Hey Larry

Interesting. Which model maximizer did you use? I wonder which would be the appropriate model to try for my situation. If this does a good job,this could possibly beef up the sound of my JBL's or any other type of speaker for that matter. You've got me going on this one.

Scott

I used to use an Aural Exciter with my second system until it broke. But then a guy who fixes speakers said never to use exciters (maximizers same thing) because they blow speakers. But they sell a lot of them and I've never heard this from anyone else. Anyone heard this warning before and any idea if the guy was right?

Never heard that... tend to doubt that it's true. I know that Uncle Dave was a proponent of these devices at one time.

I did hear some smaller Logitech speakers at Office Depot awhile back. It was a 2.1 and sold for around $60. They were playing digital sattelite music. It sounded incredibly terrific.

This experience is tempting me to take my Tyros to Circuit City and plugging into a z2300 that I see they have as an experiment.

My guess is that there is a difference between digital CD's being played compared to an arranger keyboard where although they are extremely good still doesn't really sound exactly like the live instruments.

I am still waiting to hear some more good responses to my post. I hope I didn't offend anyone. It's just my experience. I really, really wanted to be able to like the sound of the z5500 out of the box.

My question I have repeatedly asked myself is why do I not like this sound at all and yet a number of people like them and think they are the best thing since sliced bread.

The only thing I can figure out so far is that there is something wrong with my z5500's which I don't think is the case. That there is a better setting of EQ or speaker placement, I don't think this will change it much as I've tried more combinations than I really wanted to.

I would guess that the hobbyist that uses them at home pointed directly at themselves will enjoy these. This is the way it sounds best to me. Getting just a few feet away from the forward blast of the speakers reveals to me what sounds like a very small speaker in a very small housing pushing out a bunch of highs. Not unlike the old speakers at outdoor theaters.

Then of course there is the very subjective thing of what sounds does a particular individual like?

These are very small speakers. Not unlike a boom box. I am wondering if the people that like the sound of the satellites like the sound of a boom box. I do not. A lot of people have become accustomed to hearing music through very small speakers. Not me.

I suppose the next thing is about the ability of a person to be able to hear. Is that persons hearing ok? Or, is there an actual problem with their ears (including mine). What about people that use a hearing aid?

Then I notice some of you mentioning positive audience response on their sound. Sometime I may take both systems to a gig and do an A/B test for the audience and then see what they have to say. I typically have audience members literally dropping theirs jaws when they are amazed at the sound I get and then be able to change to different band styles and solo voices.

Possibly since I had been in the home organ business for years and am used to hearing $50,000+ home organs that sound fantastic that I am using that as the barometer of measurement where the other players are using a comparison to a PA system which is what they are used to. For me the sound of an arranger keyboard through a standard PA system compared to a $50K home organ is very substandard.

OK, just a few more thoughts. This rather puzzles me really.

I am still all ears for ideas to my findings.

Best
Scott

Hi Scott,
Its model 264...heres a link to an amazing price on it. I may pick up another one at that price. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=bbe+264
I haven't seen them down at guitar center in years. I was really reluctant to pluck anything down on such a thing but i never looked back after hearing the sound. With the size its easy to vecro it inline. I hook my output of my mixer to this. Then the signal goes to the power amp. If you have an integrated mixer/amp or check to see how you'd hook it up before buying. I would imagaine effects loop.
I have also vaguely heard about the speaker blowing thing. If your pumping out clean signal and not overdriving it shouldn't be a problem. Dirty, distorted signals are a speakers enemy. There is a gain on the unit allowing you to potentially overdrive. I have used mine for about 7 years without any problems thru Community brand 12" mains with a sub...this is for high volume dj'ing!!. I really push them hard. The speakers i bought new and are prob 10 years old.
Best of luck. There may be better prices so look around. I just pulled up the first one that was in english so you could see the unit.
Take Care , Larry

One more idea about speakers.

A few years ago when I first got my PSR2000 my wife who also plays and worked at the organ store and I went to try speakers.

The assumption that the bigger the speaker the better. I was always told one needed a 15" speaker for keyboards.

What we found was that 10" speakers of any brand sounded the best. There was one exception the Roland KC500 sounded super but no way was I going to lug around 64 pounds of speaker cabinet. The bigger the speaker got, the more distrubing sounds were introduced. This suprized us because of what we had heard everyone say about 15" speakers.

Then a few months ago I was talking to Tony Barbetta who out of the blue said that keyboards sound better on 10" speakers compared to 15"'s.

I was suprized by his statement and asked him if that was the case why everyone has to have 15" speakers. He laughed and said they just think they need 15's.

Any comments of this?

Scott

Pose

Just curious are you certain it was the control box that went bad and that it was caused by having the control box on the sub.

Scott, its been a long time since I've bought amps and speakers but it seemed like a 15" was required in order to get down to a decent frequency range to produce quality bass...

but this was when the power terminology went from tube to transistor... now its digital

I was on a job at a hotel banquet room, we were on break. Went into the lounge to hear the group playing there.
Everyone was coming out of a set of Bose 802s. It sounded so great.

I looked into the Bose and when I found out the price, I continued carrying 400 pounds of amp and speaker cabinets around in an el camino

Scott,

You may have purchased a defective unit. I personally have used some very high end PA systems, some that sounded very good, some that did not.

As for the speaker size being too small for quality sound, todays speakers are much different than those of just five years ago. Bose pioneered much of the technological changes in speakers, utilizing new cone materials and longer throws on smaller speakers to produce those mid range sounds that small speakers of years ago were incapable of producing. Keep in mind that in this industry, Bose has created the ultimate with its PAS System, which utilizes a series of much smaller speakers than those of the Logitech Z-series. And, anyone that has listened to a Bose radio, which has a pair of very small speakers, has nothing but high marks for the sound quality from low, mid and high ranges.

Now for the hearing aid wearers. Hearing aids are nothing more than small PA systems with a mic and speaker. Most have a single EQ adjustment that goes from low to very high frequencies, thus providing the wearer the ability to amplify the frequencies he or she can not normally hear. As a performer, I cannot wear a hearing aid, mainly because it will block all of the sounds but the one it is adjusted to amplify with the EQ setting--not a good thing. Kinda' like putting a plug in your ear and just letting the high frequency sounds penetrate through a small opening in the middle of the plug.

I have found that I needed to set up 2 separate user EQ settings on the PSR-3000. One is for when I'm performing with the Barbetta Sona 32-Cs, and the second is for when I'm performing using the Z-5500 system. Every system is different, and the keyboard needs to be EQ'd accordingly.

Additionally, the size, shape, ceiling height, wall materials, layout, type of flooring, etc all have a bearing on the overall EQ settings for any venue. Then as the room fills with people, those EQ's may have to be adjusted to accommodate changes in sound distribution and the way the sound is absorbed. Lots of things to think about when deciding upon what system works best for you and your venues.

If I were 10 years younger I would likely be using a pair of Bose PAS systems, especially if I were locked into the nite-club scene again. I don't need loud or louder, just high quality sound that is well distributed throughout the room. However, at this stage of life, I'll go for lightweight, quick setup times and still have sufficient quality using the Z-5500s--it works for me!

Cheers,

Gary

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<<< SCOTT: I did hear some smaller Logitech speakers at Office Depot awhile back. It was a 2.1 and sold for around $60. They were playing digital sattelite music. It sounded incredibly terrific. >>>>>>>>


I think I may have the speakers Scott is talking about: Logitech Z3's. Music CD's sound terrific on these. My YAM DGX sounds excellent also - almost all of the time. On some of the B3 voices I get too much low end on notes lower than middle C. It is as though the speaker is synthesizing a suboctave that seems to be lower than 40 Hz. There is no EQ to get control of this low range. I can work around this problem, and it is not enough of a problem for me to stop using the speakers. They are a little low on power, though. Fine for home but not enough for even small gigs. Very good value for the money.

I mounted the satellites to the underside of the KB so that they fire down and are nearly invisible. The effect of having the sound seem to come from everywhere in the room is pretty good, but nothing to compare with Scott's experience of fifty kilobuck organ systems. No wonder he is spoiled.

By the way, I am not at all offended by Scott's comments. He took pains to ensure that we all knew he was giving his own opinion and clearly expressed his respect for the opinions of others. I wish everyone were so careful.

Douglas Wolfe

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