Speaker for realistic piano sounds

[lorenzog]

Hello everyone!
I want to play my NS3 as a piano in a jazz trio with double bass and drums.
Do you have any suggestion about a speaker model to be connected directly to the NS3 in order to get a realistic sound in small clubs?
Many thanks for your help!
Happy New Year!

Lorenzo

[fjzingo]

I use EV ZXA1, portable and great sounding speakers.

[lorenzog]

Thanks fjzingo!
Do you use it as a monitor, as a speaker in small clubs or for both purposes?

[Falcon2e]

If you do a search on 'speakers' here you'll find a lot of info. I use a EV ZLX 15P, works great for my set up. Lots of power and just under 40 lbs.

[rabennest]

Hi Lorenzo, I am using the italuan FBT StageMaxx12 active monitor speaker after testing and discardind many renommated speakers like HK Audio, JBL and others. The unit weights only about 15kg. Symmetric XLR input and about 500 watts. It had to proove authenticy gor piano and hammond sounds. And it does very well, due to my ears.

[anotherscott]

Electro-Voice ZXa1 is the smallest, lightest, cheapest thing I've found that sounds good for gigging with acoustic piano sounds. Preferably two for stereo and spread, but you can get by with one. Although I haven't heard them, some people also like the cheaper EV ZLX-12P but it's quite a bit heavier. Going up in price, I haven't yet heard the ELX200-10P, I would expect it would be better. The other of this type that I would look at, if you're okay with just a bit more budget and weight, is the QSC K8.2 which is excellent (a lot better than the original K8).

A completely different way to go would be the Spacestation V.3 which gives you a spacious stereo-like spread throughout the listening environment out of just a single cabinet, and while not as loud as the others, it should still be plenty loud enough for your combo. It's more expensive than the others, but not necessarily more expensive than a *pair* of the others, which is what you really need to compare it to. The only thing is that it doesn't sound as good as the others for piano right out of the box, you'll need to play with EQ some. But you do get the benefit of that spacious sound.

[blizz]

Try 2 YAMAHA DXR-10 speakers. They sound really great and have a lot of punch!

[Murphy]

I use a pair of QSC K8.2s and they have worked well for me. I wish I had been aware of the Electro-Voice ZXa1 because it is about ten pounds lighter than the K8.2. I try and keep my setup weight as light as possible and the Electro-Voice sounds like a really good option. However, I have the K8.2 and I probably won't change anything anytime soon. To its credit, the QSC handles loud transients extraordinarily well, and I never hear speaker crackle. It handles the places where the hall has an underpowered sound system and serves as good monitors for the situations where I can't get a stage monitor pointing my way. I have a cheap Yamaha mixer with lots of extra cords to handle almost any situation. But for the record, I might have bought the EVs instead just for the weight. Good luck with your decision.

[cphollis]

All good suggestions here: ZXA1, DR10, K8, K8.2, SSv3.

The only thing I'd add to the consideration list would be those vertical line array units (e.g. Bose L1) which do an amazing job filling a room with crystal clear APs, albeit in mono and only at moderate volumes.

Just the thing for a jazz brunch gig or similar. I had one when I was doing duo/trio work, and really liked it.

[mididiot]

I love my Stagesource L2T from Line 6.