Piano software

[honzaes]

Hi guys, I am beginner, but with some musical backround. My piano is beginner type Roland, has good sound in hedphones, but terrible from built in speakers. Any idea how to get better sound and control over the sound through PC-APM-speakers? Thanks!

[indianajo]

Piano is easily reproduced in headphones with 2 watts, and very hard to reproduce in speakers.
Proper piano has very high energy transients, pings, at the start of the note.  This means amplifiers need to produce significant current (power) at the start of notes.  No ping, may as play a Fender Rhodes "electric piano".  
Piano has energy from 54 hz, the lowest note, to well over 10000 hz, the overtones of the top notes.  This requires a speaker with very flat undistorted response over that range.  The ones I own are specified +- 3 db 54 hz to 14,500 hz. The harmonic distortion on 2nd harmonic is specified at <20 db of the 1 W sound level at all frequencies. This kind of spec is very unusual.  Most speakers sold to consumers don't even quote a +- db rating on the frequency response, which implies maybe +-10 db at best.  A famous chain store speaker had a "production tolerance" of +- 30db, which meant their speakers sound like ****.   These are the first speakers I've owned in 47 years as a hifi hobbiest, that actually can play a CD or LP and sound something like a piano.  I've owned 3 generations of speakers, with my Mother's record player providing an additional learning experience of what  equipment features I did not want.  
The speakers I own are very sensitive, they produce 101 db @ 1 W 1 meter.  With these speakers, I can play source material at a base level of 1/8 Watt for pp one note tracks, and can respond properly to FF ten notes at a time with only a 60 W/channel amp.  However I suspect this amp can produce 200 W peaks for very short periods, ie the pings.  Speakers with a more typical 84 db @ 1W 1m sensitivity would require much more power,
The speakers used, and a suitable 200 W/ch amp which was ailing when I got it, cost me a $1000. That is a bargain at that level of sound.  I've since repaired the amp. $20 in parts, $100 in tools (I owned already)  and a year or two of internet study in determining faults.    
If you're a young struggling student, get used to wearing headphones or hearing *****y sound from your piano software sound generator.   Makes $100 wood consoles you have to move yourself, tune yourself, unstick a key or replace a wire perhaps,  look much more attractive.  

[iansinclair]

As Indianajo notes, piano is a bear to reproduce -- to really get it right takes high end equipment, or very good headphones.  The best bet is the very good headphones.  If you want to have the sound in the room, though, plan to take the headphone output and put it into a really good sound system.

Although it must be said that almost anything would be an improvement over the builtin speakers!

[honzaes]

Thanks guys! Well I am not a young beginner really:-) I know piano sound is difficult to reproduce, I use piano for hifi eqipment selection normally, because the sensoric complexity of the real instrument sound is so amazing.

Anyway I have quite decent hifi setup with Naim amplifier and Xavian spekers, Schiit audio DAC etc, system behaves greatly with my library including some high-res recordings. Has quite amazing dynamics and stage reproduction. Anyway after connecting my piano via line out, sound was having horrible base without the metal clarity of low tones, just like if there was a bass booster in the output of piano, and it just creates blurry mass of the unpleasant "noise". In this case worse than the speakers of my cheap piano:-)

For headphones, I have many years, thus well burned-in, AKG701. Those despite the price anywhere close to high end are amazingly pleasant reproducing all my sources including the piano (not to mention the wear comfort..).

So I may just live with what i have at the moment, and maybe look in future for new piano with better acoustic system. I was looking at the type of Roland LX17, Celviano 500, Kawai CS11 etc. But now I live in Canary islands so I am happy I found THE ONE from the lowest range end, F140 by Roland (realtively portable, reaosnably good action and decent piano sound). Not easy to get any better choice here. But I may be moving soon to the northern Europe, for more steady life too, so there I may select another instrument for long term life with.