Disklavier

I would be very grateful if folks using an external sound setup (as opposed  
to the grands that have built in speakers) can share how they are doing it.  
ESPECIALLY if it sounds good while they are playing the instrument.
 
I have a DU1A, a professional upright. The store included one small speaker  
(35 watts) just so I could hear that it would work. I have no idea why they  
didn't either include 2, or none, but that is a different story.
 
I bought a mid priced surround system, based on the store's suggestion (the  
did not offer any specific brands), which is 1000 watts (over 6 speakers -  
less than 200 each). I thought that would be plenty of power.
 
My main concern is that it does not sound too great, and at levels loud  
enough to start to sound "full" I can hear noise, not static, like but more  
humming like and not 60cps hum....just background noise that probably  originates 
either in the system or the disklavier unit. I did raise the  volume coming out 
of the disklavier, so that is not the problem)
 
What I want to do is to compose music using this instrument, and that means  
I want to hear clearly around me. When I pulled the front speakers out from  
the wall and put on either side of me it was much better, but still not great. 
I  cannot hear the back speakers as they are across the room, but I can 
probably do  some sort of adjustment. (and it will not work to always keep the 
speakers out  as they will block the path around the LR, which is not that large, 
my hope is  to find the best affordable system, and mount some or all of the 
speakers  on the wall)
 
AT this point, I feel this sound system is not powerful enough and  have no 
idea how much power I need to have great sound while playing the piano.  (Years 
ago when I did MIDI composing using multi keyboards, everything came  through 
2 medium-large sized speakers mounted above me and it sounded absolutely  
awesome whether I was composing at the keyboards or sitting across the room. It  
was not a fancy sound system. I had hoped for a similar experience with this  
instrument)
 
BTW, the new surround sound system did sound great when I played a CD and  
sat in the middle of the room. It was louder and fuller, without background  
noise. The problem is I want to hear great with the piano, which means  different 
sound source, and sitting on one side of the room.
 
Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.
 
Blessings,
Wanda



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at 
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I've been up and down this road recently, but my expecatations may 
not be as great as yours.  I already have a quasi-recording studio at 
home with more advanced setups, so I use my DK purely for 
entertainment and rehearsal (I play an upright bass too).  Therefore, 
I use a ROLAND KC-150 Keyboard Amp.  It has 4 channels, 60 watts, and 
it sounds very good with the audio cds and tone gerator (MU50).  I 
even use this amplifier for my upright bass.  Its a good looking 
amplifier that fits well in my LR setup.

I have a an older DK MX100II without midi tone generator.  I found a 
used Yamaha MU50 external MIDI tone generator (EBAY)and an old 
(discontinued) Midiman QRS CD Keyboard Player - a magic black box 
that allows you pull the midi data off the Pianosoft Plus Audio cds. 

I use a simple portable CD player for audio CDs and a laptop for MIDI 
files.  

The downside is that is mono sound setup - which really doesn't 
matter when using the Pianosoft CDs.  


--- In disklavier@yahoogroups.com, wandamusic@... wrote:
>
> I would be very grateful if folks using an external sound setup (as 
opposed  
> to the grands that have built in speakers) can share how they are 
doing it.  
> ESPECIALLY if it sounds good while they are playing the instrument.
>  
> I have a DU1A, a professional upright. The store included one small 
speaker  
> (35 watts) just so I could hear that it would work. I have no idea 
why they  
> didn't either include 2, or none, but that is a different story.
>  
> I bought a mid priced surround system, based on the store's 
suggestion (the  
> did not offer any specific brands), which is 1000 watts (over 6 
speakers -  
> less than 200 each). I thought that would be plenty of power.
>  
> My main concern is that it does not sound too great, and at levels 
loud  
> enough to start to sound "full" I can hear noise, not static, like 
but more  
> humming like and not 60cps hum....just background noise that 
probably  originates 
> either in the system or the disklavier unit. I did raise the  
volume coming out 
> of the disklavier, so that is not the problem)
>  
> What I want to do is to compose music using this instrument, and 
that means  
> I want to hear clearly around me. When I pulled the front speakers 
out from  
> the wall and put on either side of me it was much better, but still 
not great. 
> I  cannot hear the back speakers as they are across the room, but I 
can 
> probably do  some sort of adjustment. (and it will not work to 
always keep the 
> speakers out  as they will block the path around the LR, which is 
not that large, 
> my hope is  to find the best affordable system, and mount some or 
all of the 
> speakers  on the wall)
>  
> AT this point, I feel this sound system is not powerful enough and  
have no 
> idea how much power I need to have great sound while playing the 
piano.  (Years 
> ago when I did MIDI composing using multi keyboards, everything 
came  through 
> 2 medium-large sized speakers mounted above me and it sounded 
absolutely  
> awesome whether I was composing at the keyboards or sitting across 
the room. It  
> was not a fancy sound system. I had hoped for a similar experience 
with this  
> instrument)
>  
> BTW, the new surround sound system did sound great when I played a 
CD and  
> sat in the middle of the room. It was louder and fuller, without 
background  
> noise. The problem is I want to hear great with the piano, which 
means  different 
> sound source, and sitting on one side of the room.
>  
> Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.
>  
> Blessings,
> Wanda
> 
> 
> 
> ************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-
new AOL at 
> http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
>

1000 Watss should be more than enough volume, unless you play in large venues. To avoid background noise, keep the volume on the piano as high as you can without causing distortion and use the volume control on the sound system to adjust the level. This keep the signal to nois ratio as high as possible.

athomik

On Jul 17 2007, wandamusic@... wrote:

>I would be very grateful if folks using an external sound setup (as opposed
>to the grands that have built in speakers) can share how they are doing it.
>ESPECIALLY if it sounds good while they are playing the instrument.
>
>I have a DU1A, a professional upright. The store included one small speaker
>(35 watts) just so I could hear that it would work. I have no idea why they
>didn't either include 2, or none, but that is a different story.
>
>I bought a mid priced surround system, based on the store's suggestion (the
>did not offer any specific brands), which is 1000 watts (over 6 speakers -
>less than 200 each). I thought that would be plenty of power.
>
>My main concern is that it does not sound too great, and at levels loud
>enough to start to sound "full" I can hear noise, not static, like but more
>humming like and not 60cps hum....just background noise that probably originates
>either in the system or the disklavier unit. I did raise the volume coming out
>of the disklavier, so that is not the problem)
>
>What I want to do is to compose music using this instrument, and that means
>I want to hear clearly around me. When I pulled the front speakers out from
>the wall and put on either side of me it was much better, but still not great.
>I cannot hear the back speakers as they are across the room, but I can
>probably do some sort of adjustment. (and it will not work to always keep the
>speakers out as they will block the path around the LR, which is not that large,
>my hope is to find the best affordable system, and mount some or all of the
>speakers on the wall)
>
>AT this point, I feel this sound system is not powerful enough and have no
>idea how much power I need to have great sound while playing the piano. (Years
>ago when I did MIDI composing using multi keyboards, everything came through
>2 medium-large sized speakers mounted above me and it sounded absolutely
>awesome whether I was composing at the keyboards or sitting across the room. It
>was not a fancy sound system. I had hoped for a similar experience with this
>instrument)
>
>BTW, the new surround sound system did sound great when I played a CD and
>sat in the middle of the room. It was louder and fuller, without background
>noise. The problem is I want to hear great with the piano, which means different
>sound source, and sitting on one side of the room.
>
>Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.
>
>Blessings,
>Wanda
>
>
>
>************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at
>http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour
>

Hello Wanda,

The problem is that audio output level from the Disklavier is too low for your surround system. In your email you stated that the CD player sounds good through the surround system. The output on the CD player is much higher than the Disklavier.

I recommend purchasing a Rolls MX28 Mixer. You can purchase the mixer on the Internet for about $75.00.

You will connect your 1/4" cables from the Disklavier to the inputs of the MX28. Then connect the 1/4" outputs of the MX28 to the RCA jacks on the back of your surround receiver. (You may need a couple of 1/4" to RCA adapters to do this.)

Using the mixer, you will be able to raise the signal output level to the right amount to work with your surround sound system.


Bill Brandom
Disklavier Marketing Manager
Piano Division 
YAMAHA Corporation of America 
TEL (714) 522-9417  FAX (714) 522-9301
E-mail: bbrandom@... 
Web: http://www.yamaha.com 


>>> <wandamusic@...> 07/17/2007 5:44:13 AM >>>
I would be very grateful if folks using an external sound setup (as opposed  
to the grands that have built in speakers) can share how they are doing it.  
ESPECIALLY if it sounds good while they are playing the instrument.
 
I have a DU1A, a professional upright. The store included one small speaker  
(35 watts) just so I could hear that it would work. I have no idea why they  
didn't either include 2, or none, but that is a different story.
 
I bought a mid priced surround system, based on the store's suggestion (the  
did not offer any specific brands), which is 1000 watts (over 6 speakers -  
less than 200 each). I thought that would be plenty of power.
 
My main concern is that it does not sound too great, and at levels loud  
enough to start to sound "full" I can hear noise, not static, like but more  
humming like and not 60cps hum....just background noise that probably  originates 
either in the system or the disklavier unit. I did raise the  volume coming out 
of the disklavier, so that is not the problem)
 
What I want to do is to compose music using this instrument, and that means  
I want to hear clearly around me. When I pulled the front speakers out from  
the wall and put on either side of me it was much better, but still not great. 
I  cannot hear the back speakers as they are across the room, but I can 
probably do  some sort of adjustment. (and it will not work to always keep the 
speakers out  as they will block the path around the LR, which is not that large, 
my hope is  to find the best affordable system, and mount some or all of the 
speakers  on the wall)
 
AT this point, I feel this sound system is not powerful enough and  have no 
idea how much power I need to have great sound while playing the piano.  (Years 
ago when I did MIDI composing using multi keyboards, everything came  through 
2 medium-large sized speakers mounted above me and it sounded absolutely  
awesome whether I was composing at the keyboards or sitting across the room. It  
was not a fancy sound system. I had hoped for a similar experience with this  
instrument)
 
BTW, the new surround sound system did sound great when I played a CD and  
sat in the middle of the room. It was louder and fuller, without background  
noise. The problem is I want to hear great with the piano, which means  different 
sound source, and sitting on one side of the room.
 
Any thoughts/experiences would be appreciated.
 
Blessings,
Wanda



************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at 
http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

<<The problem is that audio output level from the Disklavier is too  low for 
your surround system. In your email you stated that the CD player sounds  good 
through the surround system. The output on the CD player is much higher  than 
the Disklavier.

I recommend purchasing a Rolls MX28 Mixer. You can  purchase the mixer on the 
Internet for about $75.00.>>
 
Bill,  
 
I wanted to belatedly thank you for this information. I had written  
immediately before going away for a few weeks, then came back and hurt my ankle  and 
was just behind in everything and not feeling too great as I was on crutches  
and in a foot brace for a month with torn ligaments.
 
But the info you provided was very helpful to me in understanding. I  have 
not yet gotten a mixer, as I am not certain I am going to keep the system I  
have now setup there. But at least I have ideas on how to proceed in getting a  
good and more powerful sound. I also have some equipment lying around that I  
need to dig out before I buy another mixer.
 
Incidentally, if you have any knowledge in this area, would a small  
amplifier work to boost the sound between the disklavier and the input to  the 
surround system?
 
I have no idea if one can put 2 amplifiers in a row, or if that would cause  
distortion or be dangerous in some way! I ask as I have a small one sitting  
around that I could try.
 
Once again thanks for your detailed reply. I felt bad every time I though t  
about not thanking you and I just had to find time to sort through all those  
emails to find the right one!  

Blessings,
Wanda




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