Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sdd.hp.com!hplabs!hpfcso!hpgrla!kellyl From: kellyl@hpgrla.gr.hp.com (Kelly Larson) Newsgroups: comp.music Subject: Re: seeking recommendations on keyboard amps Message-ID: <970007@hpgrla.gr.hp.com> Date: 15 Apr 91 16:36:57 GMT References: Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Greeley, CO Lines: 48 I'm also looking for a good portable keyboard amplification system. Right now I have 2 huge cabinets, each having 2 15 inch woofers, 2 piezos, and a 15 inch horn. I power these with a stereo 700 watt amp, 350 watts per side. As you can see, in most applications, this is a definate overkill, as well as a hassle to haul around. I really *love* having my sound in stereo, but rarely haul the extra speaker around because of the size and weight. What I'm looking for is something that is a lot easier to handle, and yet loud enough to use for a practice session, as well as on stage monitoring. I've already got a rack submixer for my boards, so I only need 1 stereo input. The way I see it I have three options: 1) Separate speakers and power amplifiers. This is what I'm using right now, but I'd like to scale down quite a bit. I've seen some nice EV speakers with 1 15 inch woofer and a horn. I like the sound I get with the horns on my speakers, does anybody get really good sound on smaller speakers without horns? If so, what kind of speakers? I've also seen some nice 100 or 200 watt rack mounted amplifiers that only take up 1 space, and are really light, anybody had any luck with these? 2) Self contained keyboard amplifier. These are those critters that look a lot like guitar amplifiers, but they don't have all those distortion things on them that guitar players like. I've never seen one of these that is truly stereo though, although they seem to have several inputs. I wonder if the separation would be good enough to make it worthwhile, since the speakers would be in the same cabinet. 3) Self powered speakers. I've seen some nice little monitor-like speakers that get great sound, and have the amps built into them. I went to an Ensoniq keyboard clinic where the guy was getting a fantastic sound from a small pair of these. The sound was loud enough for the entire room during the demo, but I wonder if you could really use them for on-stage monitoring. I talked to the salesman about them, I think they were Peavey. They were biamped with an active crossover built in. I was impressed with the sound, and they looked very convenient, even though you would have to run a power cord as well as sound to each speaker. Does anybody use these successfully? Well, any suggestions on what has worked for you, or even what hasn't worked for you would be much appreciated. I'm really needing to scale down my setup, and so I'm looking for any suggestions. Thanks a bunch! =============================================================================== /\ | / / \ | /\ Kelly Larson /\ / \ /\ | / / \ | /\/ kellyl@hpgrer.gr.hp.com / \/ \ \/\| | /-\ /-\ | |\/ \ Hewlett Packard/Greeley / / \ / | | / / /__/ | |/ \/ 303-350-4288 / / / | \ / / | \ / COLORADO! / | \ / / | ===============================================================================