My amp came yesterday evening at about 6:20 p.m.. Just seconds to spare for my 7:00 p.m. gig just minutes from my home.

My performance was at a swanky retirement home. The audience were sitting in a 180 degree crescent around me. There were also people watching from the floors above that surrounded the stage area. There were about 60 people in the audience. The KP100S was ideal for this situation because the speakers are tilted outward at approximately 25 degree angles so the people on the sides can get a good listen.

The amp looks very sturdy and is attractive.

I put the volume at 7. I was surprised at how high I had to turn the volume to get adequate volume. With my JBL, I would blow everyone away turning the volume that high. On the other hand, I never turn the JBL up high because I perform for elderly people in small to medium/large rooms. I think that if the KP100S handles the volume at 10 well, I can use it for all of my gigs.

I put the amp behind me on a wide chair about 8 ft. away. I put the expander on 4. I really noticed a lot of extra reverb. I wasn't that happy with that. I'll have to look into making my keyboard and voice settings on my PSR2000 more dry.

The audience really liked the show. I got a lot of rave reviews. But they also liked the show the last time with my JBL. I think that the people on the sides liked the show more this time than other times at the same venue. No one danced at this place, but no one danced the other times.

I thought the sound was rich overall. I could hear and appreciate the stereo.

The bass is not remarkable. Within a few months, I might look into switching to speakers that have a better bass response even if they are more heavier. I'd rather not have to have a subwoofer part of my regular setup.

I wasn't happy that a tiny piece of black paint (whatever that material is called) came off of the metal back panel after one trip with my luggage carrier.

It is quite heavier than my JBL Eon10 G2, but quite manageable. I put it on my luggage carrier without a cover which I don't have yet, and I was disappointed that it wasn't stable while transporting. I'll have to find a better way to get my gear on my luggage carrier.

As I want to find a solution so that I can transport the amp with all of the cables plugged in (for quick setup), I was disappointed that there isn't even space behind for the power cable, and the power cable when plugged in sticks out in a way that it would be damaged if transported while plugged in. Fortunately, I found a place on the web that sells power cables that are right angle at the female tip.

I have found a solution so that I can keep all the cables plugged in and stored behind the amp with netting attached to the back of the amp with velcro. This will take me a little while to develop, but it will be worth it.

This being an initial impression, so far the speaker gets my nod. It's good to have stereo. I'm going to have to make some changes - to my reverb settings and to my gear setup. It would be convenient to just keep my JBL Eon10 G2, but I think that stereo is the way to go.

I'll keep you posted.

Just some thoughts. A good angled amp stand seems to really help the performer hear all the frequencies better. The expander does seem to enhance the reverb but actually all it is doing is changing the stereo phase of the reverb which makes it more centered and noticeble. The EQ is active so when it is on 5 it is neutral and when you go above or below that you are adding or cutting EQ. The KP-100s weighs a bit over 10 pounds more than a single JBL EON10 G2 but the KP-200s weighs about the same as two of those EONs.

Between your comments and Scott's I believe the bass response of the KP-100s must be significantly less than the KP-200s which has more than enough for my gigs. Probably a combination of power and larger speakers at the tradeoff of being nearly twice as large.

The idea of having cables plugged into the amp while transporting strikes me as a bit of a liability - you couldn't put the cover on (it fits tight) and there's always the risk of breaking the plugs. Just something to consider. Otherwise, congradulations on joining the KP Club.

I have to agree with pro here about the bass...must be a 100S thing, because my 200S bass, will rattle the windows and give me that feeling that it's vibrating in my stomach, if I turn up the bass eq much at all.

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jam on,
Terry http://imjazzed.homestead.com/Index.html

Hi Larry ,

I am glad you recieved the amp ! Thank You.

Cables coming real soon . Dan

I did my second show with the KP-100S. It was in a medium/smallish room.

Well the KP-100S rocked. The folks at this rehabilitation center were really getting into the music. I turned down the expander to 3, and I noticed less reverb, and the sound was overall more pleasing to my ear.

The thing that worries me is the lack of power on this amp. I had the amp turned up all of the way to 7. I am worried that I'm going to be doing some gigs where the KP-100S isn't going to kick enough. Considering that it weighs 38lbs. as compared to 26lbs. for my JBL Eon10 G2, you would think that it would at least go as loud. The Motion Sound doesn't produce half the volume that the JBL does.

The Motion Sound amp sounds great turned up all of the way, but it doesn't kick butt volume-wise.

"The idea of having cables plugged into the amp while transporting strikes me as a bit of a liability - you couldn't put the cover on (it fits tight) and there's always the risk of breaking the plugs. Just something to consider."

Lecover is making my cover 1" deeper in back. I'm going to construct a netting attached to the back of the amp so I can stuff my cables there. Since my power cable and my two 1/4" cables will have right angle tips, there is really no risk of ruining them, especially since they will be covered by the padded amp cover as well. Anyway, with this design, I can quickly setup and take down without having to plug cables into the amp.

Best regards,

Beakybird

Larry: Great to hear that your show was a success. I too had another successful gig today with the Tyros & KP-100S alone, performing primarily jazz standards emulating a small trio setting (vocals/piano, drums, bass) for a faculty luncheon of about 30 professors at the Unviersity here, and both sound quality & volume level covered the room nicely while performing the song material they enjoy: Cole Porter, Gershwin, Jobim, etc.



As I mentioned on a separate thread, I recommend placing the the amp on an Ultimate Support 'Genesis 150' amp stand which imho better places the amp 6" off the floor and angled up approx 35 degrees. I found this (for some reason) improves the bass response. I've found (for me) that the expander set between 4 and 6 works (with vocals) for me. I also reduced the reverb setting on my Tyros and that seemed to clear up the earlier vocal problems I had with the Expander set at these settings.



Though turning up the bass knob will certainly add a (boomy) bass which can even rattle the windows, it's effect is not rich & deep, but more muds the mix. I believe this is limited by the size of the woofer (8") itself. My personal feeling about your idea of swapping out the woofers with another (better?) pair of 8" woofers is that it may not provide as much deep rich bass improvement as you might hope, because a lot of the problem has more do with the 8" size size itself. Another thing to consider is that switching out the speakers to slightly better sounding will increase the weight of the unit substantially because better sounding means utilizing a heavier magnet. For situations where you need a bit more bottom end, I'd might suggest a small subwoofer add on box instead. I use the 17 lb Tyros (TRS-MS01) subwoofer and it seems to do the trick. John Fisher (Motion Sound) advised me that they are looking into offering a subwoofer which will work optimally with the KP-100S, so you might want to contact him for a recommendation.

For smaller venues, the KP-100S alone (without a subwoofer) has met with pretty good results for both myself and the audience. I find it works especially well for exposed acoustic material: piano, bass & drums, and vocals. What I like most is the ease it is for gig transport & setup, and that the nature of the stereo enhanced amp allowing me to use it for both monitoring the mix & providing the main output to the audience as well. btw: I set the amp back about 4-5 feet a little to the right behind me. This way I don't recieve the full blast of the speakers, but still able to get enough sound for stereo effects monitoring. No problems with mic feedback either.




The JBL Eon 10 G2's wattage output totals 200 watts (125 to the woofer & 75 watts to the horn) so I'd expect that at 100 watts total output , that the KP-100S be putting out far less (1/2 ) volume. I believe at 100 watts, the KP-100S was only designed to handle small venues of up to 40 people, so I was pretty impressed & surprised you were able to play & sound good in a space large enough to accomodate 60 people. I myself will continue to take my 2 EV SxA100's (300 watts total per speaker) for the bigger events, and reserve the KP-100S for small jobs only. Unfortunately there (up to this point) is no one speaker system suitable for every job.



Interesting idea. I wonder just 'how much' time you'll save with the power cable & audio cable permanently attached to the amp. If it was a minute or two, this appears worth the effort, but saving only 10- 15 seconds is another story . Anyway, I look forward to your feedback after you have this setup and hope you'll post pics as well.

Larry, I've enjoyed reading your feedback & impressions, especially because it was 'you' who initially informed me about this new KP-100S model coming out quite some time back. It's beginning to feel like we're both new parents sharing expereinces and exchanging tips about our new arrival.

Scott

In regards to the amp's volume, I just noticed that as I never turn up my PSR2000 all the way, and since I have the amp plugged into the 1/4" outs, then the amp cannot be turned up all the way.

I never turn up the PSR2000 all the way because my vocals distort, and there is a very real chance of blowing a speaker. There is no way on the PSR2000 to independently control the amp and the keyboard. If I want to test the maximum volume of the KP-100S, I will have to do so by plugging it into the RCA inputs via an adapter. I will do this when I need extra volume. On the PSR2000, when you are plugged into the RCA inputs, you get maximum volume output, but no control of output volume.

I will purchase the Ultimate stand when I pass by a music store.

Unlike you Scott, I don't have and cannot afford to have another amp at this time - especially since I would hardly ever use it. I can afford a subwoofer, which I will buy. For auditorium and large outdoor gigs, I will rent a PA.

Don't dismiss a savings of 30 seconds during setup and take down. If you do 500 gigs in a year, 30 seconds becomes 4 hrs. and 20 minutes. That's a significant amount of time. If you keep the amp for 5 years, then it comes out to 24 hrs. A whole day that you spent fumbling for cables and plugging them in.

Just a thought,

Beakybird

Just want to mention that I'm getting great responses lately from my shows, apparently, even better than before. Maybe stereo does make a difference. My JBL Eon 10 G2 is for sale with it's gig bag on eBay.

Beakybird

Hello

I've been watching the posts on Motion Sound with much interest. I have yet to hear one. Actually, I don't expect to see one in Pensacola, Florida.

They must be quite nice to get all these positive reviews. I've also been trying to read between the lines here and use a little deductive reasoning along with a lifetime of being involved in music, playing in bands, doing the one man band routine and being in music retail since 1976. One thing I need to do in music retail is listen to what the customers needs are, and then steer them in the right direction. Often they need something other than what they think they need.

The thing that strikes me about Beakybirds situation is that it would appear to me, rather than sell the JBL Eon, I would think it would be a better move to get another JBL Eon 10G2 and have the stereo that one REALLY needs with the PSR2000. THere is an incredible difference in sound between using one speaker vs two speakers with the PSR2000. My thinking is, it would cost less to add another JBL, there would be twice as much power. The larger 10" speaker would give more bass, you wouldn't need an amp stand, you could just lay the JBL back. I know for me, I would rather carry two 24 pound speakers than one 38 pound speaker especially if it meant buying and carrying another piece of equipment, the amp stand.

As far as renting a PA, I off hand don't know what that would cost, but I would guess that to get a good powerful one would cost almost more than its worth unless its really a top paying job.

In a nutshell, this is my slant on it. Each person certainly has their own needs and reasoning, but this time I just can't understand why one would not do it the way I mentioned. I would love to know the reasoning here.

Either way, good luck, and I hope you are truly happy with the move you make for all the right reasons.

Scott Langholff

Thanks for the post, Scott L. I'm getting offers to sell my JBL plus gig bag for $375 off Ebay. This is about $175 less than I am paying for the Motion Sound plus gig bag.

Scott, I play a lot of small places, and two 26lb. (I think they weigh 26lbs) speakers would be very bulky and would add significant amount of time to my setup time. Besides, two JBLs wouldn't fit in my trunk along with my keyboard and stand.

So I was looking for a one piece solution to getting stereo.

I perform principally for elderly people who are consumed with fear of being blasted by loud music. Just the idea of coming into a small room with two JBL Eons I would think would scare a lot of folks- kind of like coming in with an electric guitar and a Marshall stack.

I have decided to try out the amp stand, but that is a flimsy afterthought as compared to actually having another speaker.

It would be good to have more powerful gear for the large outdoor gigs and auditorium gigs I do. But I can literally count on three fingers the gigs that I do where I couldn't get by with the KP-100S and a subwoofer. In those cases, it costs me $18 to rent two 100 watt Yorkfield amps at my local music store (just a mile away). I only have one job on my calendar where I'm contemplating doing this.

This is my reasoning, maybe it's faulty, maybe not. Thanks again Scott.

Beakybird