Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha AvantGrand N1X - Hands On

David, it’s good to know that your VST sounds good through the on-board speakers.
Since trading my LX-17 for a P-515 (exclusively running Pianoteq), I do not believe that I’ll ever return back to playing on-board sounds; be it sampled or physically modeled. For me, it’s VST all the way; I digress.
The N1X is an excellent choice, and if I had the opportunity I’d pick it over the N2 in a heartbeat.

You could add a small mixer into your computer cabinet rather than the passive splitter. Something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Behringer-802-Input-Bus-Mixer/dp/B000J5XS3C

That would give you control of the relative volumes of the internal and external speakers, as well as a basic 3-band EQ, which will help balance the sound further.

Impressive... It is evident this is important for you.
I have noticed two benches, do you plan to play four hands?

Congratulations to your new hybrid piano. Nice playing, sounds great.

If possible I would like to listen to some recordings of the room with he built-in sound through the speakers.

I actually have a small Mackie mixer (it's about 13 years old) that could do the job. I wish the N1X had a separate line out volume control like my MP11SE had.

God Bless,
David

Be careful what you wish for! There was just some excoriating on here a few days ago because a DP *dared* to have a way to control line out volume in the first place!

For some, the form factor will surely evoke the square grand of the 1800's

David congratulations and I hope it brings you much pleasure, and a nice demo.

FWIW, in terms of balancing loudness between the KRKs and the piano speakers, you do have dials on the back of the KRKs, however, if the piano speaker are already too loud this will no help much, you can go to +6 dB , but may get clipping, the other way round you can always turn down the KRKs as much as you need, they have a fair amount of range to play with, down to -30dB, the default setting is 0 dB.

Using Midi Monitor I noticed that there is an "Aftertouch" before the final note off value of 64 (provided you don't release the key quickly). It will range from 31 to 20 depending on how slowly you allow the key to raise. Here is a screen shot with the values representing a slow lift. I believe I can hear this effect with both the internal sounds and my VST's (VSL/Pianoteq).



My MP11SE registered no aftertouch, but it did register different note-off values.

Something else that's different from the MP11SE is the active sensor reading. If I don't play any keys Midi Monitor registers a continual string of Active sense readings.



I can filter that reading out through midi monitor, but nevertheless, it's different from my Kawai.

So I think the key sensor on the N1X does help with expression for both internal sounds and VST's provided they have key off samples.

God Bless,
David

I think Cybergene recent explained how this most likely works--the AvantGrands will start to process key-off before the key or fully lifted, suggesting that there can be a different tone if you hold the damper just over/on the string without fully lifting the key. The aftertouch mechanism allows you to get that effect whereas note-off will only trigger once the key is fully lifted.

A good demonstration of the extreme lengths Yamaha goes to precisely replicate the sound of a real piano in their AvantGrands. It's virtually no-compromise.

The bench against the wall is the one that came with the N1X. It's an adjustable bench. I left it there for my son to use since he's taking piano lessons now. I figured it might be easier to swap benches every time we play rather than adjusting the same bench up and down every time.

I would really like to get a hydraulic bench for the ease of use, but I can't justify the cost right now.

God Bless,
David

I’m wondering how the audio interface help to play using the onboard speakers. If I’m using VST, I can also use a dedicated audio interface and output the audio to the line in of the DP right? I think it achieves the same purpose.

That's encouraging. It should help with buyer's remorse. Actually, I was not tentative, apprehensive, reluctant, or timid at all about this purchase. I'm very thrilled with the prospect of playing this piano. I've amassed a firearms collection over the years that I'll be selling off to pay for the N1X. It actually feels good to trade the old hobby for this new one.

I'll keep a few firearms for practical purposes (I live in the country), but there is no reason to let them sit in the safe unused when the N1X can be used everyday. Plus, I don't have to worry about my hearing, lead contamination, or spending money every time I pull the trigger.

There is a onetime purchase with the piano (and some educational materials) and the rest it just time on the bench.

Well, maybe not a onetime purchase. I started out with a Yamaha DGX 650, sold that for a Kawai ES100, sold that for a ES8, sold that for a MP11SE, and finally sold that for the N1X. I think I'm done buying pianos.

God Bless,
David

Don't worry, you just got started on your grand piano collection.

I don't have a crystal ball, but I think it will be a long time before you want to replace your N1X with any other digital. The old N1 is still perfectly up to date for those who use it as a controller.

Congrats David, thank you for sharing the unboxing pictures and performance.

The rug definitely improves the atmosphere of the room too!

Kind regards,
James
x

That's correct. However, you run the risk of unwanted noise (e.g., buzz or ground loop, etc.) The AdvantGrand audio interface eliminates that possibility by keeping it digital.

The Aux input was a problem for me when I tried the NV10. I got an annoying buzz when I plugged my computer into it at the dealers. I'm sure I could have found a solution at home, but the built in audio interface on the N1X is pretty much plug and play.

God Bless,
David

Did anyone already mention that your rug is very nice? It really ties the room together.

I could just rattle on about that rug myself, including how it's positioned and the colors which transition toward warmth in the center but then are almost inexplicably extinguished by the black neutral center. Oops. That was already a few more words than this thread should get!

It's way easier to use because you just need one USB cable and thats all. On the Novus it was pain in the ass to use the line in, especially when using the internal headphone jacks of the instrument. The sound quality got worse and partially mono instead of stereo. With the build in audio interface on the Yamaha (NU1X in my case) all issues disappeared. I got also better latency results.