Thoughts after Sweetwater Visit

David Lai · 2024-03-12T14:50:36+00:00

Yesterday, I went to Sweetwater to play pianos and keyboards and listen to speakers. I'll talk about the various thoughts of my journey in this discussion, and I'll divide the sections into individual posts. 1. Pianos & Keyboards I only looked at the grand pianos in the show room, and none of them are concert grand size. There was Pearl River (a Chinese brand), and the GC series from Yamaha (the Indonesian Yamaha pianos). Their make have increased quality, as both models have working sostenuto pedals, and the GC2 has a warmer sound compared to the other times when I played the same model. I then looked at the portable slabs and stage pianos. I tried the Casio PX7000, and the keyboard action is as smooth as butter, with very little key noise. The touch screen interface wasn't friendly to my hands, and I didn't know how to turn on or off the instrument. Then I tried the Studiologic Numa X Piano GT, which they had to get from the warehouse and set up for me. The black keys are wider than the SL-88Grand, and the action has improved over that keyboard. The midi response was also very good. I tested on my laptop and Babyface Pro FS setup, running Ivory III German D and Garritan CFX libraries. I have to agree with David B, this action was a joy to play on. Then it was the Yamaha P525 and P 225, two latest portable slabs. The P525 action is heavier than the P225, and I feel it's generally like my C3 in China. The sound system on the P525 is very good, and its built-in sounds, although basic, served a convenient way for me to have fun with my friends. I think if my VPC1 breaks down one day, I wouldn't mind getting a P-525 from Yamaha, especially now the Yamaha is cheaper than the Kawai, especially when I don't have the space to put an NV10S or N1X in the room. I also played on the Nord Stage 4 and the Nord Grand, both have average actions, with the Nord Grand having the worse action in my opinion. However, the magical thing is that Nord has better samples than the digital pianos of Yamaha or Kawai, so I enjoyed it from that aspect. The Roland cube monitors mounted to either side of the keyboard provided an immersive playing experience, but I wouldn't have any of these as my daily driver keyboards. Also, the controls are too complicated, and I think for me, learning the panel would be a headache. My new blind friend who's a Fort Wayne local and went with us on this trip, got inspired and told me on the way back that she'd like to buy a digital keyboard or piano for herself next month, so I guess this self indulging trip to Sweetwater produced another sold customer. I didn't try any furniture style cabinets, but they do have Yamaha Clavinovas, which I stumbled across and bumped into when I first entered the showroom. Please see next post for my thoughts on studio monitors.

CyberGene

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.

David Lai

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

jdg78

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.

David Lai

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.

kawafanboi

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.

David Lai

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.

navindra

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

David Lai

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.

kawafanboi

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.

David Lai

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.

navindra

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.

David Lai

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

Matias

Nice report, thanks!

David Lai

Matias You're welcome. I thought I'd make the most out of it as I seldom get the chance to travel far because of my disability.

Johnstaf

David Lai Matias You're welcome. I thought I'd make the most out of it as I seldom get the chance to travel far because of my disability.

It's such a shame the world is the way it is. I have a friend who is a blind computer scientist. She has a brilliant mind, but so many ordinary everyday things are a struggle. She's a great musician too.

David Lai

Johnstaf Blindness is probably the most difficult disability out there in the world, I certainly feel it, especially when you're like me, having no light perception. The eyes are just… up there…

SouthPark

The amazing thing is that in many cases, where one sense is reduced, or not there, then other senses become stronger. In this case, hearing and possibly memory gets developed, and touch etc.

For music, even if we can 'hear' music in our minds if our actual hearing is not there ….. being able to hear … and hearing satisfactorily … definitely helps.

RIP

Thanks for the report/review @David Lai this is all very good to know!

David Lai

RIP Thank you for reading! A friend posted some videos of me playing, all clips. I was having fun with the internal sounds of the Yamaha P-525 and the Nord keyboards, among other things. Wish you could see them… 🙂

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