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Hi,

I'm about to upgrade my digital piano, because my actual piano doesn't satisfy me anymore. I've already made a post about this here.

I was more than convinced that the CLP-340 would be my choice until I played with a Roland HP207! I just fell in love immediately with that piano! The sound is great but what I loved the most was the keyboard which I think is fantastic. I tested the CLP-340 about a month ago and I can remember that I liked it but I think not as much as the HP207. But it was a month ago...

The problem is that the Roland is a bit more expensive. I got a quote of 1940€ (~3000 USD) for the CLP-340 and 2300€ (~3470 USD) for the HP207. I was limiting my budget to 2000€ but now I don't know what to do.

Would the proud owners of one of these models please tell me why you fell in love with your piano and why you chose it instead of another?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards.

It will not be fair to compare the CLP-340 to the stronger HP207. We need to make a fair match. Compare with the stronger CLP-370 instead. Let us see some hard number (underlines are links):


Yamaha CLP-370

• 128 note polyphony
• 4-level sampling
• Graded Hammers + 3rd sensor + fake Ivory & Wood (better swing-forward-swing-back)
• 28 Instruments/voices
• Reverb (4 levels), Chorus (1 level), Brilliance (5 levels), Phaser (1 level), Tremolo (1 level), Rotary Speakers (1 level), Damper Resonance (1 level), Transpose (-12 to 12), Touch Response (4 levels), Dynamic sampling, Key-Off sampling. Some Effects may only have 1 level, but some levels can be adjusted in strength from 1 to 20.
• 7 Temperaments
• Speakers 2 * 40W

Roland HP207

• 128 note polyphony
• 4-level sampling
• Graded Hammers + 3rd sensor + fake Ivory (better swing-forward-swing-back, realistic key-drop before hammer contact, realistic key-drop after key push)
• 35 Instruments/voices + 300 synthesizer sounds (some vocals)
• Reverb (10 levels), Chorus (1 level), Brilliance (7 levels), Rotary Speakers (1 level), Damper Resonance (1 level), Transpose (-6 to 5), Touch Response (20 levels), Dynamic sampling, Key-Off Resonance (adjustable), String Resonance (adjustable), Duplex Scale (bass sympathetic resonance, adjustable), Tonic, Stretched Tuning, Hammer Response, Hammer Noise, Damper Noise, Open/Close Lid (sound richness). Some Effects may only have 1 level, but some levels can be adjusted in strength from 1 to 10.
• 8 Temperaments
• Speakers 2 * 60W

Of the effects, I appreciate all the sympathetic resonances the most, specially String Resonance, which Roland HP207 has. I also like Reverb and Open/Close Lid effects.

If the list above contains faults, please inform me, as I've been reading out of the manuals until I can't see words.

Huygens,

Thank you for your exaustive listing of the technical specifications! I didn't consider the CLP-370 because everyone in these forums says that it is not that much better than the CLP-340 and that the CLP-340 is the "sweet spot" of the CLP line.

Well, looking at the specs, the HP207 is superior to the CLP-370 in some aspects so it should be far superior to the CLP-340, right? I'm afraid that after playing on the HP207 I will never be satisfied with the CLP-340

And what about reliabily? One folk at a store here in Portugal told me that Yamaha was far more reliable than Roland. Is it true?

Best regards.

There have been people using Rolands for 18 years until the top of the keys have been worn out.

I do agree that Roland's top of the line key action is better then Yamaha's. But I think Yamaha wins if you compare the mid and low range instruments

All of the models you are talking about are the big heavy console versions so I assume you will not be moving these around every weekend in the back of a truck. So don't worry about it. If the DP stays at one location and doesn't see any physical abuse it should last a very long time. You will most likely replace it just because the newer models have something you like not because it broke.

But if you were to be moving these things around, I'd say the Rolands would hold up better as the Rolands have very solid metal chassis while Yamaha uses plastic and partial board.

The CLP340 and HP207 are pretty close in price, so that would be a good comparison.

The CLP370 costs much more, and is scarcely better than the CLP340. So the CLP370/HP207 would not be a good comparison.

It has been my experience that Yamaha have better dealer support.

Both companies make a very reliable product, although my technician friends tell me they see less Yamaha digitals in for repair than Roland...when I buy a second hand instrument, I always go to these guys to find out if there are any problem areas with a particular unit before I buy. Their advice is great insurance and worth it's weight in gold.

Snazzy

No.



You are wrong.



Wrong again.


------- * * * --------

Cheap Plastic Imitations (underlines are links):

• Roland HP207: 2799 €
• Yamaha CLP-370: 2266 €
• CLP-340: 1999 €

Polished Ebony:

• Yamaha CLP-370: 2666 €
• CLP-340: 2299 €

Well, looking at those prices it seems that my price of 2300€ for the HP207 is pretty good, no?

But the other thing that makes me lean torwards the CLP-340 is that the dealer takes back my Yamaha YDP-S30. If I go for the Roland I well have to sell it myself.

And what about the keyboard mechanisms? I know this has been debated many times, but will the PHAII of the HP207 (with fake ivory) be superior to the GH3 (also fake ivory) of the CLP-340? Has anyone tested both and prefered the GH3 instead of the PHAII?

As you can see, I'm trying to find reasons to buy the CLP-340, because it's cheaper, but deep down I know the HP207 is superior. I just would like to know if I would feel happy playing the CLP-340.

Some prices in England, from Bonner:

HP207 £2379 (2493 €)
CLP-370 £1799 (1885 €)

CLP-370 Polished Ebony: £2099 (2200 €)

No.

You will become unhappy for eternity.

I have only today tried both the HP-207 and the CLP-380 (which should be better than the 340 since it's much more expensive) and I have to say it must be a huge matter of taste. I have heard people talking about their clp-380 like a gift from god, however I didn't really like the sound and found the keys to be way to clicky. I would go for the HP-207 if I had to make that decision. But as I said, it's a matter of taste, you should just take your time and really test both instruments side by side, play on both, get to know them a little. I also think you shouldn't rush the decision and go test-playing multiple times, in my case that helped a lot.

I am actually trying to choose between HP207 and CLP380 myself. I played an HP203 because the dealer didn't have a 207 in the showroom (will be going to test it out tomorrow though). I found the 203 action to be kind of 'thumpy'. It was rather loud and I didn't really feel that in the 380 BUT the 380 action was very light. I couldn't tell the difference between those wooden keys and the cheaper CLP models with just plastic keys and the ivorite. The cabinet looked oh so shiny and tempting though. :P

Sorry to the OP for derailing your thread for a moment here. I will be going to play the HP207 tomorrow and will hopefully make my decision then. Right now I'm leaning towads the 207. Hopefully I can come back here and tell you a little about my experiences with it.

The consensus here seems to be that reliability is likely to be a non-issue, and the rest involves you balancing your preference for the 207 with the extra cost of the unit. Perhaps if you break it down to a difference over ten years, or whatever time frame you think is realistic, you'll get a clear picture of the value of going with your heart. For example, suppose you pay $500 more for the 207; that averages out at 14c a day for the DP of your dreams, and not kicking yourself every day, feeling awful that you could have had ...

Jonathan

Actually, the Yamaha CLP340 shoud be compared to the Roland HP203. The HP207 is another league. I wrote it before and I write it again: Since the 3xx series the Yamaha DPs are overpriced compared to their competitors.

Masume, I think you're right in that I shouldn't rush my decision. But you know, as soon as you start the process of upgrading your piano you just can't think about anything else and you want it to finish!

TheGlassPassenger, I'm looking forward to hear your experiences with the HP207.

10fingers, looking at the price from that perspective really makes the difference seem irrelevant!

trolls99, I've also tested the HP203, but after testing the HP207 the HP203 plastic keys just doesn't convince me anymore.

I'll try to find a dealer that carries both models (CLP-340 and HP207) and try them side by side.

I just paid $1999 for the HP203 here in the US. I am wondering if it would have been worth it to go the extra for the HP207. I tried to find the prices paid posts and could not find them.

I played the 203 yesterday and will be going in to play the 207 today. I'll be sure to drop by here and tell you about my experiences (both models will be in the showroom.)

I understand the sound is the same, with 207 having a better set of speakers, piano designer and ivory feel keys. Nothing groundbreaking, it just really depends on what you want from your DP.

Have a quick search online and see what prices you come up with. You could always try to go back to your dealer and see if you can do an exchange? I did this once with an upright. Took it home, saw another one I liked that was more expensive (only a little) and switched it for their showroom model of the superior one.

Good luck!

::EDIT::

Bought the HP207. Look at my thread for the reasons. Sounds like a dream with the Senn HD202s the store provided me. Also sounded great with my own earphones. Felt amazing, though the ivory feel of the CLP380 seemed a little nicer. No big deal though. I did play around with the CLP340 again. I think you'd be a very happy guy if you went with the 207. It's superior in specs, the rest is personal preference of course, but I think the 207 just sounds so much better.

Good luck with your search!

Thank You for the input, I will probably trade up at some point. They told me that I could trade up anytime during the first two years and receive 100% of the purchase price for the 203.

I've been reading about the specs of these two DPs (CLP-340 and HP207) and found out that the CLP-340 has a damper sensor, described on the Yamaha Clavinova Micro Site like this:

"Through the subtle timing of the actions of its hammers and dampers, a grand piano allows you to play the same note repeatedly with perfect articulation. In order to reproduce this effect, the GH3 keyboard and the NW (Natural Wood) keyboard use Yamaha’s original Damper Sensor in addition to two sensors that detect keystroke strength. This lets you repeatedly play the same note at the same high speed as on a grand piano."

They say most DPs only have two sensors and the CLP line has a 3rd sensor, hence the name GH3 Keyboard. Can anyone tell me if the Roland HP207 also has a damper sensor and how important might it be? Does the PHAII name implies that the Roland keyboard has only two sensors?

Best regards.