Henni, Several of my most recent recordings that I've posted have been recorded directly on the S-950, and using the S-950's onboard vocal processor. With some I used my Senheisser E855 mic, while with others I used my Crown CM-311A, and to be honest, they're both fairly close in quality.

Now, I have a friend that used a Shure SM58 and it sounded muddy. He switched to the new Samson Q8 and WOW! What a difference.

I've forgotten which sound system you use, but I remember it being huge at the very least. Also, if I recall, you went through a mixer as well. All of these things will have some bearing on the overall sound quality. I don't use headphones for setting up my keyboard and sound system, and I NEVER use the headphone output jack for my sound system. The headphone output has a significantly different impedance than the standard outputs in the back of the keyboard and the standard outputs are set up specifically for an external sound system's input impedance.

The type of harmony you select will have a huge bearing on what you hear. And, the harmony's default settings are not what you should be using at all. The ration of lead to harmony should be about 70/30 and no higher. Additionally, the default effects are echo and delay, which I would not recommend, especially if you are using harmony. Try using Hall 3 Reverb with a level of about 35 at most. Makes a huge difference.

I have a relatively deep voice, and it's now a powerful voice, therefore I use the high quartet for my vocal harmony. There others that will work as well, but I've found this one to be the best so far.

I have no hands on experience with the Audya other than one time when I played one belonging to Dan01 in Baltimore. For me, I really didn't like what I heard, but that's just my opinion, and it may have something to do with the sound system he was using at the time. I can assure you, however, that Yamaha's newest vocal processor is second to none. I know this statement will bring some ranting, teeth gnashing, etc..., but it's the way I feel about the system - to me it really sounds great.

When you get around to doing that system reset, be sure to do it by going through Function/Utility/System Reset and place a checkmark in every one of the boxes on the left side of the display. If you have some special settings such as registrations that you have created, be sure to back them up on the USB drive before doing the reset.

Hope this helps,

Gary