Life is full of unexpected surprises. We don't always find ourselves where we may have planned to be. For me and my family, the purchase of a grand piano was not a journey I had ever thought I would undertake much less experience the reality of. My living room now is occupied by a 5'-10" 178 Hailun Piano. Yes a Hailun!

If someone had told me a few months ago that I would not only be purchasing a grand piano but it wouldn't be a Yamaha or Kawai but a Hailun, I would have laughed. Firstly, having a good Scottish mother, I wouldn't "waste" money on a Grand when our upright does the job (so I thought) and secondly in the heritage of my German father I would only have settled for quality - everyone knows Yamaha and Kawai are the best, (again, so I thought.)

Allow me to share a few thoughts on what brought me to purchase a Hailun 178. By no means do I want to become a spokesman for either Hailun or Norbert at Heritage Pianos in Surrey, B.C. where we purchased our piano. I will allow them to speak for themselves.

Hailun is an excellent piano, superb in every way and true to its claims. All you need to do is play it. I won't bore you with all my research which included reading Larry Fine and countless others, as well as speaking to various personal friends who have far more knowledge on pianos than myself.

At the risk of sounding like an endorsement I feel I must add one small comment however in regards to our experience with Norbert at Heritage Pianos. We live 6 hours away in the Kootenays and Norbert went above and beyond to accommodate our needs and what was mostly appreciated is he was available to answer any and all of our questions with out the high pressure sales. You truly felt you were in the drivers seat in your decision making.

Now back to the purpose of my writing. What brought me to purchase a Hailun 178. We have three musical children in piano and voice. Until recently I believed our upright would serve their needs. Once we realized this was not the case and a grand was in the picture, the next logical question was how to make that a reality. We prayed extensively considering all the common questions; new/used, price, make, dealer etc. I read extensively on anything and everything I could get my hands on and at one point almost purchased a Kawai. In all my deliberation I was missing one key component that was brought to my attention by a highly accomplished pianist. He simply said, "trust your kids and buy what sounds good to you." At first I thought this was far too simplistic an approach. But he was right. Although consideration was still given to quality of workmanship and comparing the technical differences between makes I failed to involve the ear, the heart and the spirit.

After all, my whole point in getting a piano was to give my children the gift of; the love for music. To feel it in their bones, to embrace the magic if you like of music and the blessing of all that music gives oneself. Franze Joseph Haydn sums it by what he once told a friend, "When I sit at my old worm-eaten piano, I envy no King in his happiness."

So that is what we did. We played lots of pianos, from Steinway - to Pearl River. Of course, some were clearly out of our reach and others were of too inferior a quality to consider. All this to say. When playing a Hailun and comparing it to others in its class, I can't help but say it wins the day - hands down!

The warmth and rich tone compared to some of the Japanese pianos is what impressed us the most. I won't bore you with all the comparisons. In summary I simply encourage you to do two things before buying any piano.

1. Do your research and you will find that Hailun, although made in China has a quality that is just as good as others and in many regards far superior for far less the price.

2. AS my learned friend advised me. Play them. Play a Hailun, take it for a test drive and even if you don't buy one you won't regret the ride.

Sincerely,

Jonathan

Congratulations, Jonathan! Sounds like you found the piano for you! Enjoy!

Jonathan:

Thank you very much for your kind and generous words!

It certainly was a special honour to meet you and family especially in consideration of how far you had to come to make your choice.

Wishing you all a very happy life with the new member of the family!

Norbert

Congrats on your new Hailun HG178. I went through the same process a year ago, and six months later my Hailun HG178 was in my home. I played lots of instruments, but really liked the Hailun. I like it now even more than when I first played it one year ago. I hope that you and your family have similar experiences.

I hope that others will try various brands and listen to them to determine what they like best, rather than simply relying on "experts". As you say, whatever you wind up with, you won't regret trying the Hailun or any other brand.

I was equally fortunate to have a low pressure but enthusiastic sales experience at Nick's Piano Showroom. I had to travel 120 miles to get there, but he had the pianos well prepped and ready for me. Based on the posts I have seen from Norbert, I'm not surprised that you had an equally pleasant experience.

And now, keep on playing!

Hop

Gratz on your piano.

Btw, what drink or food did Norbert offer you at his store ?
I want some of that stuff.

Ken,
I sincerely request an ip check

Kidding asides, Hailun grands are quite amazing for the price class they are in.

Picture please. Otherwise, we will just call you bluffing! It's a PW tradition.

Aint that the truth (the bluffing thing)