Modartt user forum » Pianoteq user forum » HELP pLEASE for an 82 year old who has just bought Pianoteq
I bought the Stage Bosendorfer and Bluthner with the intention of linking it thru my Technics SX-KN2600 Keyboard. Unfortunately
the keyboard does not have an Aux In connection. My laptop is an HP Notebook where the pianoteq resides. Can any one advise if I
need to buy an Audio Interface to solve the problem and what type of Interface I should Buy. Thanks for any help
I bought the Stage Bosendorfer and Bluthner with the intention of linking it thru my Technics SX-KN2600 Keyboard. Unfortunately the keyboard does not have an Aux In connection. My laptop is an HP Notebook where the pianoteq resides. Can any one advise if I need to buy an Audio Interface to solve the problem and what type of Interface I should Buy. Thanks for any help
From a quick look at the manual, I think you can connect it to your computer using the USB terminal to transmit your keyboard performance to Pianoteq, but I think there is no way to play the output of the computer through the SX-KN2600 speakers.
So you’ll need to connect either headphones or speakers to your laptop.
You will probably need an audio interface to make that connection, because the audio interfaces built into laptops generally have too much latency — meaning there will be a delay between when you strike a key and when you hear it sound that will be enough to be troublesome.
You should be able to hear the output of Pianoteq through your laptop’s speakers (or through headphones connected to your laptop) with just the USB connection. If there is too much delay, a simple audio interface should work. I can’t recommend one from personal experience, because the one I use is no longer made. The Scarlett Solo seems to be popular.
Headphones or monitor speakers would then be connected to the audio interface.
I agree with Coises, the easiest way to get a decent performance is to buy an external USB sound card with native ASIO drivers.
I use the cheap Behringer U-Phoria UMC204HD, which has DIN5 MIDI inputs, and some generic Chinese speakres, so my wiring is:
Digital piano MIDI OUT ----------(DIN 5 cable)---------- MIDI IN Sound Card ------(USB cable)--------- Laptop
||
||
================= Speakers
This way, I only use 1 of the laptop's USB ports.
To add a point or two to the above answers:
1. yes, you'll need external speakers... but the good news is that even modestly-priced ones will probably sound a lot better than the built-in components of the keyboard, so there is a silver lining for you
2. I would try connecting these speakers to the laptop's audio output directly before getting an external audio interface. It's true that some of them have too much latency but I've had good results with my mac's built-in audio output, so you could be lucky too.
To add a point or two to the above answers:
1. yes, you'll need external speakers... but the good news is that even modestly-priced ones will probably sound a lot better than the built-in components of the keyboard, so there is a silver lining for you
2. I would try connecting these speakers to the laptop's audio output directly before getting an external audio interface. It's true that some of them have too much latency but I've had good results with my mac's built-in audio output, so you could be lucky too.
Thank You for all the advice. I will look at buying speakers first to see if the sound is acceptable. Any suggestions which modestly
priced speakers to buy ?
Any suggestions which modestly priced speakers to buy ?
Hmm depends very much on your ears and where you live - speakers are one of those things you can spend an infinite amount of money on.
Budget sweet-spots are the Roxel Infinity and the Majority D40x here in the UK. But as I said, it's different in different regions and opinions differ enormously.
I would look for second-hand offers on ebay etc. Audio people are weird, as soon as they buy a thing, they immediately want to sell again, making second-hand bargains very common
Edit: Thinking about it, your safest bet may be to buy some speakers where you can return them, and swap them for a second-hand bargain if you like them
I will look at buying speakers first to see if the sound is acceptable. Any suggestions which modestly
priced speakers to buy ?
Search: 8" Powered Monitors Used
Anything in good cosmetic conditiion should be satisfactory.
If that's more than you want to spend or you don't want something that big look for 5-6" woofers.