Nord User Forum

Hello Nord Keyboard Community!

This is my first post ever since lurking around for years. I've been a proud owner of an Electro 6 for years, and more recently, I've added a Nord Piano 5 to my collection, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. Through my Sony IEMs (ier-m9), the sound is nothing short of heavenly.

However, when I play it through my Yamaha HS8 speakers, the output seems less than ideal. The low-end sounds muffled and surprisingly artificial. My initial suspicion points towards the acoustics of my room, which have been a longstanding battle for me. I've made efforts to optimize my listening experience, utilizing REW (Room EQ Wizard) and a Behringer FBQ1000 unit for outboard EQ, managing to get a fairly decent response (file attached). The music generally sounds good post-EQ, but both the acoustic and electric piano output remain unimpressive.

Currently, I'm considering two potential solutions:

1) Purchase a pair of Nord Piano Monitors: They cost around 550 USD (inclusive of shipping from the UK). I've heard glowing reviews about their sound quality, and their aesthetics are indeed appealing. My assumption is that their smaller size might counteract the room acoustics, allowing for a more direct sound from the speaker. An added benefit is the transformation of the Nord Piano into a more standalone instrument, ready to play at the flick of a switch. To offer a comparison, I find playing on my friend's Kawai CN29 (housed in an untreated corner of his apartment) more pleasurable than on my Nord for this very reason, and it sounds surprisingly good.

2) Allocate the same 550 USD towards room treatment, in the hope of enhancing the overall acoustics.

I am really thankful for any input or experiences you might have regarding these options.

Cheers!

I have a Nord Grand and the Nord Monitor speakers. These are mounted on the Grand (can also be stand mounted) and they can be rotated. When they are rotated towards the player they automatically tilt slightly upward so the high frequencies are directed in stereo to your ears. They sounded just fine for me, but as I already had larger speakers and a power amp. I have connected all through a mixer which also routes an SR-16 drum machine.

I run my Nord through KRK Rokit 5's for bedroom playing, not at particularly high volumes. I believe the monitors are a bit coloured and not particularly flat compared to the Yamaha HS series. But I like them with the Nord and for general music listening somewhat akin to a Hi Fi system. I've wondered whether this may benefit the Nord more than super flat/transparent speakers since the piano samples are so raw and unprocessed. Have given the Nord Studio Monitor's a go in store and thought they were good, but haven't compared directly.

If you can go into a store which sells Yamaha HS8 and Nord Studio monitors/other brands for a comparison or somewhere that offers a free return policy on the Nord Studio Monitors and can try in your studio, then maybe that's the best solution before you spend the money on room acoustics?