ihavezippers

Thanks Al Quinn, this is what I was wondering-whether the hiss I heard in Daves TT08AS was unique to those speakers (Dave mentioned potential electric issues and that they needed service for other issues, plus were more than a couple years old) or whether this is present in all TT08AS. No one accepts returns on new TT08As bc RCF doesnt accept returns-big gamble for such expensive speakers. I did not hear a comparable hiss on the K8.2, whether low or moderately loud volumes. Granted, I was listening at Guitar Center with a lot of ambient noise (in contrast to Daves quiet studio).

Just want to give shoutout to Dave Ferris who was kind enough to let me hear his TT08As/takeup his time on a Saturday. I was able to hear the TT08as with acoustic piano, electric piano and organ patches. Today I went back to Guitar Center and demoed the ksc 8.2 with my own music, a mix of solo AP jazz, b3 organ, and e.piano. Not quite A/B comparison but as close as I could get. i think the tt08a is overall more clean/forwarded sound if that makes sense, and this was most noticeable with AP-the tt08a piano was definitely more full/present, whereas it was kind of mumbling-esque in the k8.2. but in terms of tonal range, they sounded the same to me. the k8.2 lows actually sounded really good/full, i was pleasantly surprised. again though, i think the tt08as would be more present of a sound-the k8.2 sounds like someone talking to you from across a room whereas the tt08a sounded like someone talking right next to me, that was the only definite difference to my ears. Daves tt08as had a little hiss/background-processing sounds and i didnt hear the same from the k8.2. i think this was due to electrical issues and/or the keyboard....but im not 100% confident the tt08a doesnt have some inherent ambient white noise. so im still on the fence.

i almost bought the mp11se without ever playing it but ended up buying the mp7se which i like. so probably not helping with OPs question but the mp7se action feels nice, very weighty which should allow for a lot of nuance in terms of touch. that same action is a little exhausting after a 2+hr gig especially if youre playing upbeat stuff. imo, the tension/action is stronger than acoustic grand pianos-maybe more on par with a 9ft concert grand which are exhausting to play. a salesman i was working with prepurchase said the action on the mp11se is superior to the mp7se. but thats a pretty subjective statement. not related to your question but for gigs, i am glad i went with the mp7se. it is incredibly heavy as is, and the mp11se is like another 30-40 pounds.

thanks Dave, im in San Diego but Im willing to drive up to LA to hear these. Rather lose 4-5 hours driving than have the risk of trying to return tt08a (i dont think rcf allows returns). ill pm you thanks

Have you tried the CPS Spacestation, which purports to achieve a similar result from a single point? Just curious. I find it a handy compromise, being just under 40 lbs but still providing a stereo-ish sound .... i rented the cps ss3. it sounded good with e.piano and organ but sounded really bad to my ears for AP. the best description i can give of this is my experience using a mini-guitar amp for keyboards-the sound was contorted/compromised. that said, the ss3 has a smaller frequency response range, i am curious if the ssXL (which is bigger/bigger frequency response range) would sound better for AP. it was difficult to find the ss3 locally for me, i was unable to find anyone with s ssXL in stock. for me at this point, its going to either be the tt08a or k8.2/k10.2, just need to find a tt08a locally to demo.

thanks for feedback guys, will go checkout again with bassy-rhodes and organ music. does anyone know whether any retailers in southern california area have tt08a in stock? surely somewhere in LA has one. i can call rcf usa monday but would like to checkout/finalize this decision this weekend if possible.

Reezekeys (or anyone really), do the K8.2's provide enough bass for electric piano & organ duties? I returned the K12.2 and while there, they let me hear the K8.2 and K10.2 (they wouldn't let me hook up a keyboard though, I was limited to listening to the salesman's phone YouTubing some terrible new age solo piano stuff). The K8.2 sounded best to my ears for AP, and I was very tempted to buy there considering they offered 15% discount and I could walk out with a pair for hundreds less than I'll pay for a single TT08a (which I don't think I have an opportunity to hear in person before I buy). The K10.2 sounded better than the K12.2 in terms of a tamed bass, but it was on the fence in terms of sounding unnaturally bass-y to my ears. This was also using default settings on the speakers, so I may be able to play with the K10.2's settings to dial in a great sound. But whereas the K8.2 sounded pretty natural for AP, I wonder if it wouldn't carry the bite I like to hear from playing Rhodes basslines. I may need to play organ basslines as well. I guess the only way to know for sure is to go back and bring my own music to test out.

AC: half monitor-use, half keyboard amp-substitute in situations where there is no house PA

i take it the FA28ac is not in the sub$2k price range?

I had some success with the sub-off options (there is a setting where it cuts off frequencies at certain levels i guess, and by setting this too 125hz, the bass is much more subdued (but still kind of boomy)). i also got a cleaner sound than last night, using considerably lower volume (vs last night competing with a full jazz big band) and using the mono-patch. it still sounds artificial to my ears though, not a clean/acoustic natural AP sound especially when you compare the same patch on the reference monitor/earphones. im going to try and return the k12.2 and get the tt08a. if i was stuck with the k12.2 though i could live with it now that i have discovered the sub-off and mono-patch options.

Stephen, i see youre affiliated with Fulcrum which is as I understand it, the gold standard in pa speakers. My understanding is Fulcrum is not in the sub/$2k per speaker class-is rcf tt08a what you would recommend for acoustic piano/audiophile sound (or as close as $2k can get to audiophile sound in a pa speaker?)

Thanks everyone, appreciate all the feedback. Thanks I'll try this, but the plan is to return this afternoon unless this addresses the issues. I'm interested. I'll PM you, thanks. Canta Claus? Lol i have no idea what this code talk means, maybe Moe can explain. ughh, wish i had picked up the 8/10. maybe they'll still give me 15% off. if i can get a good deal on the tt08 though... This may be the basis of the 'unclear'/'underwater' character of the sound i'm hearing---I'm running the default Kawai MP7SE piano patch (stereo i assume) through a single K12.2. I'm aware using a single speaker and summing stereo to mono messes up the sound, but would it suddenly have a much more realistic/acoustic character if I added a second K12.2? Not saying you're wrong, just seems like that may give me more of a stereo listening experience, but the less than accurate reproduction of the acoustic piano patch would remain? The only time I've heard the accurate/acoustic character I'm looking for was through a single Yamaha studio/reference monitor, headphones, and an Acoustic Image bass amplifier (unfortunately, the output of this amplifier is not strong---would only work for a small jazz ensemble at its loudest.

i finally stopped researching and was going to buy an rcf tt08 this weekend but couldnt find discounted anywhere so i bought qsc k12.2, demoed it tonight. very disappointed for acoustic piano given all the hype. the speaker is way too bassy in my opinion, even the ultra-bass-rich 9ft concert grands dont have that boomy of a bass. but i also noticed the sound was not clear, sounded underwater...almost like when your ear gets water in it for a few hours after swimming or something. im definitely a harsh critic, but all the same, it doesnt sound natural/acoustic to me at all. wondering if maybe the 12.2 is too large to accurately reproduce a piano sonically? maybe should have went with the k8.2 or k10.2? i tried various presets and messed with eq on the keyboard, couldnt get the sound quality i was looking for. .

Great feedback, thanks guys. keep it coming, especially if anyone has demoed the accugroove or acoustic image speakers and can comment on their performance with these factors. ive heard alot of praise for rcf speakers, usually referred to as upgrades in comparison to qsc/ev/yamaha speakers. but i dont see any meaningful difference in freq response/spl/watt output. can someone comment here? for the cps ssv3, are you referring to aspen pittman ssv3? if so, it works for acoustic piano for you? i demoed it, and was very disappointed the piano sound (to my ears) was so contorted, like it had off eq settings or something. but i loved it for e piano and organ, and i would like to play e piano/organ more than i currently do (ideally, half my gigs/bands would call for it). i wonder if i would have more luck with the bigger ss xL. many people who comment on not liking the SS say they dont like its phase effect-i didnt notice this/no phasing issues to my ears, it was mainly that it sounded like it was running out of a guitar amp or something. i guess it wasnt full range enough for my ears. for the bose l1, i was interested but i figured it wouldnt make a good monitor. do you use it as a monitor? also, i guess it doesnt get loud enough for your stage band or GD cover/tribute band? thanks

where would transients be referenced in the specs? how do i evaluate that? accugroove and acoustic image are hyped as having studio monitor quality/flat tone, which is why im interested. owners on the internet atleast rave about them. i played with a bass player once using a small AI amp, and got opportunity to run my acoustic piano patch through it-it sounded ok, but wasnt very loud and the sound quality wasnt blowing my hair back or anything-but that was a very small AI amp, not intended for FRFR/keys, so i cant really base a review on it

thanks-ive rented qsc k12 i think. they were pretty serviceable for acoustic piano. i was looking at accugroove and acoustic image amps-maybe accugroove should be eliminated with its -6dB freq response. anyone familiar with acoustic image ten2 or flexcab combo amps? neither brands are available locally/retail to hear/demo.

I posted something similar in the Pianoworld forum, figure Ill get better feedback here. Ive noticed a general consensus preference for powered pa speakers over amps (whether thats a dedicated keyboard amp or other combo amp). yet the frequency response on many of these inferior amps is often better than the more commonly praised pa speaker-e.g., ive actually seen someone say they upgraded from a traynor k1 to a yamaha dxr12 (or something similar ish in frequency response specs, like a qsc/ev). do amps color the sound by use of tubes? or are there other considerations in evaluation i am missing? does the bi/tri/quad amp matter here? dB/watt output is important sure, but im mostly playing small venues and usually run out to a house pa anyways, so volume output is not a super critical component.

Ive seen backpack style soft shell cases for 61 keys/less keyboards, but cant find anything for an 88 key keyboard. anyone know of one? maybe i can find something if i get more creative/utilize non-keyboard specific cases. probably not a good idea to have a tailor sew backpack arm holders onto a keyboard case-surely the cases i can find in this style have been tested with weight, dont want it falling off unexpectedly