Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Good amplifier for a stage piano

I would have another question about the "power" of speakers to my new Kawai MP5.

I have played for about 7 years to my Yamaha PSR-275. It has built-in speakers with the power of "2 x 2,7 watts" and I usually play it at the half volume and I am satisfied with it (I am repeating, I just play it in my living room).

So when my old keyboard has the power of only "2 x 2,7 watts", won't it be sufficient to buy speakers (specifically "active monitors") for example with power of only "20 watts" (and not that "big 100 watts" ones or even more)?

Hello again,
so after the Internet research I have found this product:

"M-AUDIO - Studiophile AV 40",

but I haven't tried it yet.

What do you think about these active studio monitors, is it good solution for me?

The Audiophile models with the 4" woofers probably won't sound awesome.

I think I've posted along these lines before, but...

Wattage ratings are almost impossible to compare between brands. My 4 x 15w car stereo (60w) is not loud enough with the windows down, but a Vox AC30 (30w) guitar amp would blast my old car into a pile of rusty metal. A good efficient 25w should be plenty for home use, but few systems are all that good or all that efficient. The amp needs more headroom than the speakers, since it's not sustained volume you need but dynamic transients and distortion-free peaks.

I love 2.1 speaker systems with my MP4. It makes much more sense to have a stereo amp than two seperate mono amps, and the sub really adds thunder to the Grand. I don't think they have to be immensely expensive, but they do need to have some punch. I tend to prefer speakers which have a characterful sound which is sympathetic to piano over clinical 'reference' speakers.

I assume you know the MP6 will be out in the next few weeks!

We have a pair of Mackie powered speakers at our church, they are total garbage and cannot be used with any DP or synth unless you use heavy compression/limiting to keep the transient peaks from upsetting their built in "defect" (which has been discussed on these forums)meant to protect the speakers. Based on my experience with that model, I would never consider or recommend Mackie speakers. I'll stick with my EV SH1502ER and Yamaha S300 speakers paired with a Yamaha 265w RMS per channel stereo amp, though old they still perform well.
Clyde

You want a certain sound level. Sound level is the product of power in watts times speaker sensitivity. The sensitivity of one speaker vs. another can very over a range of more than 10.

This is why watts is a poor measure of sound level because it leave out the most important factor.

When you read specs a better thing to watch is the diameter and number of the drivers, very roughly bigger speakers are more sensitive but not always

a 10W amp playing in to an efficient speaker can be louder then a 50W amp playing into an in-efficient speaker.

Uh oh. Do you know what was the model# is of the ones you didn't like? I was considering getting some Mackie Thumps (TH15A's) soon.

After reading for a while and doing some test with my Kurzweil SP2X, I found that meanwhile I could find in the market a modest amplifier (I just found three models for digital pianos, above of 120W), or wait for an imported, I can use my Logitech speakers with subwoofer. Another the Audio System, in natural sound. Of course, this is useful in the meantime, waiting time for a serious amp, or when we don't have the need to do some gigs.

To the original poster, if you buy a guitar type amp be sure to have a deal worked out with your local music store to bring the amp back if you're not happy with it.

The best way to have a piano sound like a piano is to have a full range sound system - something that would also make a singer sound excellent, something that would make any CD you own sound excellent - a full range sound system.

It will always be hit and miss with a guitar type amp.

I bit the bullet about 20 years ago and still use the same set of speakers on jobs (along with a powerful amp). Those speakers are now temporarily set up in my living room and they still sound first rate.

There's just no way to do this cheaply and get great results. You should always plan on spending more than you can afford on a sound system.

I just bought a powered monitor for when I jam with a band. Not stereo of course but good sound and loud enough to compete with the electric guitars. A big plus is that it weighs only 34lbs and I can carry it with one hand.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Kustom-KPC12MP-12-Powered-Monitor-Speaker?sku=485594

I tried out what a very unknowledgeable sales person at a MUSIC store told me was a keyboard amp for my use-at-home-only PX330. Well, it about blew me out of my seat and that was almost as low as it would go. Turns out, of course, it was a guitar amp and I was able to return it. Besides which the sound was awful and sterile and mono. I finally dug my old stereo floor speakers out of storage and hooked them up and wow, what a difference. I have also used the 2.1 system and actually they sound great with just the keyboard. But I also have some modular synths and the 2.1s couldn't handle some of the sounds while the older stereo speakers seem to handle them better.

I'm kind of electronically stupid so I just hooked things up a thousand different ways until something worked and sounded good.

In a 12ft x 12ft room, your best choice is a pair of self-powered studio monitors. And if money is an issue, buy a pair of quality used speakers rather than cheap new ones. You don't need big woofers or a sub-woofer. While the fundamental frequency on a piano goes way way down, real pianos don't project most of this energy.

Why studio monitors? Pro pianists will tell you that combo amps never sound as good for digital pianos as full-range PA speakers. And studio pros will tell you that good studio monitors almost always sound better than stage PA speakers. Finally, yes, studio monitors are typically nearfield devices, but for your DP these will sound terrific to the player, and really good to everyone else in the room.

For setup do a google search on studio nearfield monitor placement. This is essential for best listening. Do this. You can't get any better sound and a good set of monitors will last a long time.

I have a pair of the M-Audio Studiophile DX-4 speakers, which with 18 watts per channel and 4 inch speakers is a predecessor of the AV 40. I don't attach it to a keyboard, it is instead attached to my computer and use it for listening to MP3s and internet radio stations. For that purpose they work really well, the speakers have enough volume and bass response that they sound good in the next room if you turn them up. Most of the time I'm listening from at 2-3 feet away and only have the volume turned a quarter of the way. I can't say how well they would work with a keyboard since I haven't tried it and this is a different speaker from the one you linked to.

For my home keyboard system I have what is the PA system from a band I used to be in - a soundcraft mixer, a 340 watt QSC amplifier and a couple of 12 inch speakers with horns. This sounds really good but is way more power than you need for a home system - if I was starting from scratch and only playing at home I would look at some kind of a monitor designed for a home studio.

Dave,
I want sound for my new Roland 700NX. I have a high-end Adcom/Paradigm stereo system, it has no purpose now besides playing CDs. Could I convert it to an amp for my piano? The 'how' is not so obvious...yet.

I'm not familiar with your system but you could simply try using the AUX inputs and give it a test.

That was easy...1/4" to RCA--who knew?

How does it sound now?