Ikarao Shell S1

Introduction

There’s nothing new about the concept of a karaoke machine, but you’ve never seen one quite like the Ikarao Shell S1.

This device takes inspiration from true wireless earbuds cases, housing two wireless mics inside the shell that are charged by the speaker’s main battery. What’s more, on the inside of the lid, you’ll find a spacious 10.1-inch touchscreen display to select your music and access your favourite karaoke apps.

It’s a genius piece of design, but is it any good? Ikarao doesn’t have the heritage or name recognition of its competitors, but when it comes to design, it’s clearly leading the pack. I’ve been playing with it for the past week, and here’s what I think.

Design

• Solid, premium-quality construction
• Integrated wireless mics and touchscreen display
• Crossbody carry strap included

Ikarao is a brand I had never heard of prior to writing this review, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when the Shell S1 arrived, but it made a really good first impression. I was pleasantly surprised by how premium it looks and feels; no expense was spared on the fit and finish

The Ikarao Shell S1 is a larger unit than pictures may lead you to expect; it’s over a foot long, and it’s a weighty device, tipping the scales at 5.3kg. That heft adds to the premium feel, though, and it’s backed up by a really solid hinge on the top panel, along with a metal grille that wraps around the speaker body.

The size, shape and weight do make the speaker a little difficult to manoeuvre, but thankfully, Ikarao has taken that into account. There’s an included crossbody strap, made from a seatbelt-like material, that can be attached to some sturdy-feeling metal loops on either side of the speaker. With that in place, the speaker is much more portable, but the weight means you probably won’t want to carry it for long distances.

There are two big features that define this machine, the first is that the lid on top opens up to reveal two wireless microphones, it works like a massive AirPods case. The microphones magnetically attach to the inside of the speaker, and they’re charged by the speaker’s battery.

The second thing is that there’s a 10.1-inch touchscreen display on the inside of the lid. This is essentially a built-in Android tablet, and you can use it to access music and karaoke apps. It’s an all-in-one karaoke party solution that can be slung over your shoulder and deployed anywhere.

The Shell S1 is only available in black, and it has subtle yellow accents around the strap mounts. It’s a mostly matte finish, and it’s quite classy and understated, considering the intended use.

On the front, there’s a large spherical volume control wheel with a knurled texture to add grip. I think it looks a bit like a disco ball, and I’m not sure whether that’s intentional or just a happy accident.

The volume ball is surrounded by an addressable RGB ring that displays rotating colours that change along with your music. It looks great, but you aren’t given much choice over the effects. You can turn it off, or select from the cryptically named Romantic, Dynamic and Bright modes.

Romantic mode spins the lighting in different colours quite slowly, Bright mode does the same but faster, and in the opposite direction, and Dynamic imitates a VU metre, in the same rainbow of colours.

All of the effects look good, but it would have been nice to be able to select a specific colour, for example. The circle illuminates to show you your current volume level, though, and that’s a classy touch.

Features

• Android-based 10.1-inch touchscreen
• Supports karaoke apps and streaming services
• HDMI-out for use with a TV

The underside of the lid is essentially a 10.1-inch Android tablet, but it’s not the same Android that you might be accustomed to. This has been heavily skinned to make it suitable for use as a karaoke/music interface, and you can only access a small selection of applications, rather than having something like the Play Store.

It seems like Ikarao envisions users primarily relying on the Karafun app, and you’re given a six-month free trial along with your purchase, after which it’s a monthly subscription. However, you also get YouTube and Spotify (it’s called Music library on the home page) preinstalled, and you can easily add services like Apple Music or alternative karaoke apps such as Starmaker and Smule by hitting the “More Apps” icon.

Of course, you can also stream songs to the speaker from your phone over Bluetooth, and there’s an AUX-in and AUX-out on the rear. You can even play media from a USB device.

The touchscreen interface is very convenient. Its main use-case is for karaoke lyrics, but it’s equally handy as a built-in Spotify player, so party guests can easily control the music without someone needing to sacrifice their phone.

I absolutely love that there’s an HDMI output on the rear, as this means you can hook up the machine to a larger TV and really recreate the karaoke room experience. Most of the time, this HDMI output will just mirror what’s on the built-in screen, but with the Karafun app, it’s even better.

The Karafun app will output the lyrics to the larger display, while still showing the full interface on the built-in display. This means you can search the library and queue up your next song without interrupting the current singer’s session.

The wireless mics couldn’t be easier to use. You just pull them out of the case, hit the power button, and you should be good to go. They’re always fully charged, as the speaker charges them while they’re docked, and each mic has its own volume rocker so you can change the output on the fly.

On the home screen, there’s a variety of options to change the way the microphones sound. The default karaoke mode gives some flattering reverb, while on the other end of the scale, you can add wacky effects like “monster” and “cartoon” that will distort your voice.

Overall, the experience of using this built-in tablet is pretty great, but it’s worth mentioning that it’s pretty sluggish. For example, you’ll be waiting around a while when you first open an app, and the animations aren’t the smoothest. Once it gets going, though, it does what it needs to, and I never had any playback interruptions when streaming a song or music video.

Sound Quality

• Powerful 280W output
• Dual 3.5-inch woofers and 1-inch tweeters
• TWS pairing support

With so many features packed into a relatively compact device, I didn’t have the highest hopes for the sound quality, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Firstly, this little speaker is extremely powerful. I rarely exceeded 60% volume at home, and that was really cranking it up. It’ll be more than enough to soundtrack a medium-sized party, or even a smaller outdoor gathering.

The speaker has the bass boost enabled by default, and I think that’s a good thing; it sounds much fuller and more dynamic with it turned on. I found the sound just a little dull with the bass boost tuned off; it doesn’t sound bad, but it lacks impact.

There are three sound profiles that you can access using the built-in touchscreen display: Hi-Fi, Light and Outdoor. Hi-Fi is the default mode, and it sounds the best to my ears. Light mode softens the sound and lowers the bass output, presumably for night-time listening, while Outdoor mode does the exact opposite.

There’s no custom EQ option, and that feels like a missed opportunity, but I was more than satisfied with the default sound.

This speaker impressed me the most with its vocal rendition, especially when I was listening to Flume’s Hollow. The vocals are crystal clear, and have a great sense of presence that isn’t muddied by the rumbling bass-hits underneath. Given that this is a karaoke speaker, the vocal emphasis makes a lot of sense.

The bass has plenty of weight, too, especially considering the relatively small footprint. It might not quite hit the spot if you’re looking for a rumble that you can feel in your chest, but there’s plenty of thump here.

As for weaknesses, the treble can sound a little harsh at higher volumes, and the speaker can’t extend deep into the sub-bass frequencies (specs say it bottoms out at 50Hz). So, there’s room for improvement, but generally speaking, it’s a really pleasant sound that most users will adore.

Should you buy it?

FAQs