K&M 18810 Omega Black

I have just suffered a double braced X stand failing under the weight of my Kawai MP7, damaging the Kawai and some other pieces of equipment. Fortunately the stand was bundled with the MP7 so I have some legal redress against the store (which is NOT Thomann).

I look after my equipment because I want things to look good and work properly. After this accident the first place I looked was K&M because I wanted a brand that I knew I could trust and that wouldn't cut corners on quality.

The stand arrived and was very easy to put together. Just a case of inserting the legs and cross pieces and screwing on the heavy duty hand tightened nuts. I also purchased the additional arms 18813 to place an additional level above. These, again, just hand tighten onto the main frame. The second level is adjustable for height and the angle of tilt. In addition I purchased the additional 18819 tray for my keyboard and mouse. This tray fits securely over the 18813 arms and is sufficiently strong to take the full weight from both your arms without flexing or moving. I set the 18813 arms wide enough that I can still fit and use the music stand on the Kawai but at this width I needed to reverse the bolts on the arms so that the knobs on the nuts were on the inside. Set up this way the tray fits properly. If you didn't need the arms so far spaced then no change would be necessary. The arms adjust high enough to accommodate the music stand but I will need to remove the tray to use music on it. This is ok for my usage of the Kawai as a separate piano or as a MIDI controller for my DAW.

The stand is very well made. It is sufficiently big enough for a heavy 88 key digital piano but it is an easy job to move the fittings for smaller boards. The sturdy legs adjust with a sprung knurl wheel. The leg holes are marked with numbers to facilitate getting both sides level. Some reviewers have commented that this stand is best for the studio because it doesn't fold. But I would say that as it only requires 4 hand tightened nuts to be removed to dismantle it into a flat packed unit and reassembly takes a couple of minutes it is eminently suitable for gigging musicians too. We all like convenience but a convenient stand has caused me heartache. I'd rather have peace of mind with a quality stand.

After reading countless reviews where this stand was recommended for heavy pianos (like my mp11se), I decided to order it and give it a try. Unfortunately, when I play particularly loud and fast pieces of music (e.g. Rachmaninoff), the piano and stand get quite the front-back wobble/vibration going, to the point where it is distracting and disappointing. It is not enough to really create an error as my fingers still come down where they were supposed to. However, it removes the illusion that one is playing an acoustic piano.

Thomann pointed out that this is not uncommon with heavy pianos with this style of stand, so return shipping would have been on me. Thus, I decided to troubleshoot different ideas to get the wobble to go away.

Putting it on a rug helped. The final change was a tension rod placed between the base of the piano and the top of the horizontal part of the leg, one per side. That has removed essentially all wobble.

It is confusing how so SO many people (many with the exact same setup) say this stand is 'rock solid', but mine is not. I think it comes down to how you play. Fast and hard - maybe try the K&M 18950?

I had a foolish opinion on something I knew nothing about but thought I was qualified to say it cost too much. I ignored reviews from other customers about K&M products because of what I thought was an overpriced regular product.
My ignorance finally gave up the good fight, when I was returning inferior unstable keyboard tables that wasn't fit for purpose over a period of several months sometimes at my cost! This didn't defeat the object of saving money.
Finally after giving in and releasing my hard earned cash, I ordered the K&M 18810 Omega Keyboard table & K&M 18811. When it arrived it looked a million times better than what I thought and I realised I had more than value for money in quality and stability and design.
I was so impressed I ended up adding K&M 18822 Extension and K&M 18819 just to give it that finished professional look.
I stand correct when I say this is a brilliant product to own. As for the cost, I'm never going to be so cheap and judgemental again on K&M products. I do feel stupid for thinking I knew better but I came good in the end and K&M taught me not to prejudge by its cost!
Lesson learned "Reviews matter"