Having owned & auditioned my Motion Sound KP-100S:
http://www.motion-sound.com/keypro_amplifiers.htm

for a week now, which includes utilizing it on several gigs, I think I've finally found the idea compact lightweight self powered all in one stereo PA speaker system suitable for those small- medium gigs.

Before the new Motion Sound stereo Key Pro series speakers became available this year, if you wanted impressive stereo sound, you'd have to drag along two speakers. Many current keyboard sounds rely hevily on stereo effects to show them off to full effect. Unfortunately, simply mixing the right and left channels together to a single mono output produces stereo 'phase cancellation', which results in inferior (thin) sound. I found the 'LIVE Grand' acoustic piano and several other essential voices on both my Yamaha Tyros & PSR2000 to suffer from this when going out mono.

I had initially considered getting the larger KP-200S, but at 55 lbs, it was out of the question. I wanted a lightweight 'small as possible' unit to insure both quick & EZ setup/breakdown. I opted for (with a bit of initial reluctance) the substantially lighter (38 lb) and more compact KP-100S instead, though it's only got an 8" woofer and 100 Watt amp output, vs a 10" woofer and 200 watt output on the KP-200S.

When the KP-100S arrived at my door, I was surprised just how small & compact it was, though it did seem a bit heavy 'for its size'. When I initially tested it out, I placed it up on a chair behind me, and though the sound was clean & clear, and produced plenty of volume to spare, it sounded a bit harsh in the mid range, and weak (missing) in the low bass frequencies. Raising the bass EQ knob didn't really solve the problem. After re-positioning the unit , placing it on a small amp stand: Ultimiate Support model - Genesis Amp150: http://www.ultimatesupport.com/genesis_amp.html , with the KP-100S angled up at approx. 38 degrees, the sound improved dramatically, eliminating the harsh mid range and improving the bass response signifcantly. Adding the Yamaha Tyros' subwoofer unit to the mix improves the sound even MORE, filling out the frequency range with an impressive bottom end. The enhancer really opens up (spreads) the sound eliminating the impression that the music is coming from a box and some people in the audience have even commented that it appears that different instruments (piano, drums, bass, horns, etc) appear to be coming from different spots in the room rather than from the KP-100S itself. I'm also happy to report that the enhancer does not appear to detrimentally affect my vocals when set to the normal (not to high) position.

For my nursing home & smaller venues (less than 35-40 people), I only need to take the KP-100S along with 27 lb Yamaha Tyros (no Tyros subwoofer or satellites), and it provides very pleasing results. This configuration is especially suitable for acoustic sets with vocals highlighted by acoustic piano comping/playing along with auto accomp bass & drums. According to John Fisher (Motion Sound), the KP-100S & KP-200S were specifically designed to reproduce the acoustic piano and I think this is a success. For a deeper fuller bottom-end electric bass and overall richer sound, I can easily plug my small Tyros subwoofer (17 lb) into the Tyros. Is now no longer essential for me to utilize the Tyros satellites anymore now, because with the KP-100S, I'm able to successfully monitor the KP-100S mix while playing the KB. My Tyros subwoofer is also easy to transport now because I installed a convenient carrying handle on top & 4 rubber feet on the bottom.

Transporting & setting up now takes no longer than my simple PSR2000 setup did. For larger venues, I continue to utilize (and recommend) a pair of Electro Voice SxA100's. I'm now a very happy camper. I highly recommend both the Motion Sound KP-100S and (of course) the Yamaha Tyros.

Both DanO and the folks at Motion Sound (John & Aloni Fisher) provide excellent sales & customer support. Many thanks to them for arranging the KP-100S to be drop shipped to my door. If you're interested in the Motion Sound KP-100S, I recommend getting it from Dan O'Neil. His email address is keyboardcity@yahoo.com.

Scott

Scott,
Im glad to hear your enjoying your new Motion Sound amp. I tried one and passed on it due to the lack of bottom end bass due to the small 8" or 10" size speakers on both models. I need more low end.
Are you using your subwoofer in addition to the amp?



[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 04-24-2003).]

Great comments Scott ! Dano

That's some very helpful comments Scott - but I echo the question: do you not find that the KP-100s delivers enough bass on it's own for the rooms you into to use it in? I find that the KP-200s has an incredible amount of bass even in large venues but maybe that's just a reflection of it's overall power. I have powered subs but I haven't needed them with the KP-200s so far. It is great having a one-piece stereo amp that covers so many needs though... glad it's working out for you, but I'm still curious about your thoughts on the KP-100s' bass response in live use.

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

Scott,

In all honesty..... dont you think you could just take one EV sxa100 and get the same small room sound if not better?

[This message has been edited by Dnj (edited 04-24-2003).]

In ONE word . . . NO !

I 'of COURSE' tested this out and compared going out my Tyros to the KP-100S vs going out to a single EV SxA100 speaker, and the KP-100S sound wins "hands down".

Donny: I'm really surprised at your question considering the fact that I thought I had gone over this in detail in several other threads. In addition, I would have thought that especially since you had the opportunity to audition the KP-100S in a store that the salesman would have highlighted the Motion Sound unique stereo benefits as well.

In a nutshell: Stereo keyboard output (L/R) mixed & sent to a single mono speaker output (such as a single EV SxA100) results in degraded sound due to stereo efx phase cancellation. The KP-200S & KP-100S speakers were designed to completely eliminate this problem.

Scott

Scott & Pro... Since the MS-KP is best positioned at an upward angle, is the sound dispersement not dependant on ceiling height? In fact, would some of the effect be lost in a room wigh a very high ceiling?

Scott,

It was just a question, no need to be surprised . I guess I'm just used to playing small-med gigs with 12-15" speakers giving me the Bottom end I need for a full sound.
Im sure as a pro you know what works for you and your audiences. Good Luck with the unit.
Lately a "Mine is Better Then Yours" aura is in the air, or maybe its my imagination .

Jam On!!

Interesting point about the amplifier stand, Scott. I had been using my KP-200S for about a month sitting directly on the carpeted floor of my 10ft x 10ft studio (think more along the lines of "spare bedroom" rather than the studios displayed on this site from Pro and Roel!) The bass was great (after some tweaking thanks to RJ Miller) but I couldn't really get a great overall mix of bass, mids, and trebles.

My Quik-Lok BS-317 amp stand arrived and I moved the whole setup into our living room. It's about 20x30 with wood floors with half of the ceiling at about 30 feet and the other half at 10 feet. I put the amp on the stand, cranked up the Millenium and was staggered by the difference! I found the sweet spot to be almost identical to Scott's: Amp stand at about 45 degrees, bottom stand bracket at about 8 inches off the floor, which puts the center of the amp at about 18 inches off the floor. Not only is this aesthetically pleasing, but it sounds incredible! There is a definite loss of bass with this approach (as opposed to sitting on the floor) but I compensated for this with the built-in eq. The mix is much better. I had the input gain up quite high (around 8) and the overall volume of the amp at around 5. This was too loud to speak comfortably in the room and be heard.
I had the expander at 0, or off, because the Millenium isn't a true stereo instrument and the expander made it seem like it was sitting in a reverb chamber in a cave. By the way, this is what it is supposed to do - it won't take a mono signal and expand it into a beautiful stereo sound. I am still working on getting my XD3 and when I do I can really do some testing on the expander effect.

Overall, I feel that the amp needs to sit on an angled amp stand at about 8 inches off the floor. I feel that I can monitor my playing more truly in this manner while providing the audience with the best sound.

I am definitely inexperienced, but I know what sounds good to me and am very happy with this amplifier. (My 80-year old father says it sounds great too. So there ya go!)