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I have tried the Roland RD-700sx and was blown away by the sounds on this machine (wasn't crazy about the piano samples however). I play an FP-8 currently and love the realistic piano samples, touch, and feel it provides. I felt the RD-700 fell short against my FP-8, however the rest of this piano is outstanding.
My question is what other keyboards would you folks reccommend I try that are comparable. Or do you feel that the RD-700sx is the machine of machines in digital pianos!
BTW, it took quite a while to find this site. Glad I did though!!!

Hi Kelsnore,
Personally, I think the RD700SX piano sounds blow the FP8 away. But of course, it's all subjective...

You might want to try the SRX11 expansion board, which adds even better sounds to the RD700SX. Or if you like brighter sounds, try a Yamaha P250.

I just acquired the RD700SX.

My understanding was the SRX11 did not provide any better piano samples than are already found on the RD700SX. At least that was my understanding after reading replies to my earlier inquiry. Am I wrong here?

Yes, it is all subjective. I'm finding my enjoyment of the RD700SX's pianos depend largely on the sound system I'm running it through. The better the sound system, the greater my enjoyment. Although this can probably be said of any sample.

I am much happier with the RD700SX pianos than my previous sample, the SRX-02.

quote from RD700SX manual:
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* Roland’s RD-700SX contains waveforms derived from the SRX-11 piano sampling sessions.
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We can only speculate if "derived" means: the same, a sub-set or either with new/additional voice programming.

from the Roland web site....the RD-700SX provides two complete 88-note world-class concert grand pianos, each with individual multisamples for every key, and recorded at a variety of velocity levels.

It is my understanding that the second piano sample set is identical to that found in the Fantom X but again could be with different voice programming.

Rodney

Pianomad,

Check out my post concerning my Roland CM-30 speaker. I agree that the sound quality is directly proportionate to the quality of the speaker system/sound system. What type of sound system do you have?

Please help.
Jack

According the Roland's website, the SRX-11 piano sample is identical to one of the samples on the RD700SX (I assumed the one called Superior Grand).

http://www.roland.com/products/en/_support/faq.cfm?iCncd=717&FAQ=EN04-07803&dsp=1&ln=en

I too will be buying a new amp. I am considering the KC-550 by Roland. I should respond to the comments concerning the quality of the piano sample on the RD-700sx. I was only able to listen to the keyboard through headphones which probably has an effect on the quality of the sound.
Thanks everybody, for your imput!

I'll call my buddies at Roland and find out the deal with the SRX11 vs. RD700SX vs. FantomX...

Also, keep in mind that just because it is derived from the same waveform doesn't mean that it will sound the same.

OK, I talked with my friend yesterday. Here's the deal:

When the FantomX was released, it contained the best of what Roland offers -- the best converters, hi-res samples, and yes, a new piano sample: an 88-note, 4-layer, multisampled piano.

When the RD700SX was released a year later, it contained another new sample: taken from a Steinway, it's an 88-note multisample, but only contains 3 layers.

The SRX11 board contains both samples, but the newest Steinway sample (which is on the RD700SX) has 4 layers instead of the 3 on the RD700SX.

So which sound is "best"? Although this is a subjective question, the answer from the horse's mouth is an SRX11 through a Fantom X (because of the superior converters and effects).

Thanks for the research. Now I'm curious if there's anyone out there who's actually been able to hear the difference between the 4-layer SRX11 through a Fantom X and the 3-layer in the RD700SX.

I've heard both, though I haven't heard them side by side. At a certain point you have to realize that "it can always be better". You just have to find something that works for you and go with it. My guess is that you'd be happy with either option.

Yes, I've come to realize the bigger difference will be heard in how the sound is amplified. I spent a few days playing the RD700SX through a KC150, and no matter how I EQ'ed or otherwise processed the sound, it sounded awful. Actually the X piano sounded better through the KC150 than the superior grand. But when I run it through what I normally use for monitoring (Carver PM-600; Alesis Multimix 8; a pair of Ramsa speakers)the reproduction of the superior grand is really sweet and far preferable to the X piano.

Maybe I'm behind the times, but just today I discovered the string resonance capability (strings of keys already depressed resonating when other notes are played). How long has this been around on digital pianos? Now I can finally play snippets of Berio's Sequenza IV at my jazz gigs (I love to confuse my audience).

Hi folks. I'm only new here and a little unsure of myself. However I own a Roland RD700sx and have read some things in this thread that are a little confusing. I will add my 2 cents and hope that I don't tread on any toes.

* Piano 1 on the RD700sx is called "Superior Grand". This is a 4 layer piano taken from the SRX-11 expansion board. (the velocity ranges for the 4 layers are as follows 2-40, 41-69, 70-110 and 111-127).

* Piano 2 on the RD700sx is called "X-Ultimate". This is also a 4 layer piano and has it's origins in the Fantom X series. (the velocity ranges for the 4 layers are as follows 2-60, 61-100, 102-120 and 121-127).

I can give a little more info on the other pianos however, the confusion seems to be centered around these first two.

I recently had the opportunity to do a direct comparison between the RD700sx and a Fantom-X8 (these have the same PA-5 action BTW).
Both the keyboards have the "X-Ultimate" piano in them and the velocity ranges for the 4 layers is identical.

However, the sound is not. My complaint with the RD700sx "X-Ultimate" is that it is very muddy sounding. This is not the case with the Fantom-X8. The Fantom-X8 sounds fantastic.

I don't know why this is so ... I'm just a humble piano player. However, when Steve Y suggests (with help from his Roland connection) that a Fantom-X with a SRX-11 exp board is excellent, I for one have no reason to doubt this based on my "X-Ultimate" comparison.

Any more thoughts anybody ? Regards, Charles.

Thanks for the verification Charles. Hmmm, if money were no object I'd consider getting the Fantom module and adding the SRX11 board. But by the time I'd saved up enough, they'd no doubt have something new and better on the market. And more expensive. Ugh.

HI
Somebody already created the midi-files for RD-700SX such as "Enjoy Yourself"? It is possible to explain this process by several words? Thanks