Korg Forums

Hi Everyone,
I am really enjoying my newly acquired EK-50. It's a wonderful keyboard. However, I feel that I am missing some of the wonderful sounds this unit has, and particularly the bass. I'd love to hear a really deep bass.
Would external speakers help? Would you add a subwoofer or just go for a dedicated keyboard amp or quality monitor speakers?
Any recommendations on which way to go or which speakers to consider purchasing?

Thanks very much !

Herd317 wrote:Hi Everyone,
I am really enjoying my newly acquired EK-50. It's a wonderful keyboard. However, I feel that I am missing some of the wonderful sounds this unit has, and particularly the bass. I'd love to hear a really deep bass.
Would external speakers help? Would you add a subwoofer or just go for a dedicated keyboard amp or quality monitor speakers?
Any recommendations on which way to go or which speakers to consider purchasing?

Thanks very much !

You have A LOT of options. Personally, I use a sub/satellite system when I need more amplification for my PA700. It serves me well.

In fact, I have a rather large PA system that consists of multiple sub/satellite systems and I chain them together.

I have (2) of the Harbinger M350 systems and (2) of the Monoprice Streamline 800watt systems. Together, these are VERY potent and very loud across the frequency range. I chain 1 Harbinger and 1 Monoprice per side and run in stereo. Individually, they are just as potent, but I tend to use at least 2 so I can have true stereo. The advantage is that the Harbingers can operate in Mono or Stereo mode, but when I use them as part of the PA, I run them in mono for each side...

I know that people talk badly about the Harbinger stuff, but these systems are different and have proven themselves to me the entire time I have owned them. They are well built.

I also have a Simmons D350 system but it is basically the Harbinger M350 but adds a Monitor out connection (in stereo) and loses the EFX that the Harbinger has... I use the Simmons in my music area when I need more than my studio monitors and studio sub.

JBL, Bose, Turbosound, Behringer, and just about every other company have similar type sub/satellite systems that may work for you. Harbinger no longer makes the M350, but they do have other sub/satellite systems that are pretty good.

I have used 2-way powered speakers as well, but find that the dedicated sub/sateliite systems work better for adding enough sub bass (which is understood because the 2-way and 3-way systems do not really have subwoofers in them; just woofers and tweeters (mids for 3-way systems)).


Hopefully, this helps a bit.

Grace,
Harry

Musicwithharry wrote:

Herd317 wrote:Hi Everyone,
I am really enjoying my newly acquired EK-50. It's a wonderful keyboard. However, I feel that I am missing some of the wonderful sounds this unit has, and particularly the bass. I'd love to hear a really deep bass.
Would external speakers help? Would you add a subwoofer or just go for a dedicated keyboard amp or quality monitor speakers?
Any recommendations on which way to go or which speakers to consider purchasing?

Thanks very much !

You have A LOT of options. Personally, I use a sub/satellite system when I need more amplification for my PA700. It serves me well.

In fact, I have a rather large PA system that consists of multiple sub/satellite systems and I chain them together.

I have (2) of the Harbinger M350 systems and (2) of the Monoprice Streamline 800watt systems. Together, these are VERY potent and very loud across the frequency range. I chain 1 Harbinger and 1 Monoprice per side and run in stereo. Individually, they are just as potent, but I tend to use at least 2 so I can have true stereo. The advantage is that the Harbingers can operate in Mono or Stereo mode, but when I use them as part of the PA, I run them in mono for each side...

I know that people talk badly about the Harbinger stuff, but these systems are different and have proven themselves to me the entire time I have owned them. They are well built.

I also have a Simmons D350 system but it is basically the Harbinger M350 but adds a Monitor out connection (in stereo) and loses the EFX that the Harbinger has... I use the Simmons in my music area when I need more than my studio monitors and studio sub.

JBL, Bose, Turbosound, Behringer, and just about every other company have similar type sub/satellite systems that may work for you. Harbinger no longer makes the M350, but they do have other sub/satellite systems that are pretty good.

I have used 2-way powered speakers as well, but find that the dedicated sub/sateliite systems work better for adding enough sub bass (which is understoof because the 2-way and 3-way systems do not really have subwoofers in them; just woofers and tweeters (mids for 3-way systems).


Hopefully, this helps a bit.

Grace,
Harry

Thank you Harry for your reply. Certainly some good options. I think I'm going to go the simple route for awhile due to space constraints/budget.

I've got a one man band and use a Mackie Thump 12 for practice at home, but when I gig away from home, I use the Thump as a sub/3rd speaker and a Gemini ES-210MXBLU Portable PA System as the main setup. Very good frequency range and easy to load/unload.

nhenry wrote:I've got a one man band and use a Mackie Thump 12 for practice at home, but when I gig away from home, I use the Thump as a sub/3rd speaker and a Gemini ES-210MXBLU Portable PA System as the main setup. Very good frequency range and easy to load/unload.

At home you use the Mackie Thumb 12-inch subwoofer as a full-range speaker? I'm looking at its description and it appears to have good frequency response up to 20k (somehow...).

I assume introducing the Gemini takes the high-end load off the Mackie Thumb and allows the Gemini to skip out on producing low range sounds, so both sets of drivers can sound their best. How would you say is the quality of the full configuration? Is it a high-definition sound that does justice to the Nautilus?

Also, how exactly to you connect it? Do you use the "Phones" output, or the L and R outputs on the back? Then do you connect it to Gemini which connects to Mackie Thump? Or keyboard -> Mackie Thump -> Gemini? Or Keyboard -> some splitter which goes both to Gemini and Mackie Thump? Or something even more creative?

Thanks!

I think an alternative to the Mackie and Gemini suggestion might be something like this:

https://capitaloneshopping.com/p/roland ... cdf86f9706

or maybe

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... yboard-amp

So the Mackie and Gemini combination appears to be a good deal cheaper.

The Thump is a full range powered speaker and I can use it without any other outboard amplification. When I combine it with the Gemini system, I connect the Gemini speakers to the dedicated speaker out jacks and the Thump gets connected to one of the monitor output jacks. This setup has good lows, mids and highs with plenty of volume for the smaller gigs that I do.

nhenry wrote:The Thump is a full range powered speaker and I can use it without any other outboard amplification. When I combine it with the Gemini system, I connect the Gemini speakers to the dedicated speaker out jacks and the Thump gets connected to one of the monitor output jacks. This setup has good lows, mids and highs with plenty of volume for the smaller gigs that I do.

Excellent, thank you for the details! After hearing your experience, I'm considering a dedicated woofer split with either the Thump you describe here or Gemini. I need to get around and hear these units, though. Thanks again!

Herd317,
Just offering another option for your original question. First, I assume you know about the newer Korg EK-50 L (for Limitless) which enhanced the on-board speaker volume (and likely for the bass as well) if you're just looking for more from the keyboard itself. Although Korg stated this was to enable a standalone keyboard playing in a small gig. However, I doubt that would be of much practical use since the speaker are pointing up at the keyboardist and not at the audience. So if you plan to gig, you'll want some external speaker option.

I chose to go with a QSC K series powered speaker because it has great sound quality for keyboard players, both in the highs and the lows. I was more concerned about sound definition and clarity at the high end since that's were most keyboard parts in rock music needs to be its best in order to be heard. My QSC-K10 excels in clarity here, above any other single powered speaker I tried. But it also has more than ample bass, obviously more from the larger speaker sizes they offer. And it has a feature that lets you boost the base, or use the speaker as a subwoofer if using multiple speakers. Of course QSC offers a dedicated subwoofer as well.

The QSC powered speaker offers many options for setting up as a standalone speaker or with other speakers configurations. And you can run multiple inputs through it (multiple instruments, or keyboard and microphone, etc.)

Okay, it's not cheap, but if you want clear sound that will be heard by the audience, I've found the QSC very impressive. To get better, you'd probably need to spend more on a high end BOSE system, etc. I was also concerned about weight, and the QSC-K10 is the right combination of quality and weight for me, but they offer 8", 10" and 12" for different needs. Pay attention to the differences in frequency range, but also to the coverage angle based on speaker size, so you get the right size for they type of venues you expect to play in.

Just my experience. Good luck with your decision.

lmatonement wrote:I'm considering a dedicated woofer split with either the Thump you describe here or Gemini. I need to get around and hear these units, though. Thanks again!

To circle back round, I wound up with https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0945SRXC9: the Seismic Audio - Flex-812 - Powered Line Array Speaker System - 12" Active Subwoofer and Eight 4x4 Column Speakers. It has eight 4-inch speakers on large poles and a 12-inch subwoofer in its own powered cabinet. The case is perhaps 1/4-inch plywood and pretty heavy. It has excellent definition and tons of sound, but with three parts (heavy subwoofer cabinet and two satellite speaker arrays), it's less portable.

Cheers!

Go on Facebook market place/kijiji for your area and find a used keyboard amp. I have the Peavey KB2 and it's sound is completely different from the keyboard's speakers. Awesome and loud enough to perform with a drummer.