Casio PX-5s VS Nord Stage 2 BLIND piano sound test! :)

[Ken Beaumont]

Yes, I heard the opposite using headphones (sennheiser HD229).

Sound systems have a huge impact because their response to the input is what you are actually hearing. But they can't create magic from crap, garbage in garbage out. And neither of these two sound 'bad'.

[dje31]

So, at a certain point, will there be "the big reveal"? I have my guess, but I've been fooled before...probably more than twice, now that I think about it...

[Tobias Åslund]

I think I've listened to too many digital piano demos because it was immediately obvious to me which is which.

+1

#2 for me - more detail, less looping.

+1

[DanL]

I just think that it's amazing that people are seriously comparing the sound of a $1000 board against a $4500 board.

 

This speaks volumes for the Casio.

 

 

SSM

 

True enough, but the compare ends at the pianos... everything else is apples to oranges.

 

[Brettymike]

Based on a lo-fi listen I would choose 1 for live pop rock band scenario and 2 for personal playing. 1 sounded brighter, 2 had a little more wood. Interesting others heard it the other way round.

 

I suspect the differences in our playback systems and our individual frequency sensitivity can sometimes be greater than the difference in raw samples. Makes these sort of comparisons pretty meaningless if the majority of voters, for example, had a pretty steep HF roll off in their hearing or little bass on the playback system.

 

Piano #2 is definitely the brighter one.

I would buy Piano #1 and tweek up the EQ a shade , and have enough change left to go on holiday ;-D .

 

Brett

[Dana.]

I just think that it's amazing that people are seriously comparing the sound of a $1000 board against a $4500 board.

I don't see money as a factor in this "test." You could throw the Yamaha P-35 and the Kurzweil Forte into this mix and it'd still be a fair fight. A digital piano sound is a digital piano sound.

[Ashville.Guru]

I just think that it's amazing that people are seriously comparing the sound of a $1000 board against a $4500 board.

 

This speaks volumes for the Casio.

Perhaps not. Law of diminishing returns: Quality differences are not proportional to price differences (loosely speaking).

 

Yes, the PX-5S could still be the greatest bang-for-the-buck out there. Still, that doesn't make the comparison itself 'amazing', thats all.

 

- Guru

[Six-string-man]

I just think that it's amazing that people are seriously comparing the sound of a $1000 board against a $4500 board.

 

This speaks volumes for the Casio.

 

 

SSM

 

True enough, but the compare ends at the pianos... everything else is apples to oranges.

 

 

Don't know if you are including ep's in "pianos", but IMHO some of the downloadable ep's on the Casio are superior to the ones in the Nord.

 

SSM

[MusicaL]

While I understand that pianos and ep's are a matter of personal taste, IMO, the Nord EP's are superior to most other rompler EP's that I've had the pleasure of playing. The closest challenger IMO would be the Kronos. The outdated Yamaha EP's in my MOXF pale in comparison tbh. The yammie EP's sound OK in a mix, but play them on their own and their limitations become quite apparent.

 

I owned the PX-5s and was hoping the EP's would be in the ballpark (that's my bread and butter sound -- I don't like to use piano sounds live -- they generally suck). Unfortunately, the stock EP's were not serviceable.

 

While I also understand there are downloadable EP's and even though I have not personally played them they seem one dimensional to my ears. The Nord gives you 5 or 6 EP Rhodes samples and two Wurly samples. The detail in the Nord samples is astounding compared to the other romplers.

 

Caveat: I am not saying the PX-5S is not a great bang for the buck (it may or may not be depending on your situation and needs). I am simply comparing the sounds and samples.

 

aL

[Six-string-man]

Dave Weiser did a set of 15 sounds under the banner of " Vintage Keys" for the PX-5S.

 

These are at least as good as, and in some cases better than anything by Nord. IMHO, of course. I am not anti-Nord, I love my Electro 4, but better is better.

 

There are also several other excellent ep's in Casio's collection written by members of the PX facebook page.

 

 

SSM

 

 

[Rusty Mike]

While I understand that pianos and ep's are a matter of personal taste, IMO, the Nord EP's are superior to most other rompler EP's that I've had the pleasure of playing.

 

The Nord gives you 5 or 6 EP Rhodes samples and two Wurly samples. The detail in the Nord samples is astounding compared to the other romplers.

 

aL

 

I have to agree with this statement on the EPs. I do not own a Privia, but have had some time to play it as well as the MOXF and feel that the raw Nord samples are high quality and very flexible. You can use the sample(s) that have the character you need and use the EQ and effects to get some stunning results.

 

I play only jazz, and prefer a clean sounding Rhodes sample. The PX-5S demos are mostly rock variations, making it difficult for me to evaluate the sound through the distortion and other effects. The store models don't have the downloaded patches, so I can't hear these in person.

 

The Nord samples (I use two different Rhodes samples) have great detail, key-off sounds and bark when you need them to. You can play them "dry" with just a little bit of reverb and compression and they sound like my old Rhodes Mark 1 Stage. I have not yet heard anything comparible from Casio, Yamaha or the others. Just my humble opinion.

 

I know this thread is about the AP comparison, so my apologies for the derailing. For the record, I voted for AP 2 in the comparison.

[AnotherScott]

IMO, the Nord EP's are superior to most other rompler EP's that I've had the pleasure of playing. The closest challenger IMO would be the Kronos. The outdated Yamaha EP's in my MOXF pale in comparison tbh.

I see you also have the PC361. Where do you rank that (when triggered from one of your 88s, ideally)?

 

The MOXF at least has the ability to load in additional EP samples into flash, which is nice.

 

Korg SV1, Kawai MP7, and probably Yamaha CP4 are other boards with nice EP sounds which I would take over a Nord.

[16251]

The outdated Yamaha EP's in my MOXF pale in comparison tbh. The yammie EP's sound OK in a mix, but play them on their own and their limitations become quite apparent.

 

Does this opinion include the CP1/5/4 Stage.

[Six-string-man]

The store models don't have the downloaded patches, so I can't hear these in person.

 

.

 

 

I agree that it is really difficult listening to the stock samples, and not being able to hear the other available sounds which are so much better.

 

If you do ever get the chance, give your ears a treat, and listen to Dave Weiser's Vintage Keys. i believe they are on soundcloud, but obviously this won't give you the full experience of hearing them from the board from a decent set of cans, or through a good P/A.

 

 

SSM

[Moonglow]

At first I thought this was a hoax (e.g., both the same piano with EQ and processing differences), but I selected #2. It sounds more alive, resonant, and organically "piano."

[Mike Martin]

For a different listening perspective - Left and Right channels combined into MONO.

 

https://db.tt/Ddva1qN7

[Steve LeBlanc]

That mono comparison is very interesting through laptop speakers, will listen through something better soon.

[Kurt W]

This forum's own kanker wrote this in a Keyboard Magazine article in November 2012:

 

"

THE NORD SOLUTION

 

Instead of investing the significant time and expense it takes to create new mono piano libraries, Clavia created algorithms that correct the phase issues that mono summing created in their existing (and future) stereo piano samples. The Nord Stage EX, Electro 3, Nord Piano, and their descendants access this feature via pressing the Shift button and a button marked (conveniently enough) Mono. The result is simple, elegant, and great sounding."

 

The Nord Stage 2 sounds much better in Mono mode than just summed to mono IMHO.

 

I vote for #2

[Tobias Åslund]

I would say it's a bit unfair to sum a Nord piano to mono and do a comparison with another brand, mainly because based on the previous post, earlier information and my own experience, summing the outputs to mono does not sound nearly as good as using the mono function built into the Nord keyboards - and I don't see why anyone (besides a less educated FOH technician...) would sum the outputs to mono when there is a built in mono mode that sounds so much better.

 

That being said - all Nord piano samples still don't sound too good with the mono mode engaged - actually only a few are free from phase issues, in my experience. The Romantic Upright in particular sounds just as good in mono as in stereo... but it has a strong character that's not for everyone and all types of music...

[WesG]

It's a less educated keyboardist, not FOH technician, who would at fault for summing a stereo signal to mono. If you have a mono FOH, it is your job to send an appropriate signal to the desk. It is not the FOH tech's job to set up your keyboard.

 

The first question I always ask at a new venue: is your FOH mono or stereo? Because it changes how I mic the Leslie, what cables I hook up to my other keys, and sometimes what patches I choose.

[Dana.]

The outdated Yamaha EP's in my MOXF pale in comparison tbh. The yammie EP's sound OK in a mix, but play them on their own and their limitations become quite apparent.

 

Does this opinion include the CP1/5/4 Stage.

Why would it? He's talking specifically about the MOXF which has totally different Rhodes and Wurli sounds than the CP1/5/4.

[16251]

The outdated Yamaha EP's in my MOXF pale in comparison tbh. The yammie EP's sound OK in a mix, but play them on their own and their limitations become quite apparent.

 

Does this opinion include the CP1/5/4 Stage.

Why would it? He's talking specifically about the MOXF which has totally different Rhodes and Wurli sounds than the CP1/5/4.

Sorry for the stupid question

The second half of his comment could of included "all yammies," and I was just trying to clear that up.

[Dana.]

Sorry for the stupid question

The second half of his comment could of included "all yammies," and I was just trying to clear that up.

I didn't think it was a stupid question, just that his comment seemed clear enough.

 

Anyway, EPs are OT...

[Tobias Åslund]

It's a less educated keyboardist, not FOH technician, who would at fault for summing a stereo signal to mono. If you have a mono FOH, it is your job to send an appropriate signal to the desk. It is not the FOH tech's job to set up your keyboard.

I base this comment on what I've read here many times when the FOH actually is stereo and you give the technician a stereo feed, but he or she doesn't pan the two signals left and right.

 

Luckily I've never had this problem, AFAIK that is... and I do run actual mono if the PA is mono.

 

Anyway - the bottom line is I don't think the mono summing of a youtube audio stereo file is quite fair in this case, and I don't think it should be posted by a company representative - I know not everyone would agree, but that's my opinion.

I do not have any problems, whatsoever with the original video quiz. I think it's quite interesting actually.

[ITGITC]

I think it's quite interesting actually.

It's interesting, but the OP has just one post. I thought it could be a hoax too.

 

So, in that light, which one is the Virus TI2.

 

Sorry. CEB made me ask.

 

 

 

 

[MusicaL]

IMO, the Nord EP's are superior to most other rompler EP's that I've had the pleasure of playing. The closest challenger IMO would be the Kronos. The outdated Yamaha EP's in my MOXF pale in comparison tbh.

I see you also have the PC361. Where do you rank that (when triggered from one of your 88s, ideally)?

 

The MOXF at least has the ability to load in additional EP samples into flash, which is nice.

 

Korg SV1, Kawai MP7, and probably Yamaha CP4 are other boards with nice EP sounds which I would take over a Nord.

 

The PC3 EP's seem a bit quirky to my ears. They suffer from obvious velocity switching and the samples don't seem as authentic or as detailed compared to the Nords. As for the MOXF, I've loaded the Chick Corea Rhodes and while it is nice, it's pretty much a niche sound.

[MusicaL]

The outdated Yamaha EP's in my MOXF pale in comparison tbh. The yammie EP's sound OK in a mix, but play them on their own and their limitations become quite apparent.

 

Does this opinion include the CP1/5/4 Stage.

 

No. I haven't played any of the recent CP offerings. Come to think of it I played the CP50 a long time ago and don't remember a thing about it really.

 

aL

[AnotherScott]

As for the MOXF, I've loaded the Chick Corea Rhodes and while it is nice, it's pretty much a niche sound.

The Rhodes from Gospel Musicians seem to get some good reviews.

[MusicaL]

As for the MOXF, I've loaded the Chick Corea Rhodes and while it is nice, it's pretty much a niche sound.

The Rhodes from Gospel Musicians seem to get some good reviews.

 

Interesting you mention them. I've been looking to get some more Rhodes flavors in my set up, and was looking at their stuff. These guys sure can play that neo soul stuff.

[AnotherScott]

I would say it's a bit unfair to sum a Nord piano to mono and do a comparison with another brand, mainly because based on the previous post, earlier information and my own experience, summing the outputs to mono does not sound nearly as good as using the mono function built into the Nord keyboards

I thought the comparison was interesting, from an academic perspective, but really, it's probably not fair to either board, in that it presumably doesn't show either at its mono-best. Okay, the Nord summed-stereo sample may not exhibit the benefit of its mono mode, but similarly, the Casio summed-stereo sample may not be demonstrating what you would get from one of the mono presets in the Casio. If you need mono, both boards provide a preferred way to get it, that does not involve taking a stereo out and summing it.