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Hey guys-
I'm sure this question has been asked but I'd love to get an updated opinion. I'm a huge fan of the beautiful piano sound from my FP-7f but after using some friends amps at recent gigs, I have yet to be happy with the sound if it isn't coming out of my speakers.
I'm not really all that savvy on technical stuff... I'm more of a trained classical pianist who is starting to get into the electronic side of things, so the more details the better.
Thanks!

EDIT: Some text removed because I didn't understand the question

Getting speakers that sound awesome with a digital piano is quite a challenging task. Depends on how big a space you want to fill and other things as well. I'll be interested to hear what you and the forum come up with.

Your piano plays in Stereo therefore you need two speakers ( PA monitors such as the QSC K12's , Yamaha DSR115's or JBL EON515's come to mind of the top of my head) or a stereo keyboard amp (The Traynor K4, Roland K-880 or the best option the Motion Sound KP-500SN)

Dr P, is the the Roland KC-880 significantly better than the KC-550 or KC-350?

I use these for band practises and occasionally live gigs with my NE3, but the acoustic pianos always sound brittle and nasally.

Cheers,
James
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The KC-550 and 350 are mono so you need to use two of them with stereo link between them to get anything like a half decent sound.
All Roland KC's are pretty much rubbish although 2 KC-880's linked sound ok. None of them are very good for acoustic pianos really. If you want nice pianos you need 2 x PA monitors like the QSC K12's or the Motion Sound KP-500SN (which I've always liked ...others opinions differ but its certainly got the balls for great AP's) Any way you look at it it requires careful choice of the speakers/amp system you monitor on stage with.

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If the purpose is to play at live gigs, stereo is not necessarily required. (That's a whole thread by itself.) You could certainly start with one and add a second later.

I think the aforementioned EV ZXa1 does sound better than the QSC (I've only heard the K8) or the RCF 410A, though it will not play as loud as those do. I don't think you can beat that EV anywhere near the price, size, or weight. In a bigger speaker, I'm impressed with the JBL PRX625 (the only JBL I've heard in the PRX series), and its handles are well placed so that it's not as hard to move as its 60 pound weight might indicate. Nicely, you can sit it right on the floor, which also saves you the nuisance of dealing with the speaker stand you would need for the others.

Edit: To clarify, these are all self-contained amplifier-and-speaker units.

I just bought a Hartke KM60 and as far as amps go, I think it sounds pretty good. It's been a while since I sold my previous KC350, but I don't remember it sounding as warm as the Hartke. It also includes a 7-band EQ which, while small, really helps fine tune the sound.

It is not 100% clear what you are asking for. Some people call a box with electronics and a speaker an "amp". ut technically the "mp" is electronics and the "spears is the round thing that makes noise that is likely housed in a box.

You say you have speakers? So all you need is the amp. First question is the form factor. Does this need t mount into a rack. What are the specs on the speakers and how large is the venue. Rack mount amplifiers are not hard to buy and they have gotten cheap, even for big ones. The hardest part to buy is always the speakers and you say you have some you like already.

I think, in order to get meaningful advice you are going to have to supply some more details.

I have used or owned just about every keyboard amp in the past, including Motion Sound, Roland KC500, Peavy, and find that they all are less than ideal. The Motion Sound was the worst, had to replace all the pots after just a year, even those I pretty much never turned.

The repair guy said they were cheap junk to start with. And the sound was ok, but not worth the $$$ and the weight, IMHO.

What works best for me is a PA setup, either a powered head with passive speakers, or Powered speakers w/a small mixer, such as a Peavy PV6. Currently I use Mackie SRM 450s and a small mixer, and it sounds great. I use only one Mackie when gigging w/o the clonewheel organ.

The sound is cleaner, and the control you have over it is greater.

As for needing stereo amps because the piano is sampled in stereo, or else the sound is terrible, that I have never seen in many years of gigging with top quality keyboards, including Roland, Kurzweil, and Yamaha. Maybe it is with certain keyboards, but I have never seen it.

Stereo, however, is a big benefit, almost a must, if you have a clonewheel organ. I have a Nord electro, and the Leslie effect is much more effective with two amps. With mono, it is there, but much less.

But for a good acoustic piano output, it is an urban myth that stereo is necessary for good sound, but that is just my opinion.

Keep in mind that when you listen to a real acoustic piano, say a grand, because that is what is commonly sampled, you are not hearing it in true stereo.

If sitting at the keys, you are hearing a mono mix, because the sound is primarily going out sideways from the curved side of the piano, reflected to your right by the propped lid. You are also hearing it bounce off the floor.

If the music desk is up, that masks the sound even more. If the lid is closed you are getting it mostly bounced off the floor from the soundboard. That too is mixed by the time you hear it.

If sitting in the audience, the sound also is mono mixed, because the sound is coming out sideways, basically. The bass is further away from the audience than the treble, so the sounds come to you not left and right, but mixed.

BTW, the piano on my CD is recorded in stereo in the studio, but the live cuts are mono, and the piano sounds basically the same, not degraded because it is in mono.

And all these pianos have a "mono out" jack, which means the manufacturer designed it so that it would sound good in mono.

Just my 2 cents.

The Roland KC-350/KC-550 have stereo (separate left and right) inputs, yet the amp itself consists of a single speaker. Is there any benefit in connecting both inputs if the result sound is just summed to mono?

Cheers,
James
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