PS: forgot to mention..Roland included a ridiculous setting called "Radio" in the sound system....maybe that was the setting you listened to...It would be like playing your keyboard thru a portable radio with 2 inch speaker..

dunno if this helps, but i had a bit of a listen to one when i was last at the music store i deal with, and i must admit to thinking the speaker system sounded quite good and "ballsy" especailly for built-ins....prob a bit better that the PA1x speakers, mind you the speakers with the tyros 2 that was also on display also sounded alright,(albeit with a powered sub running with it)..its always hard to quantify an opinion on sounds via text isnt it??

Most high end keyboards these days have awesome sound systems and they really 'pump' but still, you will always notice a big difference in punch and clarity when you hook them through some decent external speakers / PA equipment...

Fran i have been to four music shops in birmingham and have tried the E80 in each shop using all the speaker modelling settings but the sound is really poor through the speakers.I tried the E60 through its speakers and the result was the same.

I dont want to believe that Roland skimped on the speakers but i dont know how to arrive at any other conclusion

Hello Spalding
Sound is a very personal thing, so it may be that the type of speakers/amplification onboard Roland boards is just not for you, it’s just like Quality Audio/Home Cinema Systems, people like different speaker/amp set-ups to produce what they consider to be an accurate sound. (This is one thing that hasn’t changed since speakers/amplification were invented)

Bill

I hear you Bill but i have heard the E80 through a mixing desk and it sounds great . The piano sounds through the inbuilt speakers are simply not recognisable and this is after trying ALL the speaker modelling set ups. I know sound is subjective but i am not saying that the E80 sounds better than model X or worse than model Y. It simply sounds poor through its speakers.For its price tag £2200 , thats a very poor show . I have heard the drums through a mixer and i totally get what Squeak and Diki are saying about the dynamics of the kit. It sounds nothing like that through its internal speakers though. Its as though someone covered the speakers in paper and everything sounds thin . Its such a shame really becuaes i am certain many people will try and demo the unit as it is set up and decide not to delve any further with it. It would not surprise me if the E80 sales are worse than the original G70 was. What a shame becasue through headphones or a mixer the instrument kicks ass. I hope Roland are reading this. Whats the point in fitting cassio speakers to a two grand keyboard ?????

Hi Fran.

I had the E80 long enough to test out all of the speaker settings and to be honest the internal ones are nothing special (they are better than the set you can purchase for a Tyros 2 though).

The E80 is best played through a PA, good sound card/speaker setup or a decent set of headphones.
After spending that amount of £/$ on an E80, would anyone really want to use the internal speakers alone anyway?
It still remains an excellent arranger