Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha P-155 or the CP33?

I was very close to buying the CP33 but now there is this new model im being told about, the Yamaha P-155 which costs the same amount! Would I be wise to go ahead and get the cp33 or is this new piano better in some way I might have missed?

Doesn't the p155 have speakers and 128 polyphony? I have a cp33, and I don't think it's sound could be any better, and its action is just right for me. It's 64, but I have never had a note drop. You'd be OK with either, IMO.

im wondering if since, the p155 has speakers on it, and the cp33 doesnt... the p155 must have something worse than the cp33? anyone know if the sound with headphones would be the same or what?

p155 has 4-level dynamic sampling vs. 3-level on cp33, plus better speakers (than older p140). they're close in price and p155 is certainly a better deal, which i would choose over cp33.

I think they might have different action? I can't be sure because I haven't actually seen a P155. But I was told while I was picking between P140, CP33 and CP300 that the CP33 keyboard has some ability to overshoot the note? I didn't quite understand but apparently it's used for string instruments.

I'd probably go for P155 too. It's newer and it has new samples.

I just purchased the p155 from musiciansfriend.com they have a deal til the 15th that cuts 200 dollars off the final price for all yamaha pianos over 1 grand in price. had no tax too so the final price with shipping was $1019 I am happy I cant wait til this thing shows up

Hi,

I have the same problem making up my mind.

I have read some posts about pretty loud thumping of p155 hammers. The cp33 seems to have the same keyboard, but I cannot test it, because my local dealers have not this model in stock. I have got impression that the clp 320 is a bit quieter than p155.

Hence I'm wondering whether cp33 is quieter or not. I'm afraid that this thumping will disturb me and my neighbors. I'd be grateful if someone who tested both could comment on this.
Is this noise audible when playing with headphones? Or should I just stop worrying and order p155?

I have a P-120 which is the predecessor of the P-140 and now the P-155.

I find it's worth it to have speakers on a piano. I use it at home, stage and in studio, and in most situations I use them.

For home use, I find it's nice to have sound come out of the piano even if I have nice studio monitors on the side. It is simpler and It makes for a better experience.

On stage, It depends on the situation, but on most small stages I still prefer to keep them and keep a little control. Again, where your comes from is important. If my soundtech doesn't want them, I can just mute them. On my P-120, I can put the speaker switch to off but you can also put a headphone adapter in the headphones output to do the same and still have the sound come out of the main outputs.

In studio, I just mute them with the above mention trick.

Personnally, I think it's better to have speakers because there are many situations when you will want them. Isn't nice to just turn the piano on and play sometimes?

Yes, because it is the mechanical noise of the keys. It doesn't change whether you have internal speakers, external speakers, headphones, or the power switched off. Any time you play a key with a touch greater than pianissimo, you get that soft thump.

Some people are bothered by this, others, like me, are not. I don't notice it at all when I am playing with headphones on or my monitors at a moderate volume. The only time you should really worry is when you have people living below you, because the noise tends to transmit through the keyboard stand and in to your floor (their ceiling). All weighted keyboards have some thump. It is a necessary evil when you have moving parts. Unless you want the bottom travel of your key to feel like a sponge, you will get a moderate thump.

I agree that onboard speakers are sometimes nice to have, not for the sound necessarily, but because they transmit a nice natural-feeling vibration in to the keys. The price difference between the P-155 and CP33 is simply a balancing act. The CP has fewer sampling layers and no internal speakers, but a more stage-friendly user interface. The P-155 has ok internal speakers, more sampling layers, polyphony and voices, but a more casual user interface. It is also built more decoratively. I believe the P-155 has fewer I/O connections since it is marketed as a home piano. They're built for different uses, so the price isn't saying that one is necessarily better or worse than the other. It just depends on what you're using it for. I am pretty sure that both models share the same action.

All piano make a "thump" even acoustic pianos but it's just that you can't hear the thump sound because the notes are playing. When people say a "loud" thump they don't mean it is so loud it can be heard in the next room. A shut door will pretty much silence even a bad case. You will be able to hear it only if you turn the volume down very low otherwise the sound of the notes will overpower and you can't notice. However if you are playing with headphones while you will not hear it others in the same room will be able to hear but as I said those in other rooms likely will not.


All the better Yamahas, the CLPxxx, CPxx and P155 have keyboards that are very, very close to each others.

Buy the P155 if the intended use is practice at home. The CP33 is a better stage piano. The P155 has slightly better sound with an additional velocity layer and some other things but the controls on the CP33 are better suited for use on stage.

The CP33 lacks speakers. You'd need to add a pair. Note the comment above about how studio monitors don't really give you the "piano experience". That is correct. Monitors sound like headphones. The P155's built-in speakers are not at all like studio monitors. They are "not to bad" as long as you keep the volume down. As I said the P155 is suitable for home practice. The P155 will sound much more impressive and piano-like if you add some larger (full size) speakers and a good sized amp.

Don't worry to much about a "thump" sound that is just what happens if you play forcefully with the sound turned off. Try this experiment: Play the top of your desk as if it were a piano. Even that will make a thumping noise, no way around it. The sound if fingers on the desk is louder what you get with fingers on a piano.

Thank you so much for your comments!

Actually I'm a cs student - not a musician. Switching from a keyboard. I'm living in a flat currently (having neighbors below) so hopefully putting some towels or something under the stand would muffle this noise a bit.

Through past month I've done some thorough research reading manuals and specs . Actually p155 has one headphones connector more, there is "usb to device" instead of "usb to host" and also fc-4 instead of fc-3 pedal.

Just to make sure... studio monitors will give you better sound quality than the P-155 speakers. No question about that. However, it's also important to have the monitors properly placed. It just feels more natural when sound comes out of your instrument or at least very close from it.

The ideal digital piano experience I guess would be to have monitors on your piano if possible, or use the monitors AND the piano speakers.

In regards to the thumping, I remember having this exact problem with neighbors below, even if I played with headphones. So I put pads under the stand legs and between the piano and stand, and it was ok.

"USB to device" means that you can plug in a USB stick to record and playback.

The lack of "USB to host" means that you cannot connect to a computer via USB. For that you'd have to use the MIDI interface.

Hello All

Yesterday I compared the Yamaha P95/155/CP33 side by side w/ headphones and w/o (P95/P155 only). My sister kindly assisted me so we tried each. (Note: my syster is a pro jazz/pianist and has university degree in classical piano and vocals, visit: http://www.myspace.com/tamarazene)

To make a long story for short, I ended up with the CP33 after 1.5 hours of practicing. Why you may ask. It's the oldest model of all, 64 poly "only" (if I were so skilled that this were be the only bottleneck...), 10+ sounds only, no eq, no string resonance (not even on the P155, no damper resonance (P155), no GH3 (P155)...

So why?

- ACTION: It had the BEST action ever tried (note: I also like Roland's PHAIII, hate PHAII alpha (the light version of PHAII), almost sold for a Kawai CN33 as it's RM w/ escapement action is sooo cool btw, and highly recommended!!!))
My sister said: it's perfect (she said this 3 times once we left the shop), it is virtually indistinguishable from a real Acoustic Piano. Longer travel distance than Rolands and Kawai, really heavy action which helps controlling ppp-fff extremely well.
My syster asked the rep if the CP33 has a newer action compared to the P155. He said yes and it is supposed to be better on paper. In fact there was a clear consensus among us and the rep that the CP33 (regardless of marketing) was clearly superior, it even puts the P155 in shame.

- SOUND: the Grand AP sound was incredible. No resonance that's true but apart from that it just killed the P155. No kidding! Greater (almost twice?) ROM size for the grand piano sample, so open, so wide, so rich, so talking! Delicious! The sound of the P155 was also very good but compared to the CP33, it was something that would like to come out of the box but it is stuffed in there. The sound of the CP33 was completely the opposite, the tones were free ! My syster said 'it's like a grand with it's touch and sound, and the sound is completely controllable by the class leading action. She tried various classical parts and se just said: perfect. Needless to say she hates DPs of any kind. (except this one since yesterday )

CP33: will do some extensive testing today once delivered.

As far as I know, and from the specs on the Yamaha web site, on paper, the action of the CP33 and the P155 should be the same: GH.

As for the sound: are you comparing internal speakers vs external speakers, or the P155 was connected to external speakers too?

A.

The P155 is a newer piano than the CP33. DOn't listen to sales people. look on Yamaha's web site. Basically the P155's sound is the same as the CP33 but with same added features and one more velocity layer. Are you SURE you listened to each using the same speakers/headphones. It is a totally unfair test to compore a set of $600 speakers to the built-in speakers of the P155.

The key actions are the same If there are difference it is likely a unit to unit variation. Perhaps one has been played more in the store and the other is newer.

That said there are good reasons to own a CP33. It has a lot better MIDI functions and some of the controls are brought up out of the function codes system and given physical knobs. For example the relative volume of the each layer in a layered sound is a PIA to adjust on the P155 but easy on the CP33. The other good thing aabout the Cp33 is the $200 lower price, exactly enough to buy a pair of those Polk M50 speaker I use.

Hello ChrisA

I have looked the Yamaha website before and since then. In fact maybe the samples are similar or same or should have more velocity layers but _still the output of the CP33 was completely in different league_ to say the least. Even the best sample set and the most sophisticated modelling algorythm worth nothing if the D/A converters, amplifiers and the whole output circuit set is not capable of resolving the nuances of the samples. I think this is the case with the P155.

I say this because we (me any my syster) have spent about 1.5 hours comparing the two (and the P95 a bit) and the result was clear, output and richness-wise the CP33 was just a different category. As for the action, there is a clear difference between the two despite the flyers, maybe the mechanics are the same (counterweights, springs etc) but the keybed responded differently when the key hits the bottom. I think manufacturers can archieve different end2end results by incorporating the same mechanics (GH or GH3 whatever etc) but putting the whole construct into a different case/keybed/base or alike. Likewise the sound: outstanding output D/A levels driven by the same (or improved) samples give outstanding final results.
Yet another to the table are the filters or effects maybe: as with the D/A stack, the quality of the effects (reverb variations) adds (or deducts) from the final output.

Another word on the sound front: (besides the default Grand Piano) other tones are also outstanding. Jazz organs, Church organs, awesome Electric Pianos. Strings and Choir, masterpiece samples. Have tested the Roland F110, RD110, Kawai CN33, ES6 for example and the same sample categories built into these instruments listed are weak, plain, common and average when compared to the CP33. So detailed, so fine-grained, so detailed (again) samples, I came to the conclusion that I have never heard a real (perfectly faithfully sampled) EP and jazz organ before, that's all. The impression was analogous to the first encounter with the first wavetable synthesis (Soundblaster 2.0, Gravis UltraSound ) PC soudcard, with our FM-synthesis-educated ears (AdLib etc). Good old days

Finally: build quality, solid finish, materials and the overall feel of the CP33: "made for being used extensively" or "for life ". Even a WWII tigger tank had less steel and metal in it when compared to the CP33

All I can say is that despite the website content, these are two different instruments of a different league, at least based on our extensive testing.
P155 is mainly a very advanced sohpisticated and outstanding instrument for advanced or even very-very skilled pianist, at home, with friends or even in the studio at times, whereas CP33 is for pros -n and pros on the move - (I'm still not at a pro level to be honest) it is a professional instrument, it is an "industrial class category" piano.

As for the testing: altough the P155 has onboard speakers, our comparison was made by using my trusty Sennheiser HD497 headphones.

Hi, hannibal2,

I have two questions:

1. If you want to get something with Yamaha GH action, the cheapest model (around here, at least) is YDP-161.
(~250 000 HUF) Did you test it? Why did you decide against it?

2. May I ask what did your syster say about the Kawai CN33?
Did she like it?

Thank you:

Csillag

Hannibal,

in your original post you wrote the CP33 has GH versus the P155 has GH3.
This is uncorrect. Like it is that the CP33 has a newer action with respect the P155, which cannot be since the CP33 is at least two years older than the P155.

As for the keybed responding differently this doesn't change the fact that on paper, and as from the specs on the Yamaha website, the two actions are the same.

A.

Hello Ashat,

Sorry, I checked the CP33 manual and it says GH, even tough you are correct that on paper they might be the same. On paper indeed. At the very end it's all about personal preference and both the P155 and CP33 actions are outstanding onces, still I think the CP33 is slightly better in some way. I could tell the difference in a blind test I'm 100% sure. Something is not the same, maybe the keybed or maybe the whole frame/body of the keybed might be more massive I don't know.

We could easily spot where the secret is by using a saw but I'm too happy with my CP33 at the mo' and I don't have the cash to buy a P155 just for autopsy purposes