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Not sure if this is a suitable question to ask, but I just bought a yamaha DGX640. Everything is great. It has many voices, but I just wanted grand piano, which the unit has several. The problem is they all sound... dull, for the lack of word. I tried playing around with DSP (sound effect) and Reverb, but the result is not very satisfying.

I am hoping this is a common configuration that I can change real quick. Can sound experts help please? Or put me to the right web resource?

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    I tried it a while ago on headphones, I thought the piano sound was great -- but then again, we may have different standards. Did you like the sound when you tried it in the shop? I find it strange that you would have to tweak it to make it sound acceptable... Are you using the keyboard by itself? on an amplifier? on headphones?
    – Anthony Labarre
    Oct 13, 2011 at 7:58
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    And what do you mean by 'dull' – to little dynamic response, too muffled sound / too little treble frequencies, too short sustain, too little resonances... ?
    – leftaroundabout
    Oct 13, 2011 at 9:48
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    My general experience with built-in speakers on a keyboard is that they produce lower-quality sound than some decent external speakers. Have you tried running the keyboard through other speakers (or nice headphones)?
    – Josh Darnell
    Oct 13, 2011 at 13:13
  • leftaroundabout, you are right. It does sound like all those thing you mention are absent from the out-of-box setting. While sustain is either on or off, I do not see a way to set treble and resonance. Any pointers?
    – Haoest
    Oct 13, 2011 at 15:49
  • You just wanted "a grand piano", so you bought a keyboard with 142 other voices plus 238 types of digital signal processing, and wimpy little 5 in diameter internal speakers and 6 watt amplifiers with no proper audio out option .... sorry, but I expect you got what you paid for, at half the price of a Yamaha Clavinova - which doesn't include all that "non-piano" stuff at all.
    – user19146
    Sep 24, 2016 at 20:34

3 Answers 3

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The defaults on the DGX640 are lovely, and even through the built in speakers sound excellent (in my opinion) - but it depends what you are after

  • if you want the sheer power you can get by pounding on a real Grand you want to feed them through an amp and decent speakers if you want more 'oomph', as the built in speakers don't have a huge amount of power.
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THis video demonstrates to me that it SOUNDS pretty much like a real piano, as electric instruments go.

It won't quite be the full 'grand piano experience'. Bigger speakers may make you happier.

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That it is a prestigious product from a reputable instrument maker, that's intended to be played standalone, strongly suggests that the instrument can produce decent enough sounds from its built-in amp and speakers.

I wonder whether you're hoping for some 'pizazz' that just isn't reasonable to expect? Perhaps even a real grand piano wouldn't sound as great as you're hoping for?

One thing that may have an effect, that is under your control, is the acoustic characteristics of the room. Lots of flat, hard surfaces will make the room sound lively. Lots of soft furniture / carpets / curtains will deaden the sound of the room. This affects real pianos and electronic instruments alike.

One thing guaranteed to make almost any instrument sound amazing, is to play it really well ;)

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    Most of this (other than the section about acoustics) seems to be based solely on opinion. I actually disagree with the 1st and 4th paragraphs, and the 2nd one is a rather big assumption.
    – Josh Darnell
    Oct 13, 2011 at 14:02
  • I can't see which part you disagree with. Yamaha is reputable. This the top end (judging on price) of their portable range. Yamaha describes it as their "most piano like ever". It is designed to be a standalone piano replacement (notice there is a headphone socket, rather than a line-out) so the amp/speakers can be expected to be of a suitable spec. The second paragraph is indeed speculation, but that's why it contains the words "I wonder" and "Perhaps".
    – slim
    Oct 13, 2011 at 15:11
  • I agree you are somewhat safe saying it produces decent sound (since it's a Yamaha), but you can't really assume that. And keyboard speakers often leave something to be desired, which may be the OPs issue (the fact that this keyboard doesn't provide line out doesn't prove the speakers sound good). I thoroughly agree with paragraph 3 and think that it makes a good standalone answer.
    – Josh Darnell
    Oct 13, 2011 at 15:24
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    The lack of line out suggests that the manufacturer intends the instrument to be played without external amplification. The price and Yamaha's reputation suggests that it should sound good in its standard configuration. Put those together, and it strongly suggests that it should sound good without external amplification. I'm rewording "have to assume" though, thanks to your feedback.
    – slim
    Oct 13, 2011 at 15:31

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