Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards What speakers are you using with the Kawai MP11 (or any DP)?

Speaker threads are always super difficult and not that many good opinions are shared. Some time back I went through a search for the best speakers for my stage piano at the time. I used several highly recommended nearfield monitors with subwoofers and also other types of speakers was disappointed in all of them. I ended up returning all of them and going back to using headphones exclusively. Now I have a piano with built in speakers that I play when I want someone to hear or sing along with me. I use headphones and a VST when I want the best sound.

Which is the best speaker seems to depend very heavily on the room and, more importantly, on personal tastes. You can get reviews here, but you are just as likely to hate the result as like it even if someone else loves it.'

Good luck!

Yeah... it appears that most people are just happy with entry-level $150 speakers...

I am looking at headphones also - Yamaha HPH-MT8.

I use(d) Focal Alpha 80 speakers on the MP7, before the piano was moved to my GF's appartment, where it's now used with Sennheiser HD 595 headphones only. I still have the Focals in storage; they'll probably end up as monitors/speakers on the desktop computer.

I have the Yamaha HS8's. Really good sound.

I used to have KRK Rokit 6 G3 speakers. I found their sound unsatisfactory. The Rokit 10S subwoofer didn't add realism to the bass notes at all.

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall . . . It's an education to hear how these things are handled!

A fantastic speaker system properly set up always wins for listening to music. But that is tough and can cost a lot of money.

Large, open-backed headphones can have some real advantages for digital piano players.

+ Easy setup & small physical footprint

+ Inexpensive

+ Reduced latency (say 1ms per foot of speaker distance from ear)

+ They largely eliminate room acoustic issues

+ One driver per ear eliminates problem of trying to time-align a lot of drivers

+ No messy crossover networks required for multi-driver speakers

+ They don't bother neighbours or family so can play anytime

Some disadvantages

- Large headphone drivers can have good low fq response although a good sub provides some viceral benefits

- Open backed headphones can offer some of the spaciousness of speakers or a real piano in a room. Closed backed headphones boost bass but lose some of that spaciousness generally

- With headphones, sound does not change when moving the head making the "live" effect less realistic

- Headphones can be uncomfortable if heavy, clamp too hard, the pads press on your ear, the cable gets in the way

Nice.

I just purchased a pair of the KH80s, strictly for listening to music at my office/computer desk. I'm in sonic heaven and doing more listening then I've done in years. I can only imagine the KH310s sound fantastic !

At home, I only use my Senn HD650s for both the CP5 & CP4.

Out live, I use a pair of RCF TT08As and a JMK Audio JM-110 Di/preamp with the CP4.

Personally, that's the main reason why I prefer monitors. And also, my wife can fall asleep while listening to me play.

I did not know the part about open-back headphones sounding more spacious than closed-back ones...

It really depends on the headphone so generalizations are rather useless; you really need to try a few models with your digital piano to see what you like best with your piano sounds, on your head, in your room. Spending a lot of money doesn't get you anywhere, fortunately.

--As a general matter, closed-back headphones sound relatively closed in. Sometimes they sound boxed in. But they also isolate you from outside noises better. And isolate people around you from piano noise. They can also provide stronger bass response but sometimes that bass boost is unrealistic.

--Open-back headphones generally incorporate a bit more of your room ambience and allow sound to escape more naturally. For my ears they sound a bit more relaxed and realistic.

I think for "listening" to more complex orchestral music, poorly designed headphones "collapse" but for simpler music the differences are not so stark. I've listened to lots and lots of different headphones and earbuds so have a strong view here.

For playing piano, several "inexpensive" headphones are quite popular here (do a search). I've only used a handful of headphones with digital pianos so am not the most informed person here.

If a small stylish monitor is important then I can recommend the IK Multimedia Iloud Micro monitors.

I imagine for the same price one might be able to find a slightly better sound in another monitor but these things are small, look good and provide a surprisingly good sound with decent bass. I bought them when they first came out last year and have no regrets.