After gathering opinions from y'all on amps, speakers and the like, I finally decided yesterday to get powered speakers and a powered subwoofer. They're 200W Altec Lansings and are actually meant for computer use. But man, I plugged those babies into my PSR-9000 and now she sings like she's never sung before. I thought the internal speakers were already very good but this rather small investment ($150.00 at Circuit City) brought such a dramatic improvemtent, you'd have to hear it to believe it. Thanks UD and everyone!
ev

Yup - for home use, or moderate volume requirements, those pc systems work like a charm ! I'll bet it sounds great !

Enough sound for a small (30-40 people)nursing home gig?

Yeah, that above link describes my new toy pretty well. By "separate control module" (instead of controls on the speakers) they mean something that looks like a remote control (off/on, volume up/down) that's attached to the subwoofer by a 4' cord. It's real handy too because that way you don't have to climb up the wall (if that's where the satellites are mounted) to adjust the volume, but instead you can place the control module right next to the KB volume knob on your keyboard. Kinda neat I thought.

I don't know if the output would be sufficient for making music at a venue such as a retirement home. I only use them at home, but there they produce alot of sound.
ev

Glenn...
I used the Altec Lansing system in retirement homes for about 6 months and it was ok...but jusk ok. It sure beat setting up my big amp and speakers. Then, I ran across a Sampson E-20 powered speaker which wires directly out of the keyboard. Much better. It weighs about 37 lbs and has only one input, but it is all that is needed for smaller rooms and audiences.
Eddie

Eddie, ... the Altec Lansings wire directly out of the keyboard, too, and they're self-powered. Maybe yours were different speakers?
ev




[This message has been edited by Evangelical (edited 01-02-2003).]

I have an Altec Lansing sound system (two speakers + subwoofer) that came with my first Gateway PC computer (a Pentium 90 Hz purchased in 1995). I have bought other PCs since then but always kept the sound system despite many new/recent complete sound systems with all bells and whistles. So that speaks for itself about the quality I find in these Altec Lansing speakers...

-- José.

Glenn...
You are right...both the Altec Lansing and the Sampson wire directly out of the KB. We are talking about the same speakers. (Sorry, I wasn't clear on that.)

A couple of the dining rooms in the retirement residences I play are rather large to accomodate wheel chairs and furniture... plus many of the folks have hearing problems to begin with...so I felt the need for a little more "ooomph".

The A/L's are excellent speakers. I opted for the Sampson powered speaker, not only for the additional power, but because it can double as a monitor when I use my powered mixer and passive speakers on regular jobs.

If you are comfortable with the A/L's, no need to change or buy more "stuff".

Eddie

Can you hookup more than one keyboard? Which connectors do you need to use?

Thanks