Should I use studio speakers or a keyboared amp?

[theplayer]

What would you guys do? This is going to be just a home setup.

[Jazz+]

Studio speakers can be very nice. Keyboard amps are always pretty bad to my ears.

[SW]

I kinda have the same problem. I'm about to buy a digital stage piano without built in speakers. What amp/speakers should I use (when practicing at home? I have a pair of Tannoy reveal monitor speakers at home. Will an ordinary home stereo receiver amp do the job?

[keynote]

Originally posted by SW:

I kinda have the same problem. I'm about to buy a digital stage piano without built in speakers. What amp/speakers should I use (when practicing at home? I have a pair of Tannoy reveal monitor speakers at home. Will an ordinary home stereo receiver amp do the job?

A home stereo receiver will most likely not have either a 1/4", XLR, or Speakon inputs and outputs.

 

Your Keyboard most likely has either 1/4" or XLR inputs and or outputs. IMO you need a good 'professional' power Amplifier such as QSC makes etc., to give you good sufficient power to your speakers. AMPS considered "PRO"fessional will have either 1/4", XLR, or Speakon inputs and outputs which will no doubt be a perfect match for your Digital Piano depending on which PRO AMP you decide to buy.

 

PS: If your Monitors or PA speakers are 'powered' then you wouldn't need an external AMP per se, since the Speakers themselves would have their own AMP built in.

 

And although you may get your Keyboard rigged to work with your home stereo I for one wouldn't recommend it as you may find problems with the home stereo delivering sufficient, sustainable, and reliable power over extended periods. If the home stereo receiver doesn't have a "hot" enough signal to your speakers you could damage your speakers by underpowering them.

 

So again I reiterate: your Digital Piano will most likely be considered "PRO"fessional, with professional grade features and sounds. So likewise should your AMP be considered, i.e. professional grade.

[keynote]

Bummer,

 

Double post and I can't delete it!

 

Who's idea was that?? Surely not our beloved Moderator's... Hmmm??

[Bartolomeo]

It depends what you want, what you're trying to accomplish.

 

The main advantage of keyboard amps is that they are portable and rugged, so you can take them to rehearsals and gigs without a lot of hassle, and so you can expect them to work once you get there. They do not sound great, though I have the Motion Sound KP-200s which is better than most.

 

The really good powered monitors sound much nicer but are more expensive and not as portable.

 

You can get away with a home stereo for practice, as long as you don't overdo it on volume, and don't try to move it around. If your 14-year old nephew comes and plays your keyboard at some point, you may have to replace speaker drivers however.

 

A number of people in your situation use powered multimedia speakers sold for use with computers and find that to be a good solution for the money.

[DafDuc]

I killed my SP-5B nearfields trying to use them in a jam situation. I think nearfields will not take the abuse that a keyboard amp will.

 

I now lug around a PA system, because I wasn't able to find a keyboard amp I liked. Haven't tried the Motion Sounds (80 or 200) though, nor the Peaveys, which got a nice writeup in KM this month.

 

Daf

[Ed Coury]

JBL Eon G2 (powered speaker cabinet)is my favorite option -- weighs less tan 50 pounds, will mnake your ears bleed befire it distorts, has built in mixer and EQ

[daBowsa]

Gangsu and others swear by the Klipsh ProMedia 2.1 .

 

Here\'s a thread discussing them in-depth.

[Dave Horne]

It you're the only one listening to your setup, why not just use an excellent set of headphones.

[theplayer]

I just read the thread on them, sounds like that is what I need. So how should I go about hooking them up, to give me best sound?

[konaboy]

Originally posted by Dave Horne:

It you're the only one listening to your setup, why not just just an excellent set of headphones.

That's an interesting idea. Personally I'd rather play my keys through a pair of speakers. I find that headphones are very tiring after a while. This is a shame because of all the other advantages, wuch as not bothering the neighbours and the superior sound quality.

[Gruv]

I think the nearfield monitors route is the best option for me. I play my keyboard only at home/mini studio and will never venture onto a stage with it.

 

Extended use of headphones will increase your chances of ear infection not to mention fatigue. Take it from someone who uses a pair almost 30 hours a week.

 

V.

[JeffLearman]

I play using headphones a lot. I prefer speakers, but use headphones for practical reasons like not bugging my wife (my studio nook is in the same room as our TV.) I do find that with headphones I'm happy playing at a much lower volume than I like to use for speakers.

 

For speakers, I use Bose 802's or EV floor monitors, since I have them. I would use near-field studio monitors if I had them, though not for jamming with a guitarist (with amp) because they're not meant to go that loud. If the guitarist was using a Pod through my rig, then the studio monitors would probably be fine. Drummer? Need the PA speakers.

 

I have never cared for the sound of "keyboard amp" units. For one thing, I use a lot of stereo sounds and stereo imaging effects. If I was a steadily gigging pro musician, though, I'd probably use one for the convenience. Unless I was doing well enough to have roadies and a keyboard tech! As it is, I play once a week, in two different bars, and I drag around a small PA that's usually in my minivan (powered mixer and a pair of 12" floor monitors, using barstools as speaker stands).

[Byrdman]

Originally posted by SW:

I kinda have the same problem. I'm about to buy a digital stage piano without built in speakers. What amp/speakers should I use (when practicing at home? I have a pair of Tannoy reveal monitor speakers at home. Will an ordinary home stereo receiver amp do the job?

Sure. You will have to get some 6.5mm to RCA connectors more than like, but those can be found in a music shop. You will find the bass is not very good - most stereo systems are wimpy in the bass. For the same reason, don't try to play loud or you can damage the home stereo speakers.

 

Sounds like you have pro speakers for use with a home stereo. Make sure the stereo can drive them. Many home stereos cannot safely drive 4 Ohm speakers. If you speakers are 4 Ohm driving them to high volume may burn out your stereo amp.

 

BTW, you will sometimes hear people say "your amp must be more powerful than your speakers or it will burn them out". Its a nonsense. The easiest way to burn out speakers is to drive them from an amp that is more powerful than the speakers and does not have output limiting abilities. Sooner or later you will accidentally give them a blast of max levels.

 

(You could burn out speakers with a too small amp by driving the amp into clipping for extended periods but that sounds so horrible you are not going to leave it like that.)

[SW]

Originally posted by Byrdman:

Originally posted by SW:

I kinda have the same problem. I'm about to buy a digital stage piano without built in speakers. What amp/speakers should I use (when practicing at home? I have a pair of Tannoy reveal monitor speakers at home. Will an ordinary home stereo receiver amp do the job?

Sure. You will have to get some 6.5mm to RCA connectors more than like, but those can be found in a music shop. You will find the bass is not very good - most stereo systems are wimpy in the bass. For the same reason, don't try to play loud or you can damage the home stereo speakers.

 

Sounds like you have pro speakers for use with a home stereo. Make sure the stereo can drive them. Many home stereos cannot safely drive 4 Ohm speakers. If you speakers are 4 Ohm driving them to high volume may burn out your stereo amp.

 

BTW, you will sometimes hear people say "your amp must be more powerful than your speakers or it will burn them out". Its a nonsense. The easiest way to burn out speakers is to drive them from an amp that is more powerful than the speakers and does not have output limiting abilities. Sooner or later you will accidentally give them a blast of max levels.

 

(You could burn out speakers with a too small amp by driving the amp into clipping for extended periods but that sounds so horrible you are not going to leave it like that.)

I use the Tannoys in my home studio for mixing my crappy tunes I have a couple of guitar amps and a bass amp as well, but I guess their inputs are not dimensioned for the "temperature" of the piano's line output. I've considered the Yamaha P90 which should have RCA line out connections built in. Then I could either use the home stereo amp or buy a set of multimedia speakers (2 satellites+1 subwoofer) I actually played a P90 today, it was okay for the price. I've learnt that no instruments are perfect. (except for the Martin D-28 acoustic guitar, oops wrong forum!)

I would buy the P90.

[Rockitman]

I have done wonderfully with my S90 hooked to my home A/V system. The receiver is a $500 Yamaha and I get wonderful sound. I just upgraded my front speakers to a couple of Energy C9's and I am very happy. I also have a big JBL sub so I do not miss bass at all. Actually I find I need to turn the sub mostly all the way down for it sound right.

1/4" to rca adapters are cheap and can be found in any music store.

Of course portability is an issue. I have found myself playing at different functions and it is a royal pain to unplug and haul this stuff anywhere.

That's why I was on this forum months ago shopping for a portable solution. Bought the KP200 and didn't like it at all, returned it and then almost dropped $1200 on the Mackie 450's. They sound much cleaner than the JBL eons's.

If I had the money right now, a pair of Mackies would be my ticket. But I'm sure there are better and probably more expensive options out there.

[Byrdman]

Guitar and Bass amp inputs are too sensitive for a keyboard in. You want a "line in " if they have one. I expect you are hearing the thing distort like crazy.

 

If you turn down the keyboard it should work - but that will add noise which may be nopicable.

[88keys4me]

My S90 is also in the family room, where I have to compete with wife and kids watching TV, using the computer, or listening to CD's (when they're not listening to me ). So I play through headphones more than I originally thought I would. But my Audio Technica ATHD40fs are so comfortable and shut out ambient noise so effectively I don't mind. Except, of course, that good headphones will spoil you - even the best speakers don't compare.

 

When I've got privacy, or if I play out, I turn up my Samson Resolv 80a active studio monitors. They're not in the same league as a good pair of high end units, but I wasn't going to invest a lot in my inital setup until I had enough experience to decide what I really wanted. At $379 for the pair with a 3-year factory warranty, they're a great value IMHO. Bi-amped, with 75 watts to the 8" woofer and 25 watts to the 1" tweeter, they produce surprisingly good, clean sound. The bass response is especially tight, exactly what I want for piano or ogran voices in the low registers. I wouldn't try to stand up to a loud rock guitarist with this setup, but for a jazz quartet it's been fine.