaoke support for a 1,000 songs.

Saregama Carvaan Karaoke is priced at ₹19,990 making it the most expensive Carvaan to launch so far. It comes with the same set of features and specifications as the Carvaan 2.0 but with karaoke as its highlight. We've been using the Carvaan Karaoke for quite some time, and here's how our experience has been so far.

Saregama Carvaan Karaoke comes with two battery operated microphones in the box. (HT Tech)

Saregama Carvaan Karaoke comes with two battery operated microphones in the box. (HT Tech)

The Carvaan Karaoke comes in a deep red colour which is the only variant available for this device. The design is familiar with the same buttons and display placed up front like we've seen in the previous Carvaan models. The volume karaoke controls are on the right side with different audio modes available on the left side. If you're familiar with the Carvaan lineup then this design won't seem any different to you. The highlight here is obviously the karaoke screen which is nicely tucked on top.

Karaoke mode is available for 1,000 pre-loaded songs. (HT Tech)

Karaoke mode is available for 1,000 pre-loaded songs. (HT Tech)

The 9-inch display will slowly slide up when you press the karaoke button, and you're greeted with a nice intro to the karaoke mode. The device ships with two battery operated microphones which also have buttons to control the karaoke mode. Trying to navigate using the microphone felt a little slow, and the remote was a much better option.

Saregama maintains simplicity and ease-of-use even with the karaoke mode. It's easy to navigate with songs categorised based on artists, albums, and year. You can choose between Hindi and English for lyrics to be displayed on the screen. You can also connect your phone to the Carvaan Karaoke with the app and control the device from it. There's also the option to connect the speaker to a TV or projector to display the lyrics.

The microphones might seem a little tricky to use in the beginning as you might struggle trying to hear your own voice while singing the songs. You'll need to keep the volume high to hear your voice properly as it's almost inaudible when the volume is low. The audio quality is decent and not something you'd expect from proper karaoke devices. The Carvaan Karaoke is more suitable for indoor events. It, however, doesn't have the option to sing other songs in karaoke mode and you cannot add tracks of your choice. The experience is solely meant for the nostalgic old songs.

The other functions and features are pretty much the same. You still have access to the library of 5,000 pre-loaded Hindi songs in Saregama mode. You can also connect the Carvaan Karaoke via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, FM/AM and USB or aux cable. There are also over 280 Wi-Fi based audio stations and podcasts, a feature it introduced on Carvaan 2.0.

Like the previous Carvaan modes, this one too comes with five hours of playtime when fully charged. Our usage was phased and not continuous for five straight hours and it involved using the device in karaoke mode, and also playing music via Bluetooth. Based on this, the Carvaan Karaoke lasted a little over five hours.

Verdict

The Carvaan Karaoke is feature packed with almost every means of audio connectivity one would need. The karaoke addition makes for fun entertainment, and it's something families and friends will definitely like.