Last week i went to my local KEY MUSIC shop here in Gent (Belgium/Europe) to find out if i could find some active (amplified) studio monitors to enhance the already good sound of my YAMAHA CLP-240.

Normally i play with my splendid SENNHEISERs HD 595, but when my neighbours are away, i like to make some more noise. (I live in an old appartment)

I considered a budget of 500$, cause i already found out that cheaper mostly resulted in coloured sound and/or muddy or 'boomy' bass, nice for looking movies but not for a digital piano.

After a lot of comparing these were my conclusions: (local price converted to USD)


-1. YAMAHA HS 80M : very good, almost no colouring, nice deep and detailed bass. (but 775$ /pair!)

-2 or 3 ?. ALESIS M1 Active MK II : Good, maybe a bit more coloured, a bit less detail in the lower bass. (430$ /pair)

-2 or 3 ?. YAMAHA HS 50M : good, much like the HS 80 M but less deep bass. (490$ /pair)


-4. BEHRINGER B 2031 A : a lot more coloured, less detail than 1,2 and 3 (385$ /pair)

-5. KRK RP 5/6/8 : less than the BEHRINGERs, muddy and not much detailed bass. (430-720-775$ /pair)


So i really liked the YAMAHAs HS 80M but found out that quality has it's price!

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun06/articles/yamahas80m.htm

For the second and third place i couldn't decide between the Yamahas and the Alesis. I think this is a matter of personal taste.

And YES the MACKIEs HR824 and HR624 are even better but above my budget and i doubt i should hear the difference in my 6 at 8 meter livingroom.

Because 775$ is still a lot of painfully earned money, i decided to do a little experiment.


I have a 28 years 'young' SANYO 55 Watt Tuner/Amplifier the JCX 2300 KJ, with an old fashioned warm sound, one of the best at it's time and i use it with my also 28 years old vintage PHILIPS 22 AH 467 big speakers (dimensions: 23/16/10 inch and 3-way system: 1 inch tweeter, 5 inch mid-range and 8 inch woofer), also in the reviews top 5 in 1979 with a good flat frequency response table and almost no sound colouring.

So i bought some 10 meter jack cables for 20$, because my DP stands in the opposite corner of my Stereo, and connected my YAMAHA with my amplifier.

RESULT: i am stunned: full, rich and natural pianosound, good detailed deep bass and very good "soundstage" like listening with my SENNHEISERs.

So for the moment i am very happy with my little "investment" of 20$!