Greetings.

I'm purchasing my first digital piano for classical music learning and I'm considering a Roland HP-203, which I found for an excellent price ($1,999 plus shipping and a $200 gift card) at J&R (www.jr.com), an authorized Roland dealer.

Besides the better finish and the speakers in HP-207, are there other advantages to consider this one? Also, how does it compare against HP-201 and DP990?

Should I be considering other manufacturers for the $2000 - $2700 price range?

Thanks in advance for any help.

The HP-207 is in a different class than the HP-203. Sound, touch, and more content make the HP-207 an easy purchase to justify. If you can afford the HP-207 don't look back. 5 years from now the extra $ you spent will not be missed, but the experience you will get over the HP-203 will erase any second guessing. Good luck

Thanks, Stephen.

Since you work with several manufacturers, let me ask you for an opinion. Besides the V-Piano, are there other DP options I should be considering in that price range?

I actually have the 203 and am very happy with it, but I can still tell you that you should absolutely try out the Yamaha and Kawai entry in this price class as well!

Online discussions will never tell you which one feels right to *you*. Good luck with the search.

I wonder whether the difference between the HP203 and the HP207 really justifies the huge price diference. The major plus of the HP207 is the better speakers.
Otherwise: The sound is the same (by headphones) and the touch is the same (except for the ivory imitation). The plus in contents is minor, if I remember corectly this is mainly some additional drawbar organs. In addition, the piano sound is tweakable, which is not possible with the HP203.

I saw your other thread on the
Acoustic Piano Forum. An
acoustic piano is all but out of
the question if you live in
an apt. building. An acoustic
piano can be heard a block away,
and you'll have the neighbors
at your throat. Most acoustic
uprights today have a middle
silencing pedal that shifts
a felt strip over the stings
to muffle the sound, but playing
in that silenced mode is
unnatural and unsatisfying.
Furthermore, this makes no
sense, because you can't use
the acoustic piano in the
normal way, and so you're paying
for an instrument you can use.

In addition, there are numerous
disadantages with an acoustic.
It weighs a ton, and you'll need
movers just to get it into,
or out of, your house. You'll
need to get it tuned twice
a yr., at ~$90-$150 per tuning.
Repairs for sticking keys and
buzzing strings are common,
at ~$100 per service call.

As you've noticed, digitals
are already approaching acoustic
pianos in performance. An
HP-207 is a marvelous instrument,
essentially a concert
grand for only $3000, but
you can get good digitals
for less than $1000, for
example, the Casio PX 800
and the M-Audio DCP 200, both
$900 from amazon.com. Either
would have grand piano-like
performance.

I'm an experienced player, who
grew up with classical lessons
and acoustic pianos only,
as there were no digitals back
then. I quit in high school
and didn't play for 20 yrs.
Since restarting as an adult,
I've bought 5 pianos, the first
acoustic and the rest digital,
as follows: a top-of-the-line
acoustic upright, bought for ~$6000
in the early 1980's (a similar
model today would be in the
~$20,000 price range); a Korg
C-800, bought at a piano dealer
in 1989 for $1700; a Casio
AP-24, bought sight-unseen online
in 2005 for $700; a Korg SP-250,
bought sight-unseen online in
2006 for $900; and my current
piano, a Williams Overture, bought
sight-unseen online in 2009 for
$600.

You can see from the above
that I've gone to less and
less expensive pianos, even
as I've gotten more experienced
and more advanced in my playing:
~$20,000(~$6000) ---> $1700 --->
$700 ---> $900 ---> $600. I
find the $600 Williams okay
for playing anything, from
jazz improvisation to big
concertos.

Gyro,

You make some very interesting points.

Tell me this; what company makes Williams electronic pianos?

Are they an independent company, or is the Williams essentially a "stencil piano" made by a big manufacturer?

Best regards,

Snazzy

You could look at the Yamaha CVP-407, CVP-409 and CVP-509, perhaps CLP-380 as well.

Look also (beside HP207) at the Roland HPi-7Sand Roland LX-10.

And also Kawai CN42, Kawai CP177.

I don't think any of these units are available in the OP's stated price range. He gave a range of $2000 to $2700.

We all like to dream.

There is a sound difference between the HP-207 and HP-203. Brochures do nothing but confuse people. You cannot hear a brochure. Play both models and then make your choice. Your ear and heart will tell you which piano is yours.

With headphones you will hear no differences.

If you would concider the v-piano, then also look at Roland's RD700GX. The "700" has the "good" key action and ivory tops and has lots of piano sounds inside and some ability to modify the sounds but costs 1/2 as much as the v-piano.

Unless you are recording I don't see the point of such fine control over the sound as the v-piano allows. And if you do need that level of control you can get that in software.

Neither the v-piano nor the RD700 have speakers or amps so you get to select whatever meets your needs. But be sure and budget at least another $250 or much more

From previous post:
I'm purchasing my first digital piano for classical music learning and I'm considering a Roland HP-203, which I found for an excellent price ($1,999 plus shipping and a $200 gift card) at J&R (www.jr.com), an authorized Roland dealer.


Is $1999 a good price for the HP203? Does anyone know of it being sold for less?

You could also consider the Yamaha CP-300 professional stage piano, with an incredibly robust built-sound system, and highly recommended by players in the know....especially me.

Beautiful graded hammer action, with the built in speakers giving the illusion that you are seated in front of a real grand piano.

Wow! That sounded so good, I nearly went out and bought another one!

Seriously...it is a seriously terrific instrument, and well worth taking the time to try out.

Good luck with your search.

Snazzy

[EDIT] Sorry, posted in the wrong thread.

I know of it being sold for more... way more.

Seriously, Steinert & Sons was selling it for 3,349 in Boston.

I did buy the HP203 for $1999 yesterday in the Los Angeles area. I am the type of person that I always want to know if I could have got a better deal. I know it's kind of crazy, but that's me.

I don't think it is crazy. You are just worried about your hard earned money. Though I have to say that one should do that before the purchase, otherwise it could become a case of self inflicted torture.

I'm also wondering if I should be buying a HP 203 now, since the new models are on the way.
I can get it for a really good price, 1490€ new.
Since I don't have a weighted keyboard, so the other option would be to buy something really cheap right now and wait for the new Rolands to arrive.
The problem is, I don't know whether the prices will be good and when they will be available.

I did do a lot of research before i bought, and I haven't seen the HP203 for a lower price than what I paid, but i'm still curious.
At the music store where I bought it, the tag on it said "original price $3390 sales price $2795" and I paid $1999 plus tax.
It looks like a good deal, but I always wonder "how much lower would they go?"

I am not sure. I just paid (last Saturday) 1390 EUR here in Italy for a new HP-203 (and loving it so far!), tax included.

Considering the EUR/USD exchange rate, that is a little bit lower than your $1999, but not much, so I guess this must be the actual "bottom" price that still allows a decent sales margin.

Congrats on your new purchase! I actually just bought a 207 today. Felt like a dream to play on.

^^That's a great deal you got there!
Which store did you buy it in?

I did a conversion and the 1390 comes out to $2091 in USD so it is a little lower. Pretty close though. I feel pretty happy about the purchase.

I am loving mine too. Thanks for the reply.

I bought it from Cavalli Musica http://www.cavallimusica.com

I think they might ship internationally, but I am not sure.

In any case, that's another demonstration that on these kind of items the large superstores in Europe do not always offer a good deal. One of these "extra large superstores" is offering the HP-203 at 1777 EUR + shipping, which is a whopping 27% more of what I paid.

So, I think you might want to check some of your local Roland dealers first. YMMV.

Cheers,
Luca

Hmm, I don't see any prices there and I can't understand Italian...
Is there anyway I could see the prices on that site?
Also, does it say anything about international slaes and delivery prices?

They are not set up to do business on the Internet: as far as I know, although they have a huge store, it's a "mom and pop" kind of business.

So, the only way to check prices and order from them would be either in person or on the telephone, which you cannot do if you don't speak Italian. Sorry.

Anyway, what I meant to say is that if they went easily to 1390 EUR (the sticker price in their store was 1490), other local Roland sellers might go near that as well: I'd recommend you ask a few of your local stores to see if they can go near that price.

BTW, there is at least another store in Italy with similar prices: http://www.scavino.it/roland_hp203erw.htm You might want to check if your local stores do "price matching".

Good luck!