Korg Forums

[mabcomp]

Can all of you possibly state what speakers you use. I am still on quest to find speakers that will allow the piano to sound good. I have a pair of Beyer Studio Quality DT770 Pro Headphones which give a perfect sound.

I want to find some gigging speakers that will at least closely approach it, instead of a low quality clunky sound. All the other sounds are not a problem but I must find speakers with a good quality sound for the Grand Piano. One or two in the past have said QSC Speakers but there has to be something out there that is comparable without costing a fortune.

John F
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Pro Singer/Musician for over 30 Years

[kbrkr]

I use a pair of Yamaha HS5 Studio speakers in my studio (aka office). The Pa4x samples sound nice and clear. I would like to add some bottom end with a sub-woofer so I can get some punch from the drums and bass, but that is being a little picky.

Al

[mstodola]

I don't know how you like to set up. I use a Spacestation v.3 and it sounds great. I also use a subwoofer with it. I've tried my Tannoy studio monitors and they sound good too. I haven't had mine long enough to try all my setups.

[Nemik]

Quality of sound from speakers is not only based of quality speakers, is very imported match size and power to room you going to listen.
Speaker unlike headphone is working together with entire environment, means anything with rooms, like walls, ceiling, glasses etc.
here is one of the video explain a little:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_DbZ_KVFiI
If you want to use only for your studio or small area, studio monitors speakers is very good choose.
I am using for room 15W X 17L X 8H feet PreSonus Eris 4.5 Active monitors, quality is excellent and size just enough for my needs.
https://www.presonus.com/products/Eris-45
For live performance.... is all depend where you play, is hard to suggest anything.
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Nemik
Korg Kronos2-61, Korg Pa600, Novation UltraNova, Akai Professional MPK49, Akai Professional MPK225 , Alesis QX-49, APC25 Keys, Launchpad MK2, Korg nanoPad2
MOTU Midi Express XT, FCB1010 with UnO, Behringer X2222 USB, TASCAM Model 24 Mixer, Presonus AudioBox96, M-Track Plus
Fl Studio 21, Ableton Live 10 Suite.
Korg Pa5x Sounds at Performers Heaven

[mabcomp]

Thank you Nemik for your input. Yes I am aware of all that but I did say for Gigging not studio. I was merely stating that the sound quality in the Headphones is the sort of Sound Im looking to achieve in the open gig environment which I know of course will be very difficult. However Its not a case of room size its a case of does the Grand piano quality sound good in the speakers or NOT, the room size is irrelevant. If you are next to your speakers and you do not like the quality of the piano sound coming from them then its a problem regardless. I have yet to find Live speakers that allow the Grand Piano to sound good but there has to be something out there. I have an L1 Model 2 Bose Line array system and it still not good with Pianos. I would like to test the QSC K10's but at £600 per Speaker it creates a problem especially when I think I paid £2600 for the Bose and it still doesnt do the job. members keep saying theirs sounds good but its always in a studio environment. I want to hear someone say My Live gigging speakers sound fantastic on the Piano sounds of the PA4.
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Pro Singer/Musician for over 30 Years

[mintjamman]

Firstly I think that a good piano sound is subjective in that one might think a piano sounds boxy or another listener rates it highly. If you have a great piano sample to start with the next step is to find speakers that do it justice and again my own view is that along with quality comes price. I see lots of players in gig situations that have purchased high end keyboards then spoil it by using cheap speakers or combos.

Therefore my advise is to stick to the high end manufacturers like JBL, EAW, Martin, Turbosound, QSC, they each make designs which are engineered for different applications and I would find a dealer who stocks these brands and take your board and try them. You will need to consider physical dimensions and weight if it will be down to you to move them, and then consideration to the venue sizes you normally work and dispersion and SPLs. You will also need to think if you want to take the active or passive approach the latter which will involve more equipment and cost.

Once you have listened to this quality of speakers the cost might be more acceptable but again we don't know the budget. I would say though that if you take the active route you could be looking at somewhere just over a grand for a two way design with decent output for small to medium venues, if your pad involves more bass and drums then you might want to factor in a sub.
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Yamaha S90ES, Korg Triton Pro, EXB Moss, Roland XV5080, Korg EX8000, Korg Pa4x 76, Korg Kronos 88, Crumar MOJO, Logic Pro X, V Collection, Novation SL61,Vienna, Korg Pa4x , EC-5, Vienna, Arturia V Collection, Roland SC88 Pro, Roland D110, Alesis SR16, Alesis D4

[mabcomp]

Thanks again for the input however in all of that you didnt say what you use
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Pro Singer/Musician for over 30 Years

[DonM]

I normally use two Bose L1 Compacts. I believe it is important if not essential to run stereo sound to get the keyboard to sound the way it was designed to sound.
I sometimes use one or two Lucas Nano 300 systems.
I do have the big Bose L1s, but very seldom do a job large enough to justify using them.
You get headphone-quality sound this way. It is not cheap though!
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DonM

[johnnie]

I use a Yamaha Stagepas 400i PA fantastic sound clear and amazing only having 8 inch speaker and of course they do not weigh a ton these are perfect for doing justice to the 4x stereo samples. I came down from gigging with a pair of 10 inch active and trust me they did not impress like this set of yammies and they wont break the bank either.
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Negativity is a disease of the brain. Positivity is owning a PA4X

[Jugoslovak]

I use Behringer 2031A's at home and Mackie 450v3's live, both sets are amazing with plenty of low end and a nice stack of headroom too... planning to get KRS monitors for studio real soon too.
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Kronos X-61
PA4X-61
Logic Pro X
Reason 8.3
Kontakt 5.5.1

[Jonyblues]

Hi John, as you know from a previous thread, I use the Qsc K10s and highly rate them for their sound quality, portability, volume (spl levels), flexible routing/input options and 6 yr warranty. I do, however, understand if you're looking for a cheaper option (FYI, I only paid about $520 for mine) and think that you should be able to get a decent piano sound even out of something like jbl eons or something similar (which are much cheaper). I actually used the first series eon 10s for years in all size of venues and was always happy with the sound and the volume that they gave me. Ironically, it is only since I have done A/B tests with my Qscs that I really appreciate what you are getting for the extra money.

One thing that no one has mentioned so far, which I think is very important to your sound, is EQ. In other words, I believe that changes to your Maxx settings and also a decent quality mixer with a 3 or 4 band EQ (ideally with sweepable mid to boost and/or cut certain frequencies) could/should make a massive difference to your sound (even possibly improving your existing setup).

FYI, I also use a jdi duplex Di box (with Jensen transformers) too, which also adds a little 'something' to the sound, turns my pa4x into a balanced mic level signal and also protects the keyboard from phantom power issues and other things of course. I'm currently using an Allen and Health analogue mixer but will probably move digital soon for even better sound, control and effects (either a Qsc touchmix 16 or an Allen and Heath Qu Pac, as both of those have built in screens, which will be useful backups if I was to lose wifi connectivity with an iPad). Hope this helps.
Best wishes, Jon
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Korg PA4x, HX3 (B3 Sim module), Korg PA3x, Korg i2, Korg i40m, Roland AX-7, Roland FC300.

[mintjamman]

I meant to omit what I use in order that you might start your own investigation into the aforementioned manufacturers ranges. But as you raised that point I use one of Two systems dependent on the job in hand.

For my normal gigs where I use the Pa4x working with 2 Guitar Players each of us who also sings. I use a EAW system consisting of 2 EAW JFX590 Enclosures, 2 EAW SB150Z subs, these are driven by a XTA Speaker Management system which in turn feeds 2 QSC PLX3402 Power Amps, for Monitors we use two Mackie C300Zs which are fed power from a Yamaha P7000s Power Amp. The mixer used to run the system is a Mackie 16.4.2 VLZ Pro or a Mackie 24.4.2 again dependent on whats required. The Pa4x sounds wicked through this gear hence all the compliments it receives from other musicians

The second system is a Hybrid of above, so say I do a Small Bar Gig I would use the Mackie C300zs and one EAW SB150Z Sub.

Either system ensures that we sound like a much larger band and each system has the headroom and dispersion to cover large rooms after which if we need anything larger we would use a hired in system but thats not often.

The other advantage of a module system is that it is so easy to swap gear in and out in the event of a failure the same which cannot be said of active enclosures which while they offer convenience of a all in one box solution in the event of a driver issue or amp these products always have odd impedance's to consider.
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Yamaha S90ES, Korg Triton Pro, EXB Moss, Roland XV5080, Korg EX8000, Korg Pa4x 76, Korg Kronos 88, Crumar MOJO, Logic Pro X, V Collection, Novation SL61,Vienna, Korg Pa4x , EC-5, Vienna, Arturia V Collection, Roland SC88 Pro, Roland D110, Alesis SR16, Alesis D4

[mabcomp]

Great this is generating some very interesting options all round, thanks to everyone so far, keep it coming as it can only benefit us all.
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Pro Singer/Musician for over 30 Years

[mabcomp]

[mabcomp]

I use Behringer B1031A Active Monitors in my Music Room and Stagepaas 300 Active speakers. I use a 1600Watt Behringer PMP6000 Powered Mixer amp (Great Mixer) Externally I use the Bose L1 Model II and a Behringer Eurolive 1320D Powered Monitor.
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Pro Singer/Musician for over 30 Years