Nord User Forum

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?

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.

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!