TomKittel

Is it really necessary and worthwhile to ship all kinds of components back and force around the world before a Spacestation can finally be assembled in China and then again is shipped around the world from there? Considering the logistics cost and all the troubles Aspen described I am asking myself if it wouldn't make more sense to craft the whole Spacestation in the US? "Made in Detroit" so to say...

Happy Spacestation V3 owner here. It sounds weird to me that someone is returning his Spacestation in favor of a SA300. The SA300 was the second worst sounding amp/speaker I ever owned. AP sounds were just awful thru it no matter if "Wide" was on or not. It's EQs were completely useless and the thing always had a loud digital hiss which was really annoying. No, no, no, I really need to raise an objection here. The soundquality of the Spacestation is much better than the SA300. More precise, more kind of HiFi. And it's LOUDER. To each his own. But I prefer the Spacestation over any Keyboard amp I owned (KC500, KC300, Traynor K4, SA300).

If you order it from Europe the Spacestation will be delivered ready for 230V. Plug and play.

Last weekend I used my Spacestation at a rehearsal with a cover rock band. Two guitars (much too loud as always!) thru a Mesa Boogie and a Twin Reverb plus bass, drums and a separate singer. I sat next to the drums and used my Spacestation as keyboard monitor. The SS V3 delivered plenty of volume. I left my new Behringer 1200D sub in the trunk of my car. No need for a sub in a normal band setting, not at all! I had to rather down-regulate some bass from my keyboard sounds (mainly organ, piano, rhodes, synth brass, strings and synth leads). All of my keyboard sounds were on the spot, better heard than ever before. Spacestation V3 rocks in any keyboard application! Period. PS: I am thinking about returning the sub. It's a nice to have. But it really is redundant in a band setup.

I received my Behringer 1200D subwoofer today. Didn't have much time to dial in the best volume and crossover adjustment. But the Spacestation sounds BIG with this sub. And the combo looks nice. A more detailed report will follow in the next couple of days. PS: How can I add pictures to a posting if I don't have my own website?

I have countless wall marts (PX5s, SK1, Vent, etc.) I just leave them all plugged to a multiplug and put the whole thing into a little plastic basket. This eases the wall mart chaos. Only one piece to carry and I only need one jack to plug them all in. Very handy.

A small good quality mixer velcroed on top converts the Spacestation to a very nice keyboard amp. I am using a Yamaha MG82CX. This gives me five pairs of stereo input channels and pretty good SPX effects. And it fits perfectly on the SS V3. Never had a better keyboard amp! But most of the time I don't even need a mixer because I am using both sets of audio inputs of the Casio PX5S.

It seems to me that the Nord Pianos are particularly challenging for amplifiers. I always wondered why my Stage 2 pianos sounded terrific in my homestudio but never on the road. I tried all kinds of stage monitors and amps with no success. Also, time and again FOH sound guys asked me what's wrong with my piano sound (Nord Stage 2) because they didn't get it right. No Nord bashing here but this is what I experienced. Other folks might have varying experiences. I never had such problem with the so-called outdated PC3X pianos and also not with the new Casio PX5S. These two just sound good live, plug & play, not picky about amplification. Same is true for the PC3X or Casio PX5S pianos through Spacestation. It just sounds great, admittedly not excellent like B3 and all other sounds but still great. Only my pair of RCF TT08 adds a touch of silkyness and precision to pianos which the Spacestation doesn't. But for one thing the RCFs are six times more expensive and for another thing I so often didn't HEAR them good enough on many stages. On smaller stages or clubs it is simply impossible to place a pair of speakers in sweet spot. So in theory the RCFs would sound a tiny bit "better" for pianos but in the field they sound worse if no sweet spot. The Spacestation is definitely a game changer for me.

The Traynor K4 is a stereo "pretender". The stereo effect is hardly noticeable. Besides I didn't like it for digitalpiano because it colored the sound in a very unpleasant way. BTW back then I had bought the Traynor K4 based on internet reviews. Big mistake. But now the good news: I received my Spacestation V3 this week. I also bought it only based on the reviews here in the KC forum. What a good call! Blissfull auditory sensations! And it reproduces digitalpiano sounds pretty nicely. MUCH better than any keyboard amp I ever used. To my ears the basic sound quailty level is very similar to good active speakers. But the latter lack the CPS sensation. When you open the "Wide" control the stereo cloud just spreads everywhere. Very cool little speaker with big sound. JMTC, Tom

I have positive experiences with the Mackie 402 VLZ3/4. No audible signal cut. The tape input can also be used for stereo keys so that it offers a total of three stereo input pairs. Very handy footprint. Should fit on top of any keyboard. The only drawback is the unavoidable wall mart.

I second Aspen's assessment of the Casio PX5S. It's an amazing instrument. Really great piano sounds combined with a fantastic weighted keybed. Especially the piano patches by Mike Martin offered in the Casio music forum are killer. I sold my Nord Stage 2 for it. With the proceeds of the Nord sale I bought a used Hammond SK1 AND a Casio PX5S (both like new) and still had some cash down for a Spacestation V3! In my view the Nord Stage is heavily overpriced but it seems to keep it's used price... nevertheless the Nord pianos and the 76 weighted keybed never cut it for me. I wasted hours by hours in downloading tons of Nord piano samples but none of them ever sounded right to my ears when played live with a band. In contrast the PX5S pianos simply sound right and the keybed is a dream to play. I never was happier than with my new PX5S + SK1 keyboard setup. Highly recommended. BTW don't let the PX5S fool you in a musicstore showroom. It has soo much more to offer than what you can see on first view. Truth be told, a little while ago I already had a PX5S for testing and I sent it back because I didn't find the time to tap it's full potential then. Shame on me! Can't wait to get my hands on a Spacestation.

Yep. Just plug in a 1/8 cable from your smartphone to the PX5S. The PX5S has a pair of 1/4 audio inputs for kybds PLUS an 1/8 input for smartphones and such.

That's why I bought myself a Casio PX5S. It offers exactly that: an additional set of L/R inputs and an aux stereo 1/8 input for ipod etc. That makes a perfect travelling setup: PX5S + SK1 + SS V3. No mixer needed! ;-)

Yes, all said I think. A.C. No, it's not all said yet: I want one!! ;-)

Any recommendations for a subwoofer which would work well with the Spacestation? What about this one: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/B1200D-PRO.aspx It seems to be cheap and light. Tom

Yeahh, those were the good times! I never again had better speakers for my keyboards than my two EV 1503 in stereo back then. And I was young enough to schlepp them...