Need help choosing speaker

[buschmann]

Hi there!

I need speakers that makes my NS4 pianos sound like a piano, not a dirty rug and cardboard. I've tried everything from the Bose L1 system, Bose F1 and an assortment of cheaper speakers, but they sound terrible - at least mono. Being a trained pianist does not help, I'm really picky about my piano sound! A good column system or two good, portable speakers, that i can place directly behind me on poles or as wedges is the dream scenario.

It is a bonus if it is loud enough to be a point of source in a small/medium jazzy/funky band and rival somewhat exuberant drums and intoxicated guitarist, but my main point is personal monitoring or vocal/sax/piano-wedding/café gigs when IEM is not on the block.

My main issue is that i live far from any store that offers these systems and need some input. After a bit (a lot) of digging in this forum and around the internet I have narrowed down my list of speakers to the following in terms of quality and price:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/ev_evolve_50.htm
https://www.thomannmusic.com/ld_systems ... bundle.htm
https://www.thomannmusic.com/qsc_k_8.2_tote_bundle.htm (x2 for stereo)

Any takers?

[buschmann]

Of the options you posted, I would go with the pair of QSC K8 or potentially K10 if you want a bit more.

I am 100% IEMs for the past 10+ years, though my last monitoring rig was a K10 and K8, which worked really well for me. I've been using stereo monitors for 20+ years and it is definitely the way to go if you want to hear your keyboards the way they were intended to be heard.

[cphollis]

Sure, I'll chime in. You didn't mention a number of things: budget, venue, performance mode, etc. All are relevant to the discussion.

I play on stage through a nicer pair of under $200 (USD) headphones at present. I also play through nice five-driver IEMs of China origin, also inexpensive. The sound quality through both is superb but lacking in bass presence, which comes to me through a pair of 18" subs as part of the band PA.

If you are performing quieter acoustic music for a modest audience, that's where the choices come in.

I'm a big fan of the column speaker designs (Bose, TurboSound, EV, et. al). for acoustic trios in restaurants, bars and microbreweries. I use an older Bose L1 Model 1S that sounds awesome in most such venues, but anything other than the low-end models should be fine for what you do.

A single column speaker works nicely with room reverb to deliver an even, pleasant listening experience to your audience. In many low-volume situations, you can put it behind you and avoid monitoring altogether. Mono is fine, as room reverb adds a stereo effect.

If it's a larger venue, that's where you switch over to point source speakers (e.g. QSC K8.2 and similar). The aforementioned QSCs are bread and butter for most people. The RCF TT 08 A II is the luxe version. I've had both, and the RCFs are more better.

There's also a new RCF TT515 out that looks like it could go one better for this application. Any 8" speaker" will want a small, inexpensive sub to speak occasionally when needed.

Make sure you are presenting a strong enough signal to your amplification (gain staging), dial in a bit of EQ and compression for the venue, and you should be good to go!