Donny & the Pro:

Yes, the weak bass was the first thing I noticed too & I initially had thought I'd be returning the KP-100S. The KP-100S (used alone) is definitely not suitable for large rooms or dance music, where a lot of bass is essential, but for my small intimate lounge gigs, singing & playing acoustic jazz standards, with the auto accomp drums & acoustic bass fullfilling only a supporting role, the KP-100S shines for its clean natural (unhyped) sound. I had the opportunity to speak (at length) with John Fisher (owner & developer of the Motion Sound Key Pro) and he told me that both the KP100S and KP-200S were specifically designed for reproducing keyboard sounds on a 61 note synth. I was very surprised to hear him tell me (that in his comparison tests) that the larger 10" KP-200S doesn't provide much more low bass than the smaller 8" KP-100S does, and that BOTH the KP-100S and KP-200S were not designed to deliver real low frequencies. He said that what the larger KP-200S offers over the KP-100S is primarily: 1) More Volulme and 2) inpdependent EQ control of each input channel. John Fisher added, that by switching out the speakers to a heavier type, that this would improve the bass response, but that this would significantly add to the weight of the unit.

I find that whatever bass may be lacking in the KP-100S alone, is easily solved (in my case) by just taking along my small Tyros Subwoofer box (plugged directly into the Tyros), providing plenty of rich full bass to spare. So far, I've both taken the KP-100S out alone, as well as (on other occasions) augmented it with the Tyros subwoofer. So far, I notice that if I don't have the subwoofer right there to compare, that I don't seem to be missing it. I suppose only time will tell how often I'll be needing to take the Subwoofer along. I'll keep you posted.

I've discovered that the KEY to the KP-100S sounding good is in its placement. I've found that sitting directly on the floor or too high off the floor are both bad, and that the best sound is achieved with the unit sitting on a small amp stand sitting 6 inches off the floor and angled up 40 degrees with the enhancer set to around 7. This arrangement best projects the sound into the room without the impression that the sound is coming from a box, but instead giving the impression that each individual instrument (piano, solo instrument, bass, and drums) is coming from a different spot in the room. I also found that this setup to provide a smoother overall sound as well.

In conclusion, the KP-100S is definitely not the best speaker for everyone here, but it fits the bill for providing natural acoustic keyboard reproduction (in stereo) and in a small compact package suitable for those small acoustic lounge venues.

I'm really anxious to get impressions from others (including Larry Levin) who've purchased the KP-100S and had the opportunity to audition it in their home/studio as well as on the job.

Scott