> I'm soon to buy a stereo so I'd like some advise on what to get.
 > Must have 3+ cd, 2 tape, *record player*, radio etc.  Basically
 > the usual stereo features, eg dolby, high speed dubbin, etc. Remote
 > control.
Sounds like you want a disco mixer to me with a bunch of ins for that many
sound sources which is beyond the typical "stereo" equipment.
  > BUT, the most important feature will be karaokie function.  As I do
 > alot of my own recording and want the best in the karaokie line.
 > Eg, input controls on things like reverb etc.
You see, I was right! Karoake almost makes disco look good! But... you're 
looking for help, not insults, so...
 I recently worked with a Pioneer CD player recently that was kind of neat, 
as it had a speed control on it that could vary tempo without changing pitch. 
How did it do this? Not totally sure, but you could read the CD at other
sampling rates (only slightly different) and then slave an analog pitc 
shifter to compensate for the shift in pitch back to what it should be at 
44.1k. I was fairly impressed with this, but as the amount of change 
increased, artifacts started to appear in the sound..
Disco or karoake mixers tend to be more "radio station" oriented with one 
control per source, usually no individual EQ on each source, pream
ps for turntables, etc. rather than like a live sound mixer normally,
but a live sound mixer would be more versatile with seperate EQs and effects 
sends on each input but usually doesn't have turntable preamps built into the 
mixer. An external unit or two would work fine though with this, that; is, if 
you can find anything on records anymore? A regular mixer might also be a 
little more difficult to operate if you are doing live shows.  A "stereo" 
type of preamp wouldn't have microphone input and usually not more than one 
or two inputs for CDs, Tapes, turntables, etc. Usually the only
insert points are for equalization or recording to tape.
You will be looking at mixing and matching components from a number of
manufactures in a system allowing you to get the features you need for
each component like the dual tape deck you want for high speed dubbing.
 If you can tell us more about what you want to do with this equipment, maybe 
we can offer more assistance. A visit to most music stores or pro audio 
dealer will get you lots of brochures to look at and a few more helpful 
hints. I tend to not like music stores for good advice on audio equipment 
though, as most of them have little good advice and no experience in the
field.
Bonnie *:>
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