Thoughts after Sweetwater Visit

kawafanboi Nope! She is a new friend I got to know this January. Actually, her family (including her) and a cellist friend I've known for years invited me to spend this past weekend.

And, when I have a girlfriend or a formal wife in the future, she will not be blind. This is not ablest so please don't take this the wrong way, but practically it's better for the blind person to live with a sighted companion, in my opinion. Navigation and life happenings won't be hard to navigate, and the sighted person will help complement the blind person. That's the last thing I want to say about this.

That's why they call it sweetwater. It's like a candy store.

SouthPark That's why they call it sweetwater. It's like a candy store.

I hide the candy that gets shipped with my orders otherwise my wife eats it all up. Bit-O-honey and taffy are my favorite. 😋

God bless,
David

David B Haha, whenever I buy new audio things from Sweetwater, it's "candy for the whole family!!!"

SouthPark

which part of sweetwater is southpark doing the shopping exactly, out back behind the .. 😏 cash only.

David Lai I'm very happy to hear you had such an awesome experience at Sweetwater! I want to go there now. 🙂

I didn't know they had acoustic pianos! Could you share a bit more about your experience with the Pearl River piano? Did you like it?

navindra I played on a couple of the Pearl Rivers, not my favorite tone, unfortunately. Boxy highs is what I remember most about them. I'd say if at all possible, get a Yamaha to make your money's worth.

David Lai GC2 has a warmer sound compared to the other times when I played the same model

I’ve heard similar feedback from other people too. Apparently Yamaha have made their recent pianos to be warmer sounding.

CyberGene Looks like my feelings are quite consistent, too. Thanks for confirming my thoughts, both you and Kawafanboi!

David Lai

Sounds like a blast - thanks for sharing. It's very rare to get a chance to try so many products side-by-side as you did, so your impressions are very instructive.

I've heard a lot of good things about the those Kali LP6 monitors, especially for the price. I would consider getting them, but I'm afraid they are slightly too large for the space where I want to mount them, so I'm leaning more towards Genelecs as they have a more compact shape, even though they are a lot more expensive.

I would also love to hear the Focal Shape 65s, but I think they may also be too large for my space. But I've had a pair of Focal speakers in my hi-fi system for the past 20+ years, and they are probably the single best investment I ever made in terms of audio. Even today they still sound amazing and better than most new speakers anywhere near their price range.

jdg78 The Genelecs sounds bland to my ears, and not very fun to listen to at first, though maybe time will help you adjust? But it's not my cup of tea.

The Focal Shape 65s have much detail, and the default tuning makes fun and satisfactory listening. Be ware that these speakers are best in a nearfield setup, sitting away from it won't give you as much of the soundstage and imaging. It's my daily driver now for close to a year and I love them so much!!!

The Kali LP6s are good as a starter speaker, and the sound characteristics are, in my mind, very similar to the Focal Shapes, minus some high frequency shimmer, and also the amps they use are more noisy than the Shapes. I think if you have the budget for them, go directly with the Shapes. As for space, the pedestals my parents made for the KRK Rokit5 G4s I used to use can also fit the Focal Shape 65s, in fact, they fit perfectly. So I imagine, if you can house a pair of speakers with 5-inch woofers, then this wouldn't be a problem.

i don't understand the obsession with "monitor" branded speakers. it's mostly advertising. more neutral speakers are out there in the hifi space at comparable / lower cost, and you can pick your own dac/amp.

kawafanboi I know your opinions, KFB, and I respect them. However, we have different use cases. For me, a powered speaker is more space saving, and I have less cables to work with, only my audio interface and laptop (source and preamp). Also, this setup is what studios use anyway, so all the better. And marketing does contribute to how to get the word out, but these studio monitors are not just advertising. Hope this was enlightening.

David Lai Do you prefer digital pianos over the Pearl River pianos then, if you had to choose?

navindra If I choose, I'd prefer digitals for two reasons: 1 it's always in tune; 2 good digitals are just as good as acoustics, in my opinion.

My current practice setup is digital, FYI. I love an acoustic, but a university apartment doesn't allow it.

David Lai

david, do you find acoustic pianos are just too loud ? after going digital, i play my acoustics less and less due to volume, you don't realize it until you get a digital, and it's NOT an assault on your ears every time.

i distinctly remember as a child, piano practice would seem ungodly painfully loud for the first 15 minutes, before you get used to it.

kawafanboi No, I don't think acoustics are painfully loud. Yes, they are loud, but I guess I've gotten used to it. My main concern is the flexibility of such an instrument in modern day apartments. That's why I've gone digital with my setup.

David Lai Yes, I believe I've seen your setup with the VPC1 or something. It's very nice!

Do you have perfect pitch? If so, I can see how acoustic tuning variations over time could be bothersome.

navindra Yes, I do have perfect pitch. It mostly is a blessing, but sometimes can also be not so much. 🙂