Jazz+ Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 GT SFX 100, anybody tried it? Interesting design, this 3 way powered stereo amp provides a 300 degree field of stereo image from a single compact stereo source. Speakers: 8", 6.5", 1" 100 watts Dimensions: 18" x 11" x 11" Weight 32 lbs. $499 http://www.groovetubes.com/assets/2105_sfx.pdf http://www.groovetubes.com/groovetubes/images/Spacestation-lo_rez.jpg Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 It is not very loud. "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 How do you know, have you played it? Loud compared to what, the little Motion Sound? How about loud enough for digital piano wedding receptions. And if you added a sub or used two? Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Loving Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 It is an interesting design; small but heavy to heft. I demoed one at a local Guitar Center. It's not as loud as my alesis sumo 100. I have an SW-15 sub, and I think a sub would make it louder, although I did not try one at the store. The sub makes the sumo 100, also criticized for not being very loud, loud enough to use with a blues band I play with. One sub is plenty since it's omni-directional. You do not need two GT amps since you plug the rt and lft outputs into the one unit. I'd try it first, but I bet a sub would jack up its volume, too. I have never used a MS KP100s, but I'll probably get a KP200s and use it and a Pro145 with the SW15. Everything will match! "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Yeah, I tried one at GC too. Not very loud, and it just sounds weird. No low end, but beyond that it just sounds hollow. Nice idea, great size, implementation ain't too hot. A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Similar to Kanker, I tried one for a month or so. No low end and no real high end. If you play anything like a synth through it it's just going to sound muffled. I liked how they did the stereo in a small box. Coming out the side gives a better effect than two front speakers right next to each other. Can't recommend it. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 Thanks guys, at that price point I should have known... Saves me from another wild goose chase. Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 J+, but you were against the Yamaha Stagepas, which is 300W, same price point. How do you compare the two? Fortunately Jazz does not have to be loud so I was thinking of a smaller unit like this or the stagepas. But 100 vs 300W? I don't want to lug around two JBL Eon's due to size. Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 I agee, a pair of JBL EON15 or Mackie SRM450 are too big and heavy for our needs. So I lug around 36 pound powered EV SXa360 speakers, which I prefer the sound of and they are just as loud but easier to move. I am looking for a really small good sounding stereo keyboard amp too. The closest thing that seems to fit the bill is the 38 lb. Motion Sound KP-100S Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leavity Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 How would the Groove Tube compare to the Traynor K4,sound-wise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 Yorkville Traynor K4 is 300 watts http://bellonemusic.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/YORKVILLE-K4TB.jpg Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Jazz+, EV SXa360 is $1195 per speaker? That's a lot compared to $549 for 2 speakers at 300W on the Stagepas. I guess this is 500W per speaker so the EV can handle big gigs. Is it necessary to have that much power? For small places, I've been using my pair of KRK Monitors which appear to be loud enough but I will likely damage them as they are not designed for travel. But my pair of KRK monitors are the same size as the Yamaha Stagepas 300 so I roughly know what will fit in my vehicle. Usually I don't need to be louder than a real grand piano. Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Coury Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 ...tried the GT SFX 100 for a minute or two at GC; main impression was that it was underpowered... "Oh yeah, I've got two hands here." (Viv Savage) "Mr. Blu... Mr. Blutarsky: Zero POINT zero." (Dean Vernon Wormer) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffLearman Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Ignore watts, look at SPL. For a powered speaker, watts is of zero importance. Well, other than giving a very (VERY) wide ballpark. Speakers vary considerably in efficiency. And the difference between 300W and 500W is not much -- about 2dB -- assuming they were driving the same speakers. My Yamaha EMX5000 powered mixer has a switch that lets me choose between 100, 300, and 500 W per channel, and true to expectations, the 300 and 500 selections are distinguishable but only barely. Yes, the EV's are expensive. Otherwise they're probably what I would be using instead of the Yamaha plus a pair of JBL 12" wedges, all of which cost a little less than one EV speaker. Purchasing wouldn't authorize my PO for $2400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Originally posted by learjeff: Yes, the EV's are expensive. Otherwise they're probably what I would be using instead of the Yamaha plus a pair of JBL 12" wedges, all of which cost a little less than one EV speaker. Purchasing wouldn't authorize my PO for $2400. Hmmmm...No pre-approval from the CEO? Not even on some Father's day? Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazz+ Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 I paid $900 each and saw them for $750 each online the other day. Harry Likas was the Technical Editor of Mark Levine's "The Jazz Theory Book" and helped develop "The Jazz Piano Book." Find 700 of Harry’s piano arrangements of standards for educational purposes and jazz piano tutorials at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 J+, I can't seem to find dimensions for the EV SXa360. They're still too expensive for me. Maybe I can do mono if the size is right. I can understand that these are the same loudness as the JBL Eons or Mackie. But do I really need to get this loud? Isn't the loudness of the Stagepas sufficient for most indoor jazz use? My short term objective is to be as loud as a grand piano (or a tad louder). I realize you have to fight with the sound of a guitar player. Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hey Daviel, I tried the GT with a couple of subs and indeed, it makes it louder, because it let's the GT's power amps focus on the frequency range where they can be more efficient. Even using a Sumo 100 as the sub made for a pretty capable little rig - though it wouldn't be my first choice to put next to a guitar player with a Marshall stack. I'll have a review of it in July's issue if anyone's interested. Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B. J. Love Posted July 3, 2006 Share Posted July 3, 2006 My local Guitar Center was blowing these out for $350 so, despite the warnings of it being underpowered, I thought I'd give it a shot. (I'm getting real tired of hauling around a pair of EON 15s) I spent an afternoon with it in the house, then took it out to play a small bar with a blues band. I can pretty much confirm everything Stephen wrote about it in Keyboard - tho' I gotta say that all by itself I found it pretty much unusable in any context - just no low end at all. I combined it with an El Cheapo 10" Jensen powered sub that I use with my computer speakers, performed the mid range scoop recommended in the review and alluvasudden this little thing sounded terrific. The Leslie sim in my VR760 never sounded better and for the first time I could say without qualifiers that I really liked the sound of the acoustic piano - no horn honkiness- smooooth. It even seemed like it might just be loud enough for the 4-piece + vocal band I've been gigging with. Nope. Much as I wanted to love this amp - and believe me, after leaving the EONs behind, I REALLY wanted to love it - it just couldn't keep up. Not even as a stage-only monitor. And this is not an especially loud band. The guitarist uses a Fender Blues Junior, the bassist a small Peavey combo amp, and the drummer a jazz kit with a 20" kick. We try to keep the stage levels down and everything goes to front of house through the PA, though the guitarist pushes the Junior to get "the tone," it's still a Blues Junior, not a Twin or a Marshall stack and I ended up having to put the SFX 100 about 18" from the back of my head to hear myself and the sound man had to feed my direct out into the vocal monitors for the rest of the band to hear me at all. It goes back today. Too bad - it really is a great sounding amp (when combined with even the most minimal of sub-woofers) but I couldn't recommend it for anything other than solo piano or the quietest of jazz trio gigs....... Hammond SK1, Casio Privia PX5-S, SpaceStation V.3, Behringer B1200D, 2-EV ZxA1s MacBook Air, Novation ReMOTE 37SL, Logic, Pianoteq 5 Stage, Scarbee Vintage Keys The MIDI Gizmo Museum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.