Nord User Forum

Spider wrote:Thanks so much for the early impressions Mike, it's always nice to have some real-world reports for such a new product. I've been using a pair of EV ZX-A1 for years now, and they're definitely the best speakers I've ever tried, for the same reasons that you like the Everse: small and lightweight but with an amazing sound, clear and transparent but not shrill or honky. And really cheap for the quality they provide, which never hurts!

One question: were you running the comparison in mono? If the EV was receiving only one channel of the stereo signal and the QSC the other, of course they would sound vastly different.

Thanks Spider.

The ZX-A1 is an impressive speaker. I was at NAMM in 2012 when they were introduced. EV had them hidden in a much larger speaker shell, trying to show people the level of quality that they produce even with an 8" speaker. Unfortunately the I/O doesn't work for my needs and they don't seem to be very popular here in the US.

To answer your question, yes I ran the speakers in mono, but using both outputs on the Nord. The 1 & 2 outputs ran from the Stage into their own separate channels in the mixer. No panning, so they are essentially two mono signals mixed together. Each mixer output sent the same signal to each speaker, making them mono reproductions.

Moreover, the QSC was connected to the Left mixer output and the EV to the right. If we go by our conventional thinking here, the right channel output (treble) would have been more piercing at the upper range. Again, since both left and right signals were even, it wasn't an issue.

Rehearsal Update

I used the EV on Monday night's rehearsal. As mentioned earlier, we rehearse in a church auditorium about the size of a grade school gymnasium. Tall ceilings, tons of natural reverb, etc. It was just the big band in the space.

I'm happy to report the EV sounded great in that environment. Prior to rehearsal, our drummer played some tunes on the piano so I could walk around and listen to the dispersion and sound quality. He used different piano samples so I could hear the differences, and they all sounded really great. I did a slight tweak to the graphic EQ - a tick down at 400Hz and a tick up at 2.5kHz. The presence, projection and sound quality all were very satisfying. It worked very well with the typical EQ settings I use on my piano patches.

Something else I want to mention about sound quality. I'm not sure others experience this, but there are some Nord piano samples where the upper treble range sounds very "tinkly" through the QSC's. The Grand Imperial and Italian Grand are two that come to mind, and are part of the reason I don't use them. It's a prime spot for jazz piano solos and the notes just disappear. The EV does not have this characteristic all. All of the pianos come through clear and strong throughout the range.

There was plenty of volume with headroom to spare. I did not have to change any volume settings compared to the QSC, and even turned it town a few times. So far, I'm very happy with this speaker.

This Monday we're playing a dance gig in a moderate size performance space. About 100 people are expected, so this will be a decent test. If all goes well, I will most likely put my K8.2's up for sale and buy another Everse to keep a stereo pair. I also own an original K10, but may still hang onto that one as sometimes I need to fill in on LH bass and that serves as a makeshift bass amp very well.

First Gig with the Everse

We played a dance gig last night. A local community arts center has a dance week festival, and the band kicked it off with a swing dance instructor. Great crowd, lots of dancing, happy people and a very appreciative audience. This was pretty much standard old style big band stuff - Count Basie, Artie Shaw, Sammy Nestico arrangements, etc.

The space is approximately 50'/15m wide by about 30'/9m deep and maybe 20'/6m high. About 60 dancers in addition to the 17 band members. Solid floor, drop ceiling and solid walls with the exception of full length curtains behind the band (the drummer and bass player were not happy at all). Unfortunately, the stage setup was less than ideal, as it was a 3-riser stage where the tiers were not very deep. The drummer had to set up on an angle, and took some unusual stand placement to get his kit working. I set up facing the band, but my speaker was right in front of me pointing out to the audience so I only caught a piece of my own sound all night long. As you face the band, the piano is usually to the left of the band, so I was near the corner. I have to admit that I could not play as well as I usually do because of the trouble hearing the piano clearly. When I struggle with the sound balance, I tend to play harder, and that is disastrous for dexterity and nuance.

I brought my Zoom H2 recorder with me and set it up in the far diagonal corner on a stand about 10'/3m in the air. The goal was to monitor the projection of the speaker in relation to the band's volume, but try to avoid the crowd conversation noise.

Listening to the recording this morning, I have to say that the EV sounded great! The piano projected exactly when it was meant to, and blended in perfectly. Without the ability to accurately monitor, I just set it at my normal volume levels and played, and the EV performed perfectly. I have a little EQ tweaking to do, as the lower midrange and bass were a bit lacking, but that is easily addressed over the next few sessions. I still can't get over the sound quality this thing produces for the weight.

The speaker is in what I would consider the mid price range, as it retails for $750 US (by comparison, the QSC 8.2 retails for $850). Since it's new, I'm not sure what kind of price breaks you can get right now. I paid full retail, but my retailer sold me a Gator carry bag for very cheap. I'm not one to haggle about price, as I see it more as a value purchase; I don't buy/sell much, hold on to my stuff for a long time and take very good care of it.

There are two more rehearsals and one more gig this month, but I've decided that the Everse is a keeper. I'm going to sell my QSC's. Once they're sold, I'll get another Everse for a matching set.

My hope is that some of you found this review somewhat useful. I know not everyone plays this music, and we all look for different qualities in our equipment. But we can all agree that finding appropriate live amplification for our Nord keyboards has its challenges, and I wanted to just bring some perspective to the forum with this experience.

Mike, when you use these speakers at a rehearsal or a gig, are you plugging in, or using the battery power? Does EV provide any guidance on whether it would be bad for long term battery health to use them plugged in when you don’t need (power) cordless operation?

Thanks for the detailed reports.

I will probably use it only plugged in, like any other powered speaker.

Looking at the manual (which is freely available on the Electro Voice website), there is the standard safety language about the battery, and only this regarding charging and usage:

Installation and charging of battery pack
The EVERSE 8 comes pre-installed with a high capacity Li-Ion battery pack. Charge the battery for 24 hours before the first use to ensure maximum battery run time and life expectancy.

To charge the battery:
4 Plug the MAINS IN while the battery is installed in the EVERSE 8 .

After the first full charge, the expected battery charge times are as follows:
– 4 hours or less with no signal and the power switched off.
– 6 hours or less with the power switched on and audio playing at high output levels.

The LCD will display *CHARGING* while the battery is charging with the power switched off.
The LCD will display *FULL* when the battery has reached full charge.

Notice!
Battery self-discharge

All Li-Ion batteries experience self-discharge over extended periods (several months). If a battery sits for an extended period without being charged, the battery may fully discharge. It may take longer than normal to fully recharge. If this occurs, allow the battery to charge a full 24 hours again before using.

Inspect your loudspeaker and battery monthly and recharge the battery. This will help maintain the batteries run time and extend its useful life.

January Update

I've used the Everse now for a few rehearsals and gigs, and wanted to give an update on what I've discovered.

So far, I've only used a single speaker while playing live. There's no reason to carry two for several reasons:

• I play in a big band with no PA system. There's no need to be much above the volume a normal acoustic piano would produce
• A single speaker is quicker to carry and set up. I carry my entire rig in a single trip
• Most of the time our stage space is small, and the footprint of two speakers can be troublesome

The speaker sits on a short stand putting it about 4'/122cm in the air, improving the projection. Both stereo outputs on the Stage (1&2) connect to individual input channels on the speaker. My perception is that the stereo imaging of Nord pianos requires both outputs to receive the full spectrum of the image. I don't believe a single output and using the MONO button provides the same effect (not a proven fact - my perception only). I never use the MONO button for any patch.

I initially did a full preview of all the Nord piano library samples in multiple sizes, and initially set on the Velvet and Royal Grands as sounding better than the rest for my purposes. A few asides:

• A lot of the music I play is from ranges from the 40's - early 70's. I strongly prefer warmer and more "vintage" types of pianos that sound similar to the recordings of that era. That is not the same as things like saloon pianos, which are just silly novelties in my opinion. A lot of those artists also recorded mostly on Steinway pianos (which a few exceptions such as Oscar Peterson, who played a Bosendorfer). The brighter sounds of the Yamahas and darker sounds of the Kawai's don't always emulate this well.
• In going through the grand samples, I can now completely confirm that the Italian and Imperial Grands absolutely do not resonate with me. I find the upper ranges too "tinkly" (sorry for the deeply technical term )
• The focus of this testing is more on the APs and less on the EPs. I think we can all agree that the acoustic pianos are harder to amplify correctly. The EPs are much easier to get to sound right

After the full audition, I removed my go-to XL White Grand and installed the L versions of the Velvet and Royal. The Silver Grand stayed in the Stage for the time being.

I spent considerable time tinkering with the parametric EQ on the Everse. Let me just say that a full 7-band PEQ is an incredible addition to any device, let alone a powered speaker. It takes some processing horsepower to do that, so kudos to EV for that flexibility. Using the app on my iPhone is a big help as well, as I can tweak on the fly. I ended up doing a rolloff at about 5kHz, rolloff at 80Hz (give or take), a slight dip at about 500Hz to remove a bit of density and a little peak at around 1.5kHz. The EQ settings on the Stage were set mostly flat, and then I adjusted as needed in real time.

The biggest single issue I have with the speakers is that, when using a single speaker, there is an odd resonance at around 932Hz, or the high B-flat. Hitting that key on any piano sample exhibits a simultaneous dullness and annoying hump. The note tends to drop dead pretty quickly and doesn't ring out, yet there is an artifact that sounds like a sub-fundamental. I've EQ'd away as much as possible using the speaker's PEQ, and using the midrange setting on the Nord EQ to emphasize at about 1.7kHz helps to quell it. It was very prominent in the XL White Grand and less so on the L Velvet and L Royal.

I also spent some time with the Silver Grand, as it's got a lot of sparkle. First impression was that the midrange was getting pretty lost among the band, even with trying to bump up the EQ in the 400-500Hz range. But, I then discovered the Drive knob. Setting the Drive to 2 (no amp simulation) brought a beefy midrange out in the Silver that gave it a really great body. Go figure.

For a reality check, I recorded last week's rehearsal with my Zoom H2 set up in the room, about 15 feet away from the speaker. I made note of which piano sample I use on each song. Lo and behold, I could not tell the piano samples apart, and the resonance issue was not being picked up but the recorder. This kind of confirms a few critical points:

1. The sound three feet from my ears is NOT what the audience hears
2. We spend a lot of time obsessing over itty bits of details and nuance and, in the end, it kind of doesn't really matter. The quality of the piano sound in my recording was largely dependent on the quality of the piano player, and there is no technology that can fix that.

The experiment continues. Yesterday, I loaded the White Grand back into the Stage, but this time the L size. Did a bit of quick testing in my basement with a single speaker as well as the pair in stereo. Seems the L White Grand is a bit better behaved than the XL, especially regarding the resonance issue. We'll see what happens at the next rehearsal.

I did contact both EV and Sweetwater about the resonance issue, figuring it might be something that can be corrected through firmware, and offered to be a testing resource if needed.

Just for giggles, I connected up my original K10 to serve as a pseudo-subwoofer test. Really put some nice beef on the bottom end. Good to know in case I ever have to handle LH bass coverage. Not my preference, but I will do it in a pinch.

I'm still very happy with the purchase. They sound great, have plenty of volume, give me a lot of tweaking opportunity and are incredibly light to carry. I easily sold my K8.2 pair, getting pretty much what I paid for them after owning them for 5+ years.

Thanks a lot, Mike! I suspected my K8.2 to have a resonation issue, too - but didn't see a way to verify as I suspect my tinnitus as well. Have never tried to go as deep into it as you did.

Good occasion to straighten out the EQ settings on the Nord. And interesting to hear that the compressor was an issue, too. I often get to hear 'some compression, either from you or from me' from the leader of my big band. Don't like that at all, but started to understand it. The volume range of our brass players isn't by far as ample as ours on the piano.

I think all speakers have a resonant frequency. The DSPs nowadays are very sophisticated and can compensate to create a flatter response. On the QSC's I rolled off the high end a bit and made a slight peak around 1kHz to help with the clarity. I don't have a distinct recollection about it however.

I've always tried to keep compression to a minimum and manage the dynamics through my own touch response. With regard to the Silver Grand, there was no compression or amp sim set, which allows the Drive function to simply work on its own. Yes it will naturally produce some compression as the midrange is being brought up (at least to my ears), which then can be controlled through either the instrument or master volume control.

It's an interesting experiment to me as I never considered using Drive on an acoustic piano sound. My own prejudices tell me to keep the pianos as clear as possible and use things like drive on electric instruments. With the setting of 2 on Drive, the amount of distortion introduced is minimal, at least to my old ears. Also, in the mix of the live band, the audible effect was more body in the piano sound. So it's all in context.

FZiegler, I can't speak for the musicians with which you work, but both of my primary groups have issues with volume control. The horns mostly play at the mf-ff range, and seem to not understand p-pp too well. It is particularly annoying when a soloist is playing and the horns are to pad underneath them. They are mostly not listening to the soloist and tend to compete with them. In a lot of those cases, I simply stop playing as there is too much going on already.

Sorry, I seriously mixed up your Drive (2) setting with Comp. Thanks for letting me know in a subtle way!

Nice idea to stop playing at all if a comping is already too loud. What I meant in the first place is that it's really easier for us than for a brass player to play p ~ mp. I used to be one when I was young. Anyway, it would be so cool to hear a brass band play smoothly and vividly at the same time. Thanks for taking a detour into other fields.

Some good info here on the Everse 8 with various pianos. I’m in the market for one. Especially like the lighter weight it offers. Any experience to note using it with synth, org? I play cover rock generally, raw, keep it simple mono, with much more emphasis on lowered volume from all band members; meaning we’re all a bit older now, still play with some gusto, but with respect to weaker core strength, so less really does mean more. Not sure you need all this info, but just thing to convince myself that Everse can possibly replace my Yam DXR-10 which I lug as stage monitor, and go thru pa. Currently in 6-piece with sax player, and add some Nord brass horn hits and synths. My aim is to leave the new dxr at home and transport w Everse, eventually x2 and try stereo.