Suggestions/where to find more info on amps/speakers?
Just got a new synth and I'm loving it. I'm just beginning to scratch the surface of the capability on this Yamaha modx7+. So far I've been playing through my yamaha hs8 monitors or a friend's EV zlx 12. Sounds good on both of these setups but can lose some umph or get muddy on the lowest octave. The roland kc series seems highly regarded (kc 200 or kc 400 are what I'm eyeing) But after hearing it on the EV, I'm considering other perhaps more versatile options ie pa speakers. Pa is attractive as a more portable option that the 50lb kc 400, but I have a feeling the 400 would sound better in the sub bass range and be an all around good amp. Thoughts? Suggestions? Ty!
Posted Nov 10, 2022, 7:49 PM UTC
03
Well, it depends on how picky you're going to be :-)
Realistically, you're always going to be better off with a separate sub.
Your HS8s, with a sub, could be more than good enough.
You could get some QSK K10s, K12s, or K15s.
But let's put it this way: when you use a separate sub, it helps to "offload" the other speaker.
Often, speakers/monitors have a speaker and a horn - so they already divide up the highs and lows.
But 8" and really even 10s don't get down so low.
Good live audio subs start at a standard of 18".
But we're talking pumping more than home volume out of those in that case.
So letting the speaker that's made to handle the lows handle the lows removes that strain from the main 8-15" driver and it can focus on the low mids up through the mids. It just more effectively divides up the spectrum - 2 way system versus 3 way.
But it really depends on your use case and what you want out of it. You could theoretically position your HS8s and get more bass out of them than where you have them now (or clean up the low end by re-positioning them and so on).
Look up "bass traps" and how they affect home studio frequencies.
There are also things like "coupling effect" - a speaker on a surface versus a speaker on a stand do different things to the low end.
Honestly, I would avoid the Roland keyboard amps like the plague - and keyboard amps in general.
Usually they're just simply not very good - the main attraction in the past for keyboard amps was that not only did it give the keyboard player an on-stage sound source like guitar and bass, but it generally had 2-4 channels and since keyboard players often had 2 or more boards, having that on-board mixing capability was nice (because before that, a lot of people just used bass rigs).
These days though, the PA speakers/monitors are so much more efficient and lighter, and smaller, and less expensive and so on.
But still, the nicer ones are going to cost you more.
I mean if you have the room, and the means for it, I'd get a pair of QSC K10s and a sub (low frequencies disperse omni-directionally so not having a stereo signal is fine for the lower end).
But a single K15 could potentially do what you want. K12 might be a nice middleground.
EVs and JBLs are still fairly well regarded, and Yamaha makes some solid things too.
I've actually heard some Presonus recently that were pretty darn good - though they're kind of new to getting into the speaker game (more known for consoles and interfaces).
One thing about PA speakers is people are always upgrading so it's possible to find decent deals on used gear - or at least there's usually a fair amount of used gear available in most locales.
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