I went to the Casio store a while ago, bought and paid for the Casio PX-730

The Casio guy (who is my friend) nearly convinced me to get the Celviano AP-420, but my screaming wallet held me back To my surprise, the Celvianos have the same kind of keys as the PX-830 (a little more texture and ivory-ish color). Plus they come with a very nice adjustable bench.

But as I wasn't willing to shell out much for a secondary DP, I had to stick with the Privia. At least my friend threw in a free bench (just the regular kind) and delivery.

But I have to wait until Wednesday next week for it to be delivered to our house. Oh, the agony.....

I'll be posting pics and reviews when it arrives

you don't mean the 830? For some reason i thought it was the 830 with the textured keys that was the big draw to you when the new ...30 line was introduced recently.

^Yeah, unfortunately I couldn't get the 830 no matter how I tried pressing my Casio-guy friend because 1)It's not released yet in my country (but he said he can get it on special order, 2)It's possible to get it but they were asking for a ridiculous price. At that price, it made more sense to get the AP-420 which has the same textured keys, SD card slot, better cabinet and nice bench. The price they wer asking was the same as a Yamaha CLP-340, which is what I would get any day over the Casio. Ultimately, my wallet decided for me!

Do you have it yet? I am eager to learn about your views on the 730.

Kind regards,
Terri
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I did get my PX-730 delivered last week Unfortunately I wasn't able to play it to my heart's content yet because I can only play it at weekends and I was busy these past couple of weekends. I've played it enough, though, to make an initial review:

No problems so far. I don't have problems with sticking keys or such. Everything was working perfectly. I don't know if the keys came with blue tape on them since I wasn't around when it was delivered. The delivery guys from Casio set it up and I'd say it was set up quite well.

Keep in mind that I also own the previous model (PX-720) which is my main piano so my comparisons are based on it.

I think the PX-730 is a big improvement over the PX-720 model. For one, the keyboard is much better. Though I've never had problems with 'clacking keys,' it seems Casio has addressed the issue. I don't notice the 'clacking' on my PX-720 unless I really paid attention, but I can see how it might bother people who may be more sensitive to the key noise. In contrast, the keybed of the PX-730 is significantly quieter, even with the DP turned off. Probably, anyone who would think the new Privias have noisy keys would think that all DPs have the same problem.

The keys are much more responsive too, and much easier to play. It was one of the first things I noticed about the PX-730. Much later I realized that the sensitivity can be customized (1 to 3, with 1 being the most sensitive) or even turned off. This was not a feature on the PX-720 and was a pleasant surprise. Another thing is that you can feel low-level vibrations on the keys. There's no vibration on the PX-720 because the speakers are separated from the keyboard. The PX-730's speakers protrude on the underside of the keyboard, which is why I think the vibration from the speakers travels through to the keys. I find the speakers strange-looking, though:



The speakers are OK, as I am not asking for the moon and the stars from built-in speakers. Though only 8W x 2, I don't feel they are underpowered because our living room isn't big and I never even play with the volume over 3/4 of max.

I like the new look of the keyboard. The red felt is a nice touch, while the brushed metal on top of the keyboard not only looks much better, it also improves the readability of the functions assigned to each key. I didn't understand the logic in the PX-720 when they did away with NOT labeling the functions assigned to the treble part of the keyboard (you had to look in the manual and memorize the key assignment), but thankfully that has been rectified on the PX-730 and all the keys have their function labels indicated on top.



The main control buttons look mostly the same as before but there's an additional piano voice and a bunch of other functions assigned to the buttons. The PX-730 also has a few more voices than the PX-720. Additional voices include strings 2, jazz organ, elec piano 2, and probably some more I can't remember. I don't know if it's because of the speakers or my ears playing tricks on me, but I like the modern piano voice in the PX-730 better than the PX-720. I like a brighter sound so it's the one I always use.



One thing that I am not happy about is the music stand. It's the same as the PX-720, only now in frosted smoky black instead of frosted clear. It's the same flimsy plastic, about 7 inches tall. The music stand on my PX-720 is still fine, but I am always worrying it might crack one of these days. I'm careful not to leave heavy books leaning on it. And 7 inches is too short to prop up music sheets without something stiff behind them. I do find it aesthetically pleasing and in line with the minimalist Privia look, but I wish it was sturdier and more functional! I recommend a model with a sturdier music stand if you know the piano must handle rough treatment (by kids!).

The pedals are the same as before. Though compared to the Celvianos and other acoustics I tried, the pedals are on the short side, but it's not a problem for me. I reckon there are as many variations in DP pedals as there are in real pianos.

One major difference is that the current generation scrapped the MIDI ports for USB ports. Very convenient, since you can connect the Privia to the computer and the computer will recognize it as a drive. You can copy and write midi data directly to and from the computer. Only the PX-330 and Celviano AP 620 still retain the MIDI ports.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchase even though I wasn't able to get what I really wanted, the PX-830. I sacrificed the key tops, the SD card, and 20W x 2 speakers for a lower price (and the PX-830 wasn't available where I am). I realized I could live without those and still be satisfied. And my wallet is thanking me too The Privias are the best bang for the buck for those on a budget!

Thank you for the review, marimorimo!

Nice review marimorimo.
Thanks,
Richard

Correct, but they also have the USB connection

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE PRIVIA!!! It looks beautiful. Thank you very very much for the review... I will order mine too, hopefully within the next few days, I just had to wait because I needed to work for more money. Nice pictures, really appreciate it, but are you able to add some more? I would like to see another angle from underneath, some pictures of the pedals, and some mroe
thanks alot, and congratulations.

Thanks
Terri

@ Terry: Unfortunately I only have access to the PX-730 during the weekends (I bought it as my weekend home piano) so I can't add any more pictures. I might be able to get some pics when I visit the mall later this week. I'm friends with the salesguy from the Casio showroom and they have a PX-730 there.


Btw, I just found out something.... You CAN adjust the PX-720's keyboard sensitivity! Just now I realized there was the "Touch Response" option indicated on top of the keys I have no idea how I missed that after all these months! LOL... for an excuse I'd just say the old function indications aren't as readable as the new ones I think I have a vague memory of tinkering about with the Touch Response when the DP was new and purposely set it to have a harder touch to strengthen my fingers. Now that I set the touch response to "1," I can't tell anymore if the PX-730 really is more responsive or not. But the promotional literature did say that there were more sampling levels so I'm counting on that

Anyway, it seems like I discovered something 'new' on my PX-720 and I feel that it got a new lease on life!