Can I use studio monitors with digital piano?
don tuttle
using. Can such devices be hooked up to the typical digital piano so as
to play the music through them? Thanks. Don
Richard Crowley
>I have a pair of M-Audio Studiophile Bx8 studio monitors that I am not
> using. Can such devices be hooked up to the typical digital piano so as
> to play the music through them? Thanks. Don
Sure, why not?
Mike Rivers
Sure, but understand that they're designed for close listening. It's not
a PA
system. You can play your piano in your studio or living room, but don't
expect
it to get loud enough to be heard over electric guitars, basses, and drums.
Modern powered monitors are pretty well protected against blowout, but
you'll
be able to tell (hopefully) by the distortion when you're pushing them
too hard.
Don Tuttle
<mri...@d-and-d.com> wrote:
What kind of output port would I look for on the digital piano? I am
ignorant. Thanks for help. Don
Richard Crowley
> What kind of output port would I look for on the digital piano? I am
> ignorant. Thanks for help. Don
Some kind of line-level output. Do you already have a digital
piano? What make/model?
Laurence Payne
>What kind of output port would I look for on the digital piano? I am
>ignorant. Thanks for help. Don
The one you'd connect to any external amplifier. Probably labeled
Line Out.
Mike Rivers
> What kind of output port would I look for on the digital piano?
Oh, what THAT your real question? What've you got? Look for a
Line Output jack (or more likely a pair, one left and one right). Going
down scale from that, an External Speaker jack, or a Headphone jack.
You may need adapters. If you can provide the make and model of the
piano you have, or better, a web page with a technical description or
at least a picture that shows the connectors it has, we can give a
more specific answer.
don tuttle
<mri...@d-and-d.com> wrote:
Sorry for my lack of clarity. No, I do not have a digital piano. What I
meant was: what kind of output port (like RCA phonos or 1/4-inch jacks)
should I look for on digital pianos available for purchase in order to
use my Bx8 monitors? But I have learned elsewhere that the
availability of adapters and adapter cables makes the specific type of
output port irrelevant (so long as it is line level, is that correct?).
Although web pages for audio equipment usually show pictures of
connectors, I am not finding that to be the case with digital pianos.
Nor do the descriptions tell what the connectors are. "Outputs:
Left/mono, Right" is a typical description.
Thanks for help. Don
Don P.
>
> Sorry for my lack of clarity. No, I do not have a digital piano. What I
> meant was: what kind of output port (like RCA phonos or 1/4-inch jacks)
> should I look for on digital pianos available for purchase in order to
> use my Bx8 monitors? But I have learned elsewhere that the
> availability of adapters and adapter cables makes the specific type of
> output port irrelevant (so long as it is line level, is that correct?).
>
> Although web pages for audio equipment usually show pictures of
> connectors, I am not finding that to be the case with digital pianos.
> Nor do the descriptions tell what the connectors are. "Outputs:
> Left/mono, Right" is a typical description.
> Thanks for help. Don
>
Many manufacturers will have the owners manuals available for download on
their websites, and of course, they will have diagrams of the front(top)
and rear panels.
In any case, if the outputs are left/mono and right, in order for the
left/mono to work correctly, the right side has to be a normalled jack.
That usually means 1/4". I think I've seen those in RCA, but they're
rather rare and expensive.
Also, do be careful with adapters. They can become a weak link in the
system, both electrically and physically.
Richard Crowley
> Sorry for my lack of clarity. No, I do not have a digital piano. What I
> meant was: what kind of output port (like RCA phonos or 1/4-inch jacks)
> should I look for on digital pianos available for purchase in order to
> use my Bx8 monitors? But I have learned elsewhere that the
> availability of adapters and adapter cables makes the specific type of
> output port irrelevant (so long as it is line level, is that correct?).
>
> Although web pages for audio equipment usually show pictures of
> connectors, I am not finding that to be the case with digital pianos.
> Nor do the descriptions tell what the connectors are. "Outputs:
> Left/mono, Right" is a typical description.
From what I have seen, 98% of that kind of equipment will have
1/4 inch phone plugs for output. Interfacing most any kind of
digital piano to self-powered speakers should be a pretty simple
thing to do. Not something I would think twice about.
As others have observed, monitor speakers are great for use
in your studio or parlor, but probably not for live stage use
except for small-scale productions.
polymod
"Don P." <anon...@enteract.com> wrote in message
news:Xns9CC051EC...@69.16.185.247...
Also keep in mind that a large number of digital pianos (such as my own
which is a Yamaha Clavinova) have built-in amplifiers and speakers which are
made for that purpose. I can get more than enough volume in a 'living room'
setting.
If you're just looking for a way to put your speakers to use, I'd look
elsewhere :-)
Poly
TimR
The better ones all have line outs.
Mine (a venerable Yamaha) has no internal speakers but has line out as
both XLR and TRS connections. I use a pair of studio monitors. You
are supposed to set them as an equilateral triangle with your head at
one vertex and the speakers at the other two. This works very well.
This gives very good private sound but would not work for gigging.
Mike Rivers
> Sorry for my lack of clarity. No, I do not have a digital piano. What I
> meant was: what kind of output port (like RCA phonos or 1/4-inch jacks)
> should I look for on digital pianos available for purchase in order to
> use my Bx8 monitors?
Preferably a pair of 1/4" Line Output jacks. I could be a snob and say
XLR connectors, but that would greatly reduce your choice. If you see
only RCA connectors, go to a "pro" music store instead of Sears or the
shopping mall piano store.
> availability of adapters and adapter cables makes the specific type of
> output port irrelevant (so long as it is line level, is that correct?).
Pretty much, yeah. Line level covers a lot of ground, and even a headphone
output will work. The audible differences will be small if you can hear them
at all.
> Although web pages for audio equipment usually show pictures of
> connectors, I am not finding that to be the case with digital pianos.
> Nor do the descriptions tell what the connectors are. "Outputs:
> Left/mono, Right" is a typical description.
That's fine. Many electronic keyboards actually produce a stereo output,
but for stage (PA) use, that's pretty much useless. So they use jacks with
"normalling" contacts which, when you plug into the Left/Mono jack, gives
you a sum of the left and right outputs through that one jack (so it
takes up
only one channel on the PA mixing console). When you insert a plug into
the Right (not mono) jack, the sum connection is broken and you get the
left channel (typically the lower notes) out of the Left jack and the right
channel (guess) out of the Right jack.
If you connected your speakers to the Left and Right jacks (one to each,
obviously) then you'd get stereo. If you connected one speaker to the
Left/Mono jack, you'd get the full range, but in mono.
Arny Krueger
news:111120090852094435%d...@noplace.net
> Sorry for my lack of clarity. No, I do not have a digital
> piano. What I meant was: what kind of output port (like
> RCA phonos or 1/4-inch jacks) should I look for on
> digital pianos available for purchase in order to use my
> Bx8 monitors?
You give a good answer below:
> But I have learned elsewhere that the
> availability of adapters and adapter cables makes the
> specific type of output port irrelevant (so long as it is
> line level, is that correct?).
> Although web pages for audio equipment usually show
> pictures of connectors, I am not finding that to be the
> case with digital pianos. Nor do the descriptions tell
> what the connectors are. "Outputs: Left/mono, Right" is a
> typical description.
In almost every case the electronic keyboard's output jacks are either RCA
jacks or 1/4" TS jacks or both. Adaptors are readily available. Next!