Hi folks.
 
My question is regarding when you're recording audio directly from a keyboard into sound card and into Sonar... When I record, the recorded audio never sounds as good, detailed or deep as it did on the keyboard itself.
 
Why exactly is this? Is it just because the keyboard's speakers are great and are able to make the keyboard sound lovely - or is there something else going on? Quality of audio cable make much difference? mono vs stereo issue? etc...
 
If anyone can comment, that would be great.
Thanks
 
 

The keyboard's line output should be the same quality as the one that goes to the built-in speakers.  So, if they sound better than your monitors, you have a problem.  Or did you mean a big Leslie or something similar?  In that case, they would sound fuller than your 5-inch woofers, which drop off simply because of physics. 
 
There are too many questions to really answer, but in general you should be able to capture a good sound that is representative of what you hear.  If not, stick a mic in front of the speaker and capture it that way.  If it still sounds weak, it is likely your monitors.
 
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Your line input should actually be able to deliver better quality than the speakers typical on keyboards. Mistakes could have been made during recording or in playback for that matter. Were levels set appropriately and did the computer receive, record, and play back a stereo signal, just as you surmise. Another area to investigate is how are you playing back the recording. I.e. what speakers, how loud, and how close are you to the speakers. In other words, check how the playback environment compares with the keyboard speaker setup.
 
Another way to go is to try using headphones. That way you can first listen to the keyboard and then listen to the recorded file, using the headphones for both and eliminating the various speakers from the equation. If those two differ, maybe characterizing that difference will give some clues.

What's listed in the sig should sound OK. Maybe somethings wrong in the output of the keyboard or you may have an impedance mismatch between keyboard output / IF input.

+1 to the above, the only thing that comes to mind offhand is that (most) synths rely on stereo, so barring all other hardware issues, if a synth is "somehow" going to mono, you will get both a dB drop and loss of stereo field.

I assume that you're capturing at 24-bit and not 16-bit.
 
When you play back the recorded synth from SONAR, is there anything in the signal path, or is the audio routed directly to your sound card's monitor outputs?
 
You could have a phase inversion somewhere.
 
Have you split recorded the stereo input to two mono tracks, panned them left and right and summed them in your sound card? Same weak result?

Thanks for your responses folks. I've been away for a few days so haven't had a chance to sit down with your suggestions - but I will do when I get an opportunity!
 

Even with top-tier keyboard and audio interface:
If you listen closely and compare (with straight digital recording), you can hear the effect of D/A and A/D converters.
 
This difference (I'd expect it to be subtle) may or may not be flattering to the keyboard sound.
Depending on the converters used, the recorded sound may be darker/brighter... have slightly less attack... etc.
 
If your keyboard has a digital output, you could record via that... and avoid D/A (play) and A/D (record) conversion stages.
 
Try to keep D/A and A/D stages at a minimum...
With quality audio interface, I wouldn't be overly worried about using an extra stage of D/A A/D where beneficial
ie: To make use of quality outboard gear.
 

which keyboard are you using?  in your signature you list an Edirol PCR 500 which is a MIDI controller, but not a keyboard.  just checking to see if you are actually recording AUDIO from a KEYBOARD or if you're sending MIDI to Sonar and using a softsynth?