Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha Avantgrand N2 - sound w/ou headphones?

I purchased the AV N2 last fall, as the quoted price was only $2K more than the N1. This is my first digital piano, and I bought it b/c I moved from house to condo with attendant noise/neighbors concerns.

When I play with headphones, it sounds wonderful. However, the sound w/ou headphones, coming directly from the speakers, is very metallic and unpleasant even with lid up. I contacted the dealer about making an adjustment to the speakers. He said he would have to see it himself before submitting a service request. After listening to it it, he said it "sounded the same as the N2 I have in the store." When I played MY piano in the store, GrandStaff in Dallas, TX., it sounded fine.

I'm not sure what, if anything, I can do next. Has anyone else had an experience like this with the AV N2 or similar? I contacted Yamaha via their instrument registration site and received no response. No phone no. on the site, of course.

I feel like I have really overpaid for a piano I can only play with headphones. The action is very nice, and I like the TRS and other features. But I'm dumbfounded at the dealer's non-response. Any thoughts from other folks?

Thank you for any insights!

Laurie

What is the physical environment around your piano?

I find piano 1 really quite mellow and piano 2 is rather more metallic and bright.

Yep, see if you have the piano set to patch #2. Try patch #1 which is the only really useable one IMO. The sound on the N2 is very, very good. At least that's my impression from trying it out in a store. Although my N1 sounded a bit better in the store too, probably because because it stood in the middle of a big room - not cramped into a smaller room standing up against a wall. Still, you pretty much bought the most outstanding DP that is available on the market, and you got it for a ridiculously low price. You should be enjoying the heck out of your N2 right about now!

The piano is in a smallish 2nd bedroom/den with engineered hardwood floors. The instrument has a Kilim carpet beneath it and an area Oriental pile rug in the center of the room. The ceilings are 9'. Thank you!

Laurie

Are you talking about the piano "voice" selections? It is set on #1, the concert grand, as I agree the others (other than possibly the harpsichord setting) sound far less authentic. If you're referring to some other setting though, please advise, as I am not terribly familiar with DP technology. Just really wanted a hybrid that felt like the real thing.

And yes, I AM enjoying the heck out of it - you are so right! I have set the action on #3, to strengthen my fingers, and I could really tell the difference at my last lesson, playing Scarlatti, and so could my teacher! The feel of this piano, compared to every other DP I tried, was wonderful, and that's why I bought it. It's just this sound issue. It rally surprised me.

Thank you, thank you for your response.

Laurie

I can't explain your impressions about the sound. I did just wonder if your piano was in a glass structure such as a conservatory for example because that can make for a very bright sound. Does it sound more mellow with the lid closed? Although for the sound to project properly the lid should be open on the N2 it might also be an issue of personal taste.

What volume setting are you using? At high levels in a small room you will be hearing strong sound reflections from walls, ceiling and floor. This can be quite an oppressive sensation and I would definitely describe it as unpleasant - but not necessarily metallic as such. This was my experience of using a small grand piano in my room and my N3 can be just the same at the higher volume settings (say, the loudest 25% of what it can do).

Have you played a demo song and stood back (or across the room) from the piano and listened? How does it sound like that? I have yet to play a piano that sounds as good to the player as it does to an "audience".

Sorry you are having these issues because the N2 is a fantastic thing.

I would suggest to reduce the bass on your headphone and get used to that. THen try again.

My experience has been this, the piano sounds better when the volume control is set to the level that you would expect an acoustic piano to sound. I practice most of the time with headphones on a very soft setting. When I play without headphones it will sound thin unless I crank up the level to what I would expect an acoustic to sound.

I suspect in your situation you have speakers pointed at hard surfaces.

I was in a piano store about a month ago and played all their grand pianos. The pianos that sounded much too bright were the ones where the piano lid allowed the sound to bounce off the side wall. In other words, instead of the piano being opened to the room, it was opened to a wall and the sound bounced back and was very bright. Just a thought.

Have you played a demo song and stood back from the piano and listened?

There is your answer. It's your room. Nothing suddenly went bad with your piano.
Noticed you mentioning it's in a "smallish" bedroom with 9 foot ceiling. This is not the best acoustic environment. (understatement) Only thing not bad is not having a low ceiling.
I would suggest you go to the gearslutz site. They have a forum just on treating rooms. Decided how you want to do it.

EDIT: The dealer should have known this and made a suggestion. Small rooms are not good acoustically ... period.

Huge thanks to all of you for your very valuable input. You were all right on the money. I listened to one of the demo songs (Why didn't I think of this?), and turning the volume down made a big difference. And yes, I see what you mean about the acoustic environment. For the most part that is not a concern since I play it with headphones 98% of the time. Will turn volume down if I play for others.

My primary concern was that there was something wrong with my beloved N2. To be honest, it "feels" so much like the real thing, that a few times I've forgotten to put the headphones on (they were plugged in) and momentarily panicked when I didn't hear anything! (For anyone old enough to remember drive-in movies, remember driving away with the speaker still attached to your window? It's like that.)

I am SO relieved and grateful. Now I just need to come up with a name for him besides N2 (it is definitely a Him). A gentleman in my amateur piano group has the largest Knabe grand I have ever seen in my life. He named it "Obi Wan Knabe." Maybe R2N2?

A much happier Laurie in Dallas

LOL