Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Searching desperately for comp. speakers to sit on DP

Hi. I don't have my Casio PX-150 yet, but I'll be buying it this month, so I'm looking again at external speakers. I've decided I don't want to deal with a subwoofer, as I'll be transporting my piano several times a week and I'll only be playing it quietly for the most part.

I'll pay anywhere up to $120, and the two things I'm looking for are 20w or more (to equal or beat the PX-850's 20w) and they need to be small enough to sit on the piano's internal speakers. I've been searching for two hours now, and here are two that I've looked at.

The first one has no reviews, but is 20w and small enough. The second one has lots of reviews, but doesn't give the wattage.

First

Second

I don't even know how important wattage is -- I assume it's important as it's the difference in the speakers of the four pianos in the Privia PX-x50 series.

If you have any you like or can suggest any that are small and have 20+ watts, please let me know. Thank you!

Actually, wattage is not necessarily important. In fact, 10 watts into high efficiency speakers can be louder than 30 watts into low efficiency speakers. Plus, companies don't all specify watts the same way (i.e. over what frequency range, with what distortion, continuous or peak).

Are you sure the piano's internal speakers won't be sufficient?

Also, looking at the speakers you linked to, I'm wondering how you intend to place them. You talked about having them sit on the piano's internal speakers, but I think they would be prone to fall off.

The speakers aren't very nice -- they don't do the sound justice as the highest two models do. This is one of the areas they cut back on this model to reduce price.

Yes, I want to sit them on the speakers themselves, really as a replacement. I'll soon be getting the wooden stand afterwards, which would make the piano especially sturdy, and I doubt they'd fall off.

While I have not heard the speakers you linked to, for $25 I'm doubtful that they will sound any better than those built-into the PX-150.

I also would not recommend attempting to place the speakers on top of the PX-150 itself, at least, not without some Velcro pads or something similar to prevent the them from sliding-off when playing.

Kind regards,
James
x

FWIW - the wattage on the Creative Labs are 9 watts.

Thanks, James and Plinky. I agree, I don't think 25 - 50 dollar speakers are going to sound very good. I'd like something closer to 100 dollars, but everything seems to come with a subwoofer! Maybe I should suck it up and get one with a sub? It just seems a waste if I'm not using it half the time. I live in an apartment the size of a bedroom and share a wall with two people.

If I shouldn't put the speakers on top of the piano, then maybe under it on the left and right? I'm not sure what to do, as this isn't going to be a permanent setup and I'll be transporting it four times a week.

Are you playing alone, for yourself? Or are you playing for other people to listen? Or are you jamming with other players? The purpose might lead people to different suggestions...

Behringer MS-40 ? They're 20 watts per side, and they sound a lot better than the speakers in my PX-350.

But I doubt that they'll fit on top of the PX-150 loudspeakers.

You have a problem:

. . . It's not just the loudspeaker driver that matters,
. . . but also the enclosure that it's in.

The MS-40's are about as small as anything can be, and still give decent bass. Other 5" "powered monitor" loudspeakers will be more-or-less the same size.

I've had poor luck with "computer loudspeakers". The highs are OK, but the midrange is weak.

. Charles

anotherscott: I'm playing alone for practice. If I take it for performances, I'd be plugging into the DI. I'll also be recording for Youtube, which I would do using a lead from the headphone jack. When I take it back to my mum's house, I'll also often be playing with my mate on guitar and singing. The main thing is the detail in the piano sound that I'm missing out on.

Charles Cohen: Thanks! I think I can fork out for these. Is this what you're using? If so, where do you place them?

Have you ruled out using studio monitor stands?

http://www.sweetwater.com/c762--Studio_Monitor_Stands

Yep. Another expense, and wouldn't fit in my bedroom-sized studio apartment.

For $120 you could build a pretty nice set of close monitors. Here is an interesting full-range driver that is fairly efficient and handles a fair amount of wattage:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=264-915

These are less expensive, but probably not as good sounding:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=295-010

Then build some ported boxes, and drive them with an inexpensive amplifier:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?partnumber=310-300

The final solution is to remove the DP guts, and build them into a flight case with better speakers and amplifier. That might only run you a couple of hundred if you DIY. I'll probably do this some day when I get completely tired of the lame commercial offerings.

For that, your best solution might be headphones. Good quality at low cost, and no placement issues. And maybe you already have a set you can use, which would make them free!


I'd probably go for the Behringer B208D. For this application, I wouldn't worry so much about stereo. One good speaker is better than two lesser ones. Compared to the little speakers you're looking at, this will have a lot more power and bass fullness. It's designed for "live performance" levels. And for transporting back and forth, it's nice to have something that is designed to take a bit of "road handling."

Another thought... if the PX-350 speakers are good enough for you, but the PX-150 speakers aren't, maybe it's better to pay $200 more for the upgraded model, and not have to worry about placement, wiring, ease of transport... and then you get the other advantages like line in and out, MIDI connectors, more sounds, better split/layer functionality, etc.

Yes, with my current DP I plug in my Philips in-ear headphones through a 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor. I use them when I'm practising in my box of an apartment from dark onwards, and even at daytime when I don't want anyone else to hear.

The other thing is I'll be teaching on it, which is another reason it has to be portable. I think for those purposes its own speakers would be fine

I've considered that. But all the buttons would act as distractions for my seven year old student, and I never use anything other than the concert piano sound. If I want to use MIDI sounds, Í can plug it into my DAW and use it as a MIDI controller. If the 350's speakers were better, it'd have a better case, but I'd still want a better sound out of it.

I like the idea of the Behringer MS40s. I guess I won't really know if I NEEEED them until I have the piano and have played it for a while, but I feel much better thinking this through now.

I'm curious, did you consider the Yamaha P105? I think its piano tone and speakers would beat out the PX150 at the same price. But the Casio would probably win on feel.

Another option might be to crack the PX-150 open, measure the speakers (dimensionally and electrical TS specs), and try to find more efficient replacements that have decent frequency response in the given enclosure. That's probably what I'd try first. And if it's still not loud enough put a small amplifier in there.

Sad all this stuff we have to do after buying the darn DP in the first place. It would be great if they offered models with sufficient wattage and maybe neodymium drivers to save weight.

Also, it's possible that the speakers for the PX-350, if purchased as replacement parts, might pop right into the PX-150. I think the big (only?) difference is that the 350 speaker is a dual driver design, the 150 is a single. I don't think the difference is loudness, per se, I think it's that the 150 is missing the tweeter so it provides a duller sound.