better quality audio

[horby allthumbs]

hello all
what is the easiest way to get high quality recordings with the PA5x the mp3 just doesn't do it, connecting up audio cables seems so last century plus I can't lug everything around. the mp3 even at top quality does not sound right with high power ( 3 x 120watt) wav files sound fine can bluetooth cope with DVD quality stereo recording? . Does anyone know when the last PA4x was made and if any can still be bought new? weird question?
I reckon the knowledge on here is way beyond anything I can achieve so here's hoping
horby

[voip]

Although the Pa4x is no longer available directly from Korg, even though the Korg UK website still has a "Buy from Korg" button, there are some good examples used that can be bought from good musical instrument dealers e.g. AC Hamilton. There are eBay listings of what appear to be little used Pa4x instruments; almost brand new. I'm not sure what the Pa4x can offer that the Pa5x cannot.

It's a pity that the Pa5x MP3 files don't seem to make the grade, in your case. What about MP3 files from other sources? Do they show similar characteristics to those files recorded on the Pa5x? Korg seem to have missed a trick, by not offering the option to record as WAV or AIFF files.

Since Pa5x samples can be stored as WAV files, I've spent time looking through the Pa5x user manuals to see if it's possible to record samples directly from the Pa5x's own audio output, rather than from external sources, effectively resampling itself, but can find no reference to such a feature. It is something that is possible to do on the Kronos.

Bluetooth audio standard includes the ability to "play CD quality" sound, but both transmitter and receiver need to have codecs in commmon that are best able to exploit Bluetooth's capabilities. My experience of audio over Bluetooth has not been great, especially at distances of a few metres, and in the presence of Wifi signals. Plus there is Bluetooth's infamous lag to contend with. Using the LLC low latency codec stil introduces unacceptable lag for live playing.

The Pa5x doesn't support audio over USB, so that's another possible avenue that's a non-starter.

In summary, probably the best audio quality recordings from the Pa5x are going to be made using good quality audio cables to a dedicated digital audio recorder, or to a computer with decent audio interface.

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[horby allthumbs]

hi I posted a reply thanking you for your advice but it has disappeared so thanks , there is a demo on yt demonstrating the difference between the 4x and the 5x and in it the 5x sounds are described as " rich" exactly what I don't like , I hear them as fuzzy the 4x has " edge" which suits my musical tastes there must be a way to unrich the 5x but currently it sounds like listening through glass and the 320 mp3 recordings have lost their top end so again the richness is in the woolly bass I have done some direct recordings and resampled down I can tell the difference from .wav up to 500ish with ogg (not mp3) but above that I can't hear much difference and I have also recorded flac which is very good but having all this on board would be much better. Had to edit the post I have been playing around with all the various formats but the pa 5x only seems to play mp3 seems strange for a pro keyboard in 2025 and the mp3 recording seems to be max 256 at constant rate with variable rate unavailable the sampler reads and records .wav and aiff but not the Players
regards
HA

[Nemik]

hi I posted a reply thanking you for your advice but it has disappeared so thanks , there is a demo on yt demonstrating the difference between the 4x and the 5x and in it the 5x sounds are described as " rich" exactly what I don't like , I hear them as fuzzy the 4x has " edge" which suits my musical tastes there must be a way to unrich the 5x but currently it sounds like listening through glass and the 320 mp3 recordings have lost their top end so again the richness is in the woolly bass I have done some direct recordings and resampled down I can tell the difference from .wav up to 512 mp3 but above that I can't hear much difference and I have also recorded flac which is very good but having all this on board would be much better
regards
HA

'
Are you okay or needs some help. you need work on you sounds system and leave difference between Pa4x and 5x until you understand.

[horby allthumbs]

hi thanks for the offer I am currently working through all the settings so there may be an easy answer , easiest would be to buy a PA4x like any instrument if it doesn't work for the player it isn't much use

[KeysFla]

Are you recording direct into the PA5x? I recorded several times, and the ones that hear it compliment the quality. Share some of those mp3 recordings so we can hear the quality you are talking about.

[horby allthumbs]

yes , just pressing rec/edit highest resolution( only 256kbps one seventh of the basic resolution) and recording what is recorded is clearly not anywhere near the live original as listened to on speakers or headphones and much thinner than some recordings done on the computer to .wav format it seems to be a lack of depth or presence at the top end . Apparently the genos and genos 2 record natively in .wav format at an effective 1500kbps which can be converted to alac or flac with no loss although it's not the 90s any more so disks are cheap now and packing all your work onto one disk isn't a good idea anyway. Maybe | bought the wrong keyboard! Even .ogg at near 500 kbps is acceptable but no way of achieving that directly as upscaling doesn't work. it's strange that it recognises .wav files and uses them in samples but there is a 120 second limit and the keyboard effectively switches off for sample mode. what is supposed to be a live performance keyboard can only be properly recorded in a studio or with the necessary equipment . only L and R outputs have the full audio signal which limits other options for live play . Anyone know of a tiny audio interface /mixer/digital recorder ?

[KeysFla]

yes , just pressing rec/edit highest resolution( only 256kbps one seventh of the basic resolution) and recording what is recorded is clearly not anywhere near the live original as listened to on speakers or headphones and much thinner than some recordings done on the computer to .wav format it seems to be a lack of depth or presence at the top end . Apparently the genos and genos 2 record natively in .wav format at an effective 1500kbps which can be converted to alac or flac with no loss although it's not the 90s any more so disks are cheap now and packing all your work onto one disk isn't a good idea anyway. Maybe | bought the wrong keyboard! Even .ogg at near 500 kbps is acceptable but no way of achieving that directly as upscaling doesn't work. it's strange that it recognises .wav files and uses them in samples but there is a 120 second limit and the keyboard effectively switches off for sample mode. what is supposed to be a live performance keyboard can only be properly recorded in a studio or with the necessary equipment . only L and R outputs have the full audio signal which limits other options for live play . Anyone know of a tiny audio interface /mixer/digital recorder ?

Never had an Pa4x, only a PA3x, pa1000 and PA5x. Not sure what the problem is but check out this recording I did with a Focusrite audio interface and direct powered by iPad. Recorded with iPad camera app. Use headphones...download will be available for 3days…
https://we.tl/t-sHWbnGLAcd

[fatih89]

Once I get my Pa5X back from repair (due to failed LEDs and the black spots on the buttons) I will do some blind tests using the internal record function and recording through a high-end Audio Interface.

[horby allthumbs]

hi keys fla, thanks for the video but it exactly shows my problem it is a simple tune but even it has no depth , no breadth no nuance all the subtleties that I am looking for the audio rate is 250 kbps which is the PA5x limit anyway so only a sixth of the audio data a cd quality recording would have , no surprise that it sounds thin like an mp3. a data rate of 256 will sound worse uncompressed than an mp3. does your interface have higher settings , I don't think the camera app uses high rates.
I think I may have found the answer I have bought a behringer interface mixer which connects very easily to a tablet and a simple recording app from the play store gives a wide range of resolutions , wave, ogg, alac flac aiff etc i have done a couple of direct wav recordings and .and exported as flac and ogg,ogg at 480 and flac at 956 both sound so much better than the PA5X recordings, my wife heard them from another room and asked what I had done with the keyboard as the music sounded so much "deeper" you can hear ALL the instruments. So it was easy after all , I can't fault the quality of the recordings at those levels , apparently you can record mp3 at higher bit rates but many players will not play them. So now my recordings sound exactly like the live play, which is what I wanted so just a couple of hundred re-recordings to do. thanks for your info

[KeysFla]

hi keys fla, thanks for the video but it exactly shows my problem it is a simple tune but even it has no depth , no breadth no nuance all the subtleties that I am looking for the audio rate is 250 kbps which is the PA5x limit anyway so only a sixth of the audio data a cd quality recording would have , no surprise that it sounds thin like an mp3. a data rate of 256 will sound worse uncompressed than an mp3. does your interface have higher settings , I don't think the camera app uses high rates.
I think I may have found the answer I have bought a behringer interface mixer which connects very easily to a tablet and a simple recording app from the play store gives a wide range of resolutions , wave, ogg, alac flac aiff etc i have done a couple of direct wav recordings and .and exported as flac and ogg,ogg at 480 and flac at 956 both sound so much better than the PA5X recordings, my wife heard them from another room and asked what I had done with the keyboard as the music sounded so much "deeper" you can hear ALL the instruments. So it was easy after all , I can't fault the quality of the recordings at those levels , apparently you can record mp3 at higher bit rates but many players will not play them. So now my recordings sound exactly like the live play, which is what I wanted so just a couple of hundred re-recordings to do. thanks for your info

I have a soundcraft mixer with usb. Something I will try later. When it comes doing YouTube videos, I just do what sounds good to my ears…in the old days I would listen to my recordings on a car radio. If it sounded good, then on a high end system, it will sound excellent.