Speakers

Immerse yourself in sound…..

Most digital pianos come with built-in speakers which can be powerful enough for any kind of player at home, but if you are taking your portable piano to a larger space or you have your digital piano set up in a large room you might want to immerse yourself in the sound more, due to losing it in the surrounding space.  Also there are digital piano models that don’t have built-in speakers.  Your piano might already have speakers but you simply just want a louder sound or better quality sound…

This situation demands that you get your own set of speakers to amplify the sound and depending on how much you are willing to spend, you can really allivate the sound from your digital making playing even more immersive and enjoyable to both play or learn!

There are three main type of speakers available to use with a digital piano:

Studio Monitors
Speaker cabinet
Keyboard Amplifiers

Keyboard Amplifiers

These are NOT the same as guitar amplifiers. Digital Pianos are full range instruments and the guitar, bass or any other general amplifier won’t be able to do justice to the sound. Even keyboard amps, for that matter, are the least recommended option of the three choices because they are mostly mono which won’t suffice to give you the right sound for a digital piano. You do get high-end speakers (like the Roland KC-100) which have a main driver and tweeter but that will cost a lot more.

Speakers (cabinets)

This is a good choice for people on a budget because you can obtain some hi-fi speakers from the 90s for dirt cheap in the used market. If you do so, you should try and get your hands on high quality ones. Depending on the build, you may or may not get the best possible sound from your instrument. You will also need to have an ear for mixing to tweak the sound until it sounds just right.

Studio monitors

These are compact, sleek speakers which provide good uncolored sound that can be great for monitoring your playing. They are ideal if you want close-up listening and how a small or medium sized space. Another advantage of studio monitors is that you may be able to wall mount them or get stands that can be neatly placed behind your digital piano.

The drawback, however, is that you may need to buy a sub (sub-woofer) to get a complete sound especially the low end. This can add to the cost which makes this possibly the most expensive option out of the three. Mackie, Yahama, KRK etc. are some well-known names in the active studio monitor industry.

Speaker technology has continued to improve and impress users over the past 20 years with incredible developments that translate into great end-user benefits.  However, it is important that you get the right sound rather than just amplifying it and making it louder.

Here are few things to consider before buying external speakers:

• Consider your needs before you go hunting the market. There are lots of deals out there that will try to entice you to go in for the overkill! What good are huge speakers if all you want to do is hear yourself playing in your living room? Speaker size, room size, weight, portability, budget etc. are some of the things you should define before you start looking.
• Research and read reviews, watch user videos on youtube… albeit i have done all the hard work for you here at waystolearnpiano.com!
• Stay away from keyboard amps if you want to hear the pure sound of your instrument as they may color the sound.  Digital pianos are meant to replicate the traditional sound of a grand in most cases and you don’t want to ruin this experience. If you have spent a lot of money on a digital piano, you can be assured that it will sound good without the need for external equalization.

Hopefully this gives you some guidance before you start looking around the market.  Happy Shopping!