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I've played acoustic piano for a number of years in various performance situations but recetly became part of a gigging band. I'm using a yamaha CP33 (just because it was one of the few keyboards I liked the feel of at a reasonable price)and it sounds great through my headphones. I put it through a Peavey guitar amp (OK, I know this was stupid - as I said I'm new to this stuff)and it was terrible. Since then I've tried to find an amp which comes close to the sound of the headphones and just can't. I really only need a monitor as I'm going through our PA system on stage, but would like something I can use for practice sessions where I'm competing with other players who can get quite loud. Someone suggested the stagepas PA system which seems like overkill to me. I don't need stereo even, so I was looking at a powered speaker, yamaha MSR100 or 250? - anyone any suggestions? Budget is CAD500-600 ish.

I would suggest this CARVIN PM12A

Its a 400W powered speaker with a built in mixer. I use the 15 inch version as the mains to my PA. I have also used the Mackie SRM450, the Carvins sound just as good to me at half the price.
They are built in the US and my LM15A has lasted me 5 years without fail gigging 4-6 gigs a month.

Thanks for the info - I'll check them out.

ElectroVoice ZXa1 is small, light, reasonably priced, and it sounds good.

Looks good also. I'll compare the two - thanks.

I play a CP33 as well, and I assure you that it will sound better if you use the L and R Line Outs rather than L/Mono. You can try it for yourself.
I now use a Mackie 1202 VLZ3 mixer and two TH-12a powered speakers rather than the Behringer K3000 keyboard amp that I used to use. I personally don't think you will like any keyboard amp, and actually, for the money and ease of carrying around, the Stagepas 300 would work well.

+1 -- pretty reasonably priced and sounds so much better than the Stagepas 300 (which I also have).

I use the Stagepas now for just vocals. Too boomy sounding for keyboard.

Have you looked at KRK Rockit 6 or Rockit 8 ??

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=krk+rockit&N=0&InitialSearch=yes

Not yet. I have seen them but as I said this is quite new to me and I'm open to any suggestion. I can't say I'm too keen on the look of the KRK - it wouldn't put me off if the sound was right though!

I don't know, those KRK monitors look pretty sweet, I have to say. Very bold and clean (I used to have them). The studio monitor thing is often recommended and the KRK's are the most common studio monitors in terms of sales. I used to have them and they are decent (particularly with a sub).

But I'm coming around to the idea of using Hi Fi for this purpose, and that's what I would get in your case as well since you will be playing with others. An amp and some floorstanding Hi Fi, possibly with a sub, would be likely to fill the room nicely. Those nearfield monitors are very directional and not really intended to be listened to by more than one person at a time. And they can tend toward harshness.

Since you are using them at home I assume you wouldn't be moving them around much?

BTW I would try and get stereo if I were you. We've had a lot of complaints that DP makers don't try as hard with their mono samples, not to mention the inherent advantage of stereo. Even if it is just for monitoring, you might as well have a good experience with it.

I also have a CP33 (that's used solely for personal home use) and have been considering getting new external speakers. I took my keyboard to a couple of stores and tried various powered monitors. One store had a pair of what the owner said were made by Peavy (though I thought they were marked KRK on the rear) and another set which were passive with a separate amp, brand name I wasn't familiar with and can't remember. Prices for both sets (two speakers each) were in the $600 range and both had "woofers" in the 5" range. Another store had a set of Behringer Truth B2031A with 8" woofers for $394 for the pair. $400 is my price range.

Reviews of monitors talk about how flat, clear, and crisp the sound is. Well, none of these were clear or crisp, even with the store's demo keyboards. Am I missing something or have the wrong expectations? They all were muddy, or "booming" sounding from the bass up through the mid-range and into the upper registers. Maybe it was just room acoustics being in large retail environments. I presently use a set of Logitech THX computer speakers which have wonderful clean bass and clear, crips highs. They are just thin, or weak in the mid-range probably because of the small mains. I took these with me to the second store and they sounded pretty much the same as they do at home, clear and clean, just week in the mid-range. The monitors were fuller sounding and overall better sounding, they just had that horrible booming quality.

For home use, would I be better off with a good stereo amplifier and home stereo "monitor" speakers like Polk Audio or some such?

Thanks!

Ron in Oregon

Probably. (to the question about whether Hi Fi will do better)

Though to be fair, no studio monitor I've heard sounds good in the lower registers without the use of a subwoofer like the KRK 10s. That's especially true of the 5-inch variety.

I'm guessing the monitors you tried were much flatter than your computer speakers in all ranges (except the very lows, where probably neither are anywhere close to flat). Crisp and clear are more subjective measures and hard to quantify. An EQ tweak can make one speaker sound more crisp and clear than another even though it departs from the true signal.

Yes, qvfarns, the monitors were definitely flatter and the bass in the Behringer 8" woofers was decent enough to sound like a piano at living room volume levels without being overwelming. It was just that darned elusive "booming" quality, which is hard to define, sort of ringy, sort of reverbish, sort of muddy. Just unpleasant.

I felt like the Behringer 3031 as boomy too so it could be a Behringer thing, though a lot of that could be my current room. I don't recall my old KRK RP8 and 10S combo being that way, but that was a different room also.

At present I'm temporarily using Logitech Z-2300 speakers, because I have them on hand. They are obviously not flat, but otherwise sound ok-ish. The monitors probably sounded better (though a bit more harsh) but for now it was not enough to justify the cost and size.

My next foray will almost certainly be an amp and some floorstanding hi fi speakers (in a different/bigger room, hopefully).

One way to check a sound system is to play music (other than piano) through it, all kinds of music. A full range system should be able to handle all kinds of music and make it sound good.

True, though only piano matters for these speakers most likely (certainly true in my case). Shouldn't you just use piano music if that's all that it will be used for?

A full range system, one that is relatively flat in frequency response, should make everything sound decent. The system I use makes everything sound excellent - singers, piano, and all kinds of recorded music. (I also charge more if I'm required to supply my system for the rest of the band. Having a full range system makes everyone sound better.)

(Oh, by the way, the fundamental tones of a piano go from about 27 to 4200 Hz.)