Sound quality 900/700

[Leonh]

Hi I am looking to buy sx900 my question is is the sound quality much better or not so much than sx 700 ( much cheaper) I know that 900 got 4 gig pcm sounds and 700 1 gig pcm.
I know about other advantages of the 900 but I am mostly interested in sound quality so is it worth it nearly 600£ more here in the UK
Thank you.

[LarsMoss]

Hello ! Your own ears is the best "instrument" you can use. Play some tunes you are comfortable with and listen. Another thing is that you can use a midi-file of good quality and play that on both keyboards and compare the result, but this is probably not the whole truth. Normally the quality of onboard speakers and amplifiers are better on more expensive instruments. If you would use an external PA-system connected perhaps the difference is not so big so it is worth the extra money. Good Luck /LarsMoss

[rcpilot]

I found a comparison video. 2 things I got from it are:
1) A lot MORE sounds and styles with the SX-900
2) MORE audio amp power on the 900, he says a richer, more powerful sound system

And he covers all the features you get in the 900 vs 700...
Hope this helps you out.

I personally think, other than the increased power that all the sounds in the 700 will sound the same as the 900...
But for all the differences, I think think the 900 is worth the price. I have the 900, love it!

Here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_qoGshI3AU

Lee

[Leonh]

Thanks for the input I did play sx900 but sx 700 was not avaliable if I understand correctly 900 got 4 gig of sounds which by default should sound better than 1 gig on 700 model unless they used 3 gig for piano sounds only (korg krome) but if sounds are same quality then 700 it is I guess I have to find 700 model to play it.

[BogdanH]

hi Leonh,

Before I continue, I have SX700.
Just to clarify, because there can be misunderstandings about keyboard memory. Yes, SX900 has 4GB and SX700 has 1GB of user memory (which is 4-times less). But there's also term expansion memory, where SX900 has 1GB (1000MB) and SX700 has 400MB of it (2.5-times less).
Which of that is more important? Depends, but my opinion is, it's expansion memory.
User memory is the place where you save all your keyboard settings, custom styles and modified styles settings, modified voices settings, etc. For illustration, single style is usually about 80kB (other single settings need less space). Means, in SX700 user memory, we can save thousands of styles and still have enough space for various settings.
However, we can't save external voices into user memory. Voices can only be installed into expansion memory. The "problem" is, single voice can take 50-100MB or more (depends on quality/complexity) , and having only 400MB on SX700 (1GB on SX900) doesn't feel that much anymore. And before asking, yes, there exist better voices than many of those built into SX keyboard.
Having only 400MB, is my biggest (and actually the only) complain about SX700. Anyway, price difference was too big and not really justified for me -considering that I don't miss any other features which SX900 has.
I just pointed out difference that's important to me, but that doesn't mean SX700 can't be "seriously" used! After a while, we usually carefully choose few best voices we use most often. For the rest, there are plenty of them built in keyboard.
Amplifier/loudspeaker quality... SX700 is more than good/loud enough for home use and I can't imagine SX900 is much better. In both cases, if better is needed, some external audio system must be considered in my opinion.
Yes, I would buy SX700 again.

Bogdan

[Trikerboy]

Hey LeonH
Where abouts are you?
I'm in the uk, have a 700, and you're very welcome to come and have a go 

[Leonh]

I live in Hadleigh ,Es*** and thanks for the offer anyway but after reading all the posts I have decided that sx 700 will be good enough for me as I am home user only so all the extras on sx 900 would be overkill for me .

[Toril S]

You will not get vocal harmony, but I believe the sound of the speakers is the same on the XS700. Enjoy it

[ton37]

Mmm.. Toril S., not exactly 
SOUND SYSTEM: The PSR-SX900 has a 50w sound system (15w + 10w x 2) for a MASSIVE SOUND! The PSR-SX700's sound system is total 30watts (15w x 2). The PSR-SX900 speaker configuration is slightly different with the use of dome speakers for a fuller, enhanced sound

[Leonh]

If I needed a keyboard for work sx900 would be ideal i.e more powerfull speakers vocal harmony chord sequencer etc. all ideal for live music but for home not really unless you can afford it then why not.
For the money sx700 is just right for me .

[Toril S]

Thanks Ton!!
That is really a big difference! The XS900 has fantastic sound. Maybe not a big deal if playing at home, but it means a lot on gigs if you intend to use the on board speakers for a small crowd!!

[Pino]

I know about other advantages of the 900 but I am mostly interested in sound quality so is it worth it nearly 600£ more here in the UK
Thank you.

Re: Sound quality only.

There is absolutely no difference in the sound samples from the S950/970/975/SX
I have 950/975/SX9 side by side in my studio, Same Yamaha samples.
If I play Styles on the 3 keyboards then they sound the same, there may be one or two new samples and that's about it, the SX900 has some nice vocal voices, good for ballads, I like.

DNJ quote of last week, he tried the SX700 for 2 weeks, he said
"The SX700 is a S970 with a touch screen', and I agree with that comment

I read some posts here that the sound is now fantastic , not so, the same as before.

If you want me to record some styles to compare then I can, but, you really could not pick any one over the other. I did post songs here before comparing the SX900 to the 975.

Good luck with what you buy, hope you can try then out before you buy,
if your just into playing songs for entertaining then they are all good keyboards.

Pino

[hans1966]

Hi Pino, I think we have a little difference. I agree that the SX700 is like an S970 with a Touch screen, but the SX900 is a big step forward of the S970 / S975 in voice and sound quality, in addition to the extras included such as: Chordlooper, Subout, and  SoundField Speakers. Voices New: gospel and scat voice choirs,  there's also more String Instruments, news pianos Upright, and also more brass and woodwind instruments. this only superficially, without counting the voices of the legacy folder. the price difference from SX700 to SX900 in my opinion is fair. Now it depends on what you want to do with the keyboard. If it is only to play at home or even small concerts the SX700 is ideal, but if you want to create complex arrangements of songs and / or styles with personalized voices for a particular artist, or play with a band. Then the SX900 is the one. regards. Hans

[Leonh]

So to confirm then psr sx700 and sx 900 have exactly same amount of sampled pcm memory like Montage and Modx and differences are in the other areas notably speaker system ,voice and styles amount ,chord looper, vocal harmoniser and else am I right?

[Pino]

Leonh , I don't know your status, are you a beginner, a Home player or a gigger ?

I think that most players buy a musical instrument because they have a dream - to entertain.
Play at a party for family or friends or even go out to your local club for some gigging, but, like most beginners they get bogged down in the specs, style and midi file collecting and loosing valuable time when they really should be playing and Improving their playing skills.

Voices - in a 3 hour gig I only use 3 strings, 3 pianos, 3 guitars, 2 saxophones, 2 organs, etc. etc, It's the way you put the voices together and using the 'harmony' for good effect is what is important not how many voices you have on the keyboards, also, I don't waste my time on any'Voice and Expansion Packs', but I can make song styles if I need a different song specific 'intro'

Get yourself a SX700 and start the journey,

If you feel later that the speakers are not up to the job then go and buy something like the brilliant Logitech speakers for not much money, ideal for home use or small gig.

If you start to sing then go out and buy something like a TC-Helicon VK or Roland VT-4
Then, if you upgrade your keyboard you've still got the speakers and the Voice box.

I have students that have 2,000 styles and 5,000 midi files but cannot play one song from beginning to end without stopping to fiddle with some knob or setting.

Don't get bogged down in all this "more voices and more styles" syndrome.
If you do there is a chance that you will never be a good enough player to meet your dream.

Pino

[Heidrun]

Hi folks,

just some words about the sound difference between SX700 and 900.

If you only play in your living room, a 700 may be enough.

But if you also like to have a keyboard you want to take with you without further equipment the 900 is the better choice.
We had some rehersals with a guitar player and some singers and were happy that SX900 is so powerful.

It is so easy to take along with its built-in loudspeakers - that's really great!

Kind regards, Heidrun

[Pino]

Heidrun
Yes, we know all of that, I play SX900 myself.
But I was replying to leonh's post,
Did you read his post?

He has 5 posts on this forum, sound like a beginner to me,
He is saying that the SX700 is over €700 cheaper than the 900
Which do you think he should go for?

Pino

[BogdanH]

Another clarification maybe, about SX900 having (10+15)x2=50(?) Watts and SX700 "only" 2x15=30 Watts of power. Reality is, these Watts numbers aren't that representative nowadays, i.e. if SX900 consumes 24W, where from 50W comes then? But that's not my point. Question is how much difference is 50W vs 30W in real life?
At first it looks (on paper, of course), 50W is almost double of 30W, so SX900 must be almost double louder. Sorry, but it doesn't work like that for human ear, because perceived loudness isn't proportional to acoustic power. To keep it short:

Loudness difference =10.log(SX900/SX700) =10.log(50W/30W) =2.2dB

For human ear, difference of 2.2dB is enough to notice the difference (if comparing side by side) -and nothing more! I mean, is always good to have more power, but in this case difference is too small to be deciding factor.
To sum it up.. both, SX900 and SX700 (if built in loudspeakers are used) are meant for home use only -is just my opinion.

And agree with Pino: "Get yourself a SX700 and start the journey" 

Bogdan

[Heidrun]

Hi Pino and Bogdan,

I had both keyboards here in my living room and was able to compare.
For home players the SX700 is a good choice.

For folks that go out with their keyboard I would recommend the SX900.
This keyboard is strong enough also to accompain a choir rehersal.
X700 would not have enough sound power without external amplifier.

The power difference is clearly perceptible.

Yes, for Leonh I agree with you!

Kind regards, Heidrun

[Leonh]

Thank you guys I am home player and It would be nice to have all those extras on sx 900 but for all that extra money it would be unresonable for me to buy 900 of course I would like Genos as well if I could afford it haha.
So my finall decision is sx 700 and I just ordered it so thank you again to all of you for your advice.
Leon

[Heidrun]

You are welcome, Leonh.

Have fun with your new baby! :-)

Kind regards, Heidrun

[BogdanH]

@Heidrun
-agree with you: SX900 has "this", more of "that",.. which simply makes it a better choice for those who plan to use it more seriously or professionally.
I was intentionally pointing out few things, which might me not that important (as they appear) for those, who just jump into this "hobby".

Yeah Leonh, get it and don't look back -there will always be better keyboards. Speaking for me, SX700 will always be better keyboard as I am a keyboard player 

Bogdan

[Toril S]

Enjoy your new xS700😀😀