PA System for vocals?

DW:

Just about any system will work if you can clearly hear yourself. E.g., when working on vocals at home I simply run one of my vocal mics into my computer interface and listen with closed-back headphones (in addition to blues stuff, I do this for choir work while singing to piano or organ backing tracks). Being able to hear one's voice, clearly, and as other people will hear it, is a "lie detector" for vocals the way the Harp Ninja app is a lie detector for harmonica bends.

But for a more "live" sound (especially when asking others to critique), Kustom makes some nice products at good prices. You might also think about one of the two-channel battery-powered amps Roland makes in its CUBE line. Pricier, though. Perhaps more in your price range, Fender makes a nice little two-channel vocal/instrument amp (tho' not battery powered).

Either way, if you have one channel to run an XLR input for a mic, and a 1/4" input for harmonica mic, and maybe some cool effects, and maybe still an input for your iPhone or a flash drive with backing tracks, you can put on a great one-person show!

Let us know what you decide on, and how it works for you.

Sorry you had to send it back. Looked like a cool answer. Are you certain that there wasn't an impedence mismatch with your vocal mic? E.g., just looking at the specs, it would appear that there was a button to push if using either a high impedence input into the 1/4" (e.g., harp mic, electric guitar, etc.) or the XLR input for a low-impedence vocal mic. There have been impedence discussions on various threads here, and sometimes that's the issue, particularly if output seems low. E.g., what vocal mic are you using? The one good thing about the one you bought is that it has a separate volume control for the input from a mobile phone. I have a Cube 30 with a 1-1/2 mm input for a phone backing track, but the volume is max from the input, and has to be controlled by the phone, something that took me a while to figure out, with some embarrassing consequences in public. (!)