I think Motion Sound KP-100S is a winner too

Ever since I replaced the stock Eminence Alpha 8" speakers with slightly heavier Eminence speakers that get better bass, I have been very happy with the bass response I'm getting out of these speakers.

The amp is rather heavy now - 42lbs. - for a 100 watt amp, but it sounds great, and I'm getting very good responses from my shows. Definitely a keeper.

Larry LeCover made a good cover for this amp, and he tailored it to my needs - like putting a strap accross the front so that I can loop it onto my luggage carrier more easily.

Beakybird

Can we buy one with heavier speaker already? Instead of just replacing it. That way I'll save some cash for the cover.

Dan

Of course not. If you want to soup up any amp with heavier duty speakers, you have to pay for it yourself. Of course, you can sell the Eminence Alphas after you take them out.

Beakybird

I went to a job at a seniors club with my PSR2000 and my Motion Sound KP100S. When I arrived at the room, I said, "Uh oh." The room was huge, and there were 160 seniors there. I was concerned that my 8 inch speakers would not deliver. I was thinking of buying a subwoofer for jobs in bigger rooms where I want to beef up my sound, but I never got around to it.

I plugged the amp into the RCA outputs of the PSR2000 so that I could turn up the volume without worrying about blowing the PSR2000's internal speakers. I brought the volume up on my KP100S to 8 out of 10.

The job went fantastic! No one complained about lack of volume. I keep my vocals up front, and there was some occasional distortion on my vocals, but not enough to mar the overall impression of the sound. The bass was very solid and up front. I'm very glad I changed the speakers.

You can say that I just eked out a victory with my KP-100S amp. Any bigger of a room, and I might have been in trouble.

Seven seniors asked for my business card after the program, so that's a sign that things went well.

Beakybird

I played at a nursing home yesterday that has a gymnasium-like cafetaria. Very large room. Not as big as a high school gymnasium, but huge. Well, this activity director likes loud volume. Every time I play there (every two months) he always asks me to turn up several times, even though the residents don't request it. On the other hand, the residents have never complained. The last time I was there with my JBL Eon10 G2, I remember turning it up quite loud.

Yesterday, I had the volume up at 7 at the beginning. As soon as I began, he asked me to turn it up. I brought it up to 8. At 8, the KP100S starts to sound a bit harsh but it still sounds very good. Towards the end of the show, I was doing some old time rock n roll, and he asked me to turn it up again. I brought it to 9. Getting a little overload. A few minutes later, he asked me to turn it up more. I cranked it to the max - 10. It was very loud. The sound got very harsh at the peaks. No one in the audience seemed to mind, but I wasn't satisfied. The show went great, and everyone was happy but me. The Activity director hired me again for July.

My impression is that the speakers can handle the volume but the amp starts to distort towards peak volume. I sure wish this amp had a little more wattage.

Could the addition of a subwoofer give the overall impression of more volume without sounding too bassy? Is there any solution besides buying a new bigger amp to compliment this one?

Beakybird

Why not just add your EON G2's to the KP-100s? It's easy enough - just connect the lo-z outputs.

I had only one Eon10 G2, and I sold it. I wish I hadn't, but I needed the money after purchasing the KP100S. The KP100S has only one Low Z output via 1/4" or XLR.

I don't know. I've had the KP100S for over a month, and I everyone's been happy with it, but I've had two jobs that have demanded enough volume to start compromising the high fidelity. I'll see if a subwoofer helps, otherwise, I'll have to buy another powered speaker.

I was thinking of trying out the Cerwyn Vega LW-10 http://www.google.com/search?q=cerwin+vega+lw-10&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=20&sa=N. It's a 100 watt subwoofer. If I used it, I could turn down the bass (and thus the volume) on my KP100S. This might be helpful for the jobs where I walk in, and I say uh oh, this room is big. I have a few outdoor parties scheduled, just three, and for these I have charged enough that I can afford to rent something.

Beakybird

Cervin Vega Sub too?...That would mean... Carrying "MORE" heavy stuff around which in turn defeats the purpose of travlin light without sacraficing a nice fully robust all in one sound source.

That's not true, DNJ. That means keeping the subwoofer in the trunk of my car for the 10% of the time that I would use it. As I stated, in over a month of gigging, there have only been two gigs where I regretted not having a little more power. At both of those gigs, however, the audience was fully satisfied.

Beakybird

ok Beakybird I stand corrected,
I thought you used the Sub every day...

Hi Beakybird

At this point I am sure you are hooked on the stereo sound, and for good reason: it plain sounds a LOT better than mono. Thats the way these Yamaha keyboards are designed.

The thing thats in our favor is that we can try things out for 30 - 45 days from a lot of companies. This is what I plan on doing with the PSR2100 when they come out. If the sound is not as good as I expect then I will probably want to get a Tyros.

I tried my PSR2000 a couple days ago in mono. First just one JBL EON10G2 out the left and then out the right. This did not sound good at all. The difference between doing that and having two matching speakers is enormous.

We sound like we are in about the same boat, in that we want the best sound, at the cheapest price, and lightest weight. For me I might add with the least amount of screwing around.

I think we almost are wanting that imaginary speaker set-up that doesn't reall exist. So we have to compromise a little.

I know I for one cannot understand why anyone would want this set up for this and that set up for that. To me more screwing around.(for most jobs I am referring to ) Of course if we are going to play outside or in a large gym or auditorium, then yeah I can see the possible need for BIG stuff. It still amazes me some of the better performers will play out only with on board speakers for a small audience. I know I would not consider that. I want my music to sound better than a transistor radio. Now I may be more spoiled than most in that I deal with Lowrey organs, and these have a BIG sound. So, really, I've heard the PA80 and PSR2000 with only onboard speakers and I know I would only consider doing that for practice, and not because I really wanted to sound like that. Each to his own here though as always.

It seems for performers like us the choices would be the KP-200 (too heavy to suit me),two Barbetta 32c's (only 36 pounds and they should handle almost all playing situations, but a lot on the expensive side for me unless I start doing a lot more playing out), two EVa 100's (a lot of the guys like these, but my idea at least at this point is if someone is going to spend that much, and they both weigh about 43 lbs and only has 12" speakers, then why not get say the JBL EONS with 15's so you have the bass when you need it?) I know I personally would not want to carry around a seperate subwoofer or another amplifier. More screwing around to me. But that again is where I'm at. I see a lot of the guys doing this and if that makes them happy, I say go for it.

I think actually the best bet may be two JBL EON 10G2's. About 350 watts of great sound in two light weight packages.

These are just a few of my ideas.
Works for me anyway right now. I know exactly what I'd do if I were you, but then again I'm not you.

Sorry for the rambling but this is probably everyones biggest thing to deal with and this is my reasoning.

I think in the end its best to be able try this stuff for a period in actual working situations. Things can sound pretty different on the showroom floor. And I know that while sometimes it can be an issue for us, it is not a good idea to skimp on this stuff.

Best

Scott Langholff

I guess I'll try the Cerwyn Vega, and if they don't work for me, I'll return them. Then I'll purchase a more powerful used powered speaker if it looks like I'm often going to be missing the extra volume that my KP100S isn't producing.

The Cerwyn Vega is on sale at Musician's Friend for only $150, and the shipping is only $12. Not bad for a 50lb subwoofer.

Beakybird

hi Larry: Considering that your KP-100S is (after swapping the stock woofers with heavier in weight yet better bass response woofers) now only 12 lbs lighter than the 200 watt KP-200S is, I'm beginning to wonder if the KP-200S might not have been a better ONE PA solution for your specific needs, satisfing both smaller & larger gig venues.

For my situation, I ONLY utilize the KP-100S for my small room (less than 40 people) acoustic jazz standards (no dancing) gig situations. Anything larger (+40 people) and which includes dancing requires MORE power output than the KP-100S can supply. For this I take the larger (300 watts x 2) EV SxA100 system.

Larry, though adding a subwoofer to your KP-100S will surely produce more bass, I'm concerned that the 100 watt KP-100S will still be 'underpowered' (mid-high frequencies) to produce the 'quality' sound volume needed to cover larger rooms. The fact that you need to turn up your KP-100S close to peak volume clearly demonstrates that the KP-100S doesn't delivery what's required for the size of the room. You should never have to turn up the volume up even close to peak (max) level as what this does is pushe the speakers to their limit which creates not just louder, but degraded sound quality (distortion).

btw: Based on your highly respected recommendation, I went ahead & ordered the Emminense OEM replacement woofers for my KP-100S, and looking forward to hearing the improved bass response that you reported.

Scott

I will try the Cerwin Vega. If it doesn't work out, I might look into a compact extra speaker solution for larger rooms - I would use two amps - the Motion Sound and whatever else I got. Yamaha just made a powered monitor that has a very powerful 8" speaker and is smaller and cheaper than the JBL Eon10 G2. I might linger to find a used one so I can have a backup that would still fit in the trunk of my car. This is an option I would go for.

Carrying the KP200S day in and day out wouldn't do for me. Thank you Scott.

Beakybird

Hey Larry,

Before adding more gear to what you're alreading lugging around, take a close look at the Barbetta Sona 32-C at www.barbetta.com/Live/Sona_32/sona_32.html . They're lightweight, pack more power, sound incredible, don't distort at higher volumes, have lots of bass, easy to transport and have features not found in higher priced systems.

Good Luck,

Gary

Dear Gary,

The whole reason I got the KP100S and got rid of my JBL Eon10 G2 is that it is a stereo amplifier.

There are a lot of dynamics that don't come out in mono. At times, my PSR2000's piano sounds weird in mono because the stereo chorus effect causes a phasing sound.

The Barbetta sounds like an incredible speaker however, and I might check it out at some point in the future. It is mind boggling that they can pack so much power into such a light speaker.

Beakybird