Just got one delivered an hour ago. Set it up in my office with SD7. First impressions: You MUST have sub with it for arrangers. I'm sure for guitar it would be great alone. Vocals sound fine so far. Have to roll off reverb a lot for some reason. It sounds better when you get away from it. Seems to have plenty of power. I will take it to work tonight and give it the real test. So far I will keep my Bose Compacts! But we'll see . . . I have 30 days to decide, but I seriously doubt if it takes more than a night or two!
Its had me interested and from the tons of info in the Keyboard Corner thread it seems to work best at least 6 feet away and tilted back against a wall or better a corner. The bass will be reinforced and the side speaker will reflect better. Some guys are putting the amp on stand either vertically or horizontally. Either way the reviews are fantastic even for guys in rock bands. For an arranger I agree you would need a sub.
Don good luck with the new Space station amp,......I hope it works out for you. I can understand the BASS issue with a speaker that size.It's an interesting piece of gear. Report back asap.
I have had one for the last 4 months . I use it regularly at church . I don't need a sub . You do need to be about 6 feet away to appreciate the full sound . When I first had it I was concerned about lack of bass response until I played if live at performance volumes . The amp is also sensitive to cheap cables . I bought some mid priced stereo cables and the amp sounded completely different in a wonderful way . Needless to say I don't have those concerns about lack of bass response any longer .
Overall it's the second best musical investment I ever made next to my keyboard itself .
I have had one for the last 4 months . I use it regularly at church . I don't need a sub . You do need to be about 6 feet away to appreciate the full sound . When I first had it I was concerned about lack of bass response until I played if live at performance volumes . The amp is also sensitive to cheap cables . I bought some mid priced stereo cables and the amp sounded completely different in a wonderful way . Needless to say I don't have those concerns about lack of bass response any longer .
Overall it's the second best musical investment I ever made next to my keyboard itself .
What type of music are you plying thru it and do you sing also?
Well I used it all night and I thought it sounded just o.k. But customers, mostly regulars, told me it was clearer than normal and could hear every detail. After I finished I played back recording I'd made during the night, and thought it was muddy. I plugged the two Bose Compacts in and I thought they sounded great but lacking bottom a little. But then I a-b'd the two systems for some friends, one of whom is a sound technician, and they both picked the Space Station as sounding better. They didn't know which one they were hearing. I will have to play with the settings, particularly how much of the "width" to use. I turned it up more when we were listening to playback and it seemed like the sounds spread everywhere, just like it's supposed to do. Problem is that it sounds a little harsh on the bandstand, but much better from a few feet away to the back of the building. I think I will have to get used to it. It is very small in size, but weighs about 40 pounds. I used a very small sub (8-inch, 100 watts, 25 pounds). Tons of bottom. Maybe I'm not used to hearing it, or maybe I had the sub too loud for my taste. Still everyone else loved it. I have learned that I cannot trust my ears after sitting in front of speakers for four hours! In the Expedition on the way home, the playback had plenty of highs, not muddy at all, perfect balance. I'll try again tomorrow night.
I have had the CSS for a month or so and it has totally replaced my Bose compact. I have played all sized rooms and from 25-250 people. Also my band and Karaoke shows, The band mates, singers, and audience in general, simply love it.
I bought the Behringer Sub to go with it but don't need it. The lows are fine as is. I did buy the Gator amp stand and put the amp on it's side with the side speaker facing the floor. This way you don't have to worry about a corner or any other reflector to bounce your sound off from.
I went through the same quandry as Don M. Until I used the amp stand, I had to experiment with side deflection, distance from the KB, and volume and width controls.
Start out at 12 O'clock on all with volume at 10 O'clock. Feed a hotter signal through the mixer and/or KB to minimize any distortion and still give you headroom.
Most of all, until you get your placement right, you can't trust your ears. That sounds counter intuitive, but the audience will marvel and you may be disgusted and try to tweek the amp-DON"T until your sure.
I have been playing for sixty years and still don't know it all by any means, but I do know good sound, and this is it. Bernie
I have had the CSS for a month or so and it has totally replaced my Bose compact. I have played all sized rooms and from 25-250 people. Also my band and Karaoke shows, The band mates, singers, and audience in general, simply love it.
I bought the Behringer Sub to go with it but don't need it. The lows are fine as is.
Wow Bernie that is a BIG Statement vs the BOSE System & the fact that it can cover a room of up to 250 people! I respect your professional opinion, maybe my eyes deceive me as it looks quite small online... what about Vocals?...I will have to look further into this system. And eventually try one for myself somehow.
Looks and specs are deceiving. I am not so naive to think there are no limits, but when you cover a 100x125 ft room with a couple of hundred people with volume at noon, it is holding it's own.
If I were doing left hand base with a loud rock band, I would want my sub.
Hi DNJ . I play predominantly contemporary gospel music . I don't play at excessively loud volumes but I do play to audiences every week of no less than 500-600 or more at church using just this amp . I have programmed my own backing tracks and played them and gone to the back of the autitorium to listen . I play in arranger style , solo piano/electric and organ . I play with live drummers and guitarist and singers . I sing in a group but don't put vocals through the amp simply because we have a great set up at church for vocals . But I don't trust anyone to hanfle my keyboard sound . I have programmed my sound and know what I need to hear . The sound through this amp is just incredible anywhere in the building .
O.k., in the light of day, I agree with just about all the comments above. Except that I tried it with and without sub and for my ears it needs the sub. Cutoff is 100 hz and there is bass below that point that needs to be heard. However, I will experiment more both ways. Tonight will be a better test--more people, a little more volume.
Its had me interested and from the tons of info in the Keyboard Corner thread it seems to work best at least 6 feet away and tilted back against a wall or better a corner. The bass will be reinforced and the side speaker will reflect better. Some guys are putting the amp on stand either vertically or horizontally. Either way the reviews are fantastic even for guys in rock bands. For an arranger I agree you would need a sub.
Hi Don, Looks like a great little sub. I am thinking of possibly adding one for my Bose L1 compact. Question: does it have a built in crossover or do you need to use an external one? Thanks Eric
It has a built-in crossover, selectable with a dial. Efficiency isn't great, I think 96, but it should work great with the Bose. I was thinking about hooking it up to mine just to see what it adds.
In regard to subs, there are two ways to go; KB to sub to SS or KB to SS to sub. Aspen(the inventor) has a thread here as well as throughout the huge amount of threads on the SS.
Hi Don, Looks like a great little sub. I am thinking of possibly adding one for my Bose L1 compact. Question: does it have a built in crossover or do you need to use an external one? Thanks Eric
Just wondering if a second sub is needed why not add a 2nd Bose L1 Sub? Dj's around here Ive seen with 4 subs stacked on EACH side..
I've never felt the need for a sub with my Bose Compacts, but I haven't played any really big jobs with them either. Their frequency range goes down to 65. The Space Station stops at 100.
BTW, Eric, if you buy that sub, used discount code summer10 and get 10 percent off the price. It ships from Memphis. I ordered it Monday, got it Tuesday.
Just wondering if a second sub is needed why not add a 2nd Bose L1 Sub? Dj's around here Ive seen with 4 subs stacked on EACH side.. [/quote]
Thanks Donny. I have the Bose compact which is a different concept than the regular L1's with separate subs. I have an EV 12" sub. Which is great for larger jobs. I used it at an Auto museum Anniversary event for 200 people. Great sound, with lots of bottom end. For small events I don't need one. It is more for the jobs in-between.... I play a lot of modern dance music, which requires a bit more bottom end I guess... Eric
I forgot: Big price difference between a Bose sub vs the Seismic Audio sub ...
BTW, Eric, if you buy that sub, used discount code summer10 and get 10 percent off the price. It ships from Memphis. I ordered it Monday, got it Tuesday.
I plugged the sub into one of the Bose Compacts during the second half of tonight's job. All I did was run a line from the line out on the Compact into the sub. I really couldn't tell that it added anything. It may not be strong enough to help the Bose. Or maybe the Bose doesn't need help, or maybe I need to hook it up differently. It made a big difference with the Space Station.
I have decided that I will not keep the Space Station. Don't get me wrong, it is a fantastic and revolutionary piece of gear. I'm just comfortable with what I have, and the challenge of taming my new Ketron SD7 is enough on the plate for now, without dealing with sound adjustments. I got a really great deal on it, if anyone is interested. Otherwise I will return it to Sweetwater next week.
