One Speaker - Run Mono or Stereo?

cliffjpiano · Post by **cliffjpiano** » 03 Feb 2012, 06:31

I just sold my pair ofJBL 510's and about to pick up a single QSC K12/K10 or EV ELX112P. Before I get into my question, just to let you guys know, I decided to sell my JBL's because they require a preamp (mixer) for its full potential power to show. It also sounded a bit "honky" primarily due to its plastic enclosure -i think, and lacked bass (lower register on your keys) . I am a solo musician and I dislike dealing with mixers and cables. I am a minimalist and in the pursuit to carry the least amount of gear to a gig without sacrificing sound quality. I want to be able to plug in directly into one good powerful speaker, and that is why I decided on purchasing one of the QSC or EV ELX series speaker.

Now that I have traded in my pair of JBL's for one QSC or EV ELX, how will the Nord keyboard sound Mono (of course after selecting the "Mono" button) with one 1/4" cable from the Nord to the speaker OR running two 1/4" cables (L & R channels) from the Nord into the speaker's Channel 1 & 2? Will there be any difference? I failed to try this out with my JBL speaker, so I do not know the result.

Please advice.

Thanks!

Petrounic · Post by **Petrounic** » 03 Feb 2012, 13:31

With organ and synth is not any diferent because is mono anyway,Only some effects and the piano are in stereo but if you have at MONO Mode no problem.

Petrounic · Post by **Petrounic** » 03 Feb 2012, 13:35

With organ and synth is not any diferent because is mono anyway,Only some effects and the piano are in stereo but if you have at MONO Mode and connect one cable on output 1 everything is ok.

Post by **DJKeys** » 03 Feb 2012, 19:59

I have a QSC K10 and run the NS2 in mono and it sounds great. Either output, 1 or 2 will be identical.

cliffjpiano · Post by **cliffjpiano** » 06 Feb 2012, 02:55

I've been testing the ev elx112p at home for about a week and I gotta say that it sounds better than my
Jbl eons but it's a bit boomy for my taste. But luckily the nord piano has a built in eq. I hope it'll sound decent at my next gig.

Btw, plugging two channels to create a "stereo-like" effect into one speaker does not sound better than hitting "mono" on the nord and running one cable. I used to run stereo but I disliked the fact that only a portion of the audience will get true stereo effect. I plan to run mono from now on during live gigs.

Also, I'm on the hunt for a wireless system so that i can remote a speaker at the opposite end of the venue. I'm looking into a EV zxa1 for my remote speaker and the Line 6 g50 wireless device. Any thoughts?

Post by **Frantz** » 06 Feb 2012, 11:08

cliffjpiano wrote:plugging two channels to create a "stereo-like" effect into one speaker does not sound better than hitting "mono" on the nord and running one cable.

+1

Have you tried to switch from two speakers to one : you play with 2 speakers (in stereo), then the following minute you switch off one speaker, press mono on the kb, and continue playing ? Do you like the piano sound in mono ? I must admit I find it hard (dull) to hear.

I understand that the entire audience cannot be in the "sweet spot", for those who are on one side, don't you think they'll benefit from a small stereo effect, some sound will "vanish", can it be better than having a "dull" sound ?

Some sample based synth sounds on the NS2 are using stereo, I find it hard to use them in mono, I could miss something when tweaking the sound.

How many of us have two speakers for sound return ?

cliffjpiano · Post by **cliffjpiano** » 07 Feb 2012, 03:26

Frantzkb, yes, I know from playing stereo at gigs, stereo is always better than mono. But my goal is to carry only one speaker and I would like to get the best sound from one speaker.

QUESTION: I recently purchased the EV ELX112P and it only came to attention that the combo jacks are "TRS/XLR" and does not mention anything about a "TS" input. I want to plug my TS cable from the Nord Piano directly into the speaker. Is this speaker not designed to accept TS cable?

Post by **DJKeys** » 23 Feb 2012, 00:15

A TS cable will work fine in a TRS slot. Just the tip and sleeve connections will be made.

rr123 · Post by **rr123** » 17 Apr 2012, 02:34

DJKeys wrote:I have a QSC K10 and run the NS2 in mono and it sounds great. Either output, 1 or 2 will be identical.

Just got the K10, plugged my Stage EX directly in, and the gain seems very low, not the 1000 watts I expected. Equipment all works fine. Do you use a preamp or anything else to boost signal?

Post by **DJKeys** » 17 Apr 2012, 17:39

I run my signal through an Ashley line mixer and have gain to spare. I run the k-10 all the way up and the NS2, mixer main output and channel output all at 7:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LX308B/

I don't think instrument outputs are designed to go directly to power amps, but I will let the experts comment on that.

-dj

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