excluding things like cost, looks...I think we can boil it down to a few scenarios :

1. The person looking to learn to play piano who may not want to spend alot , but would like a keyboard that has a decent piano feel and sound.

2. the person needing one for playing live gigs

3. the person who wont be playing for hours a day, and mainly uses it as a songwriting tool.

4. The person who is a well trained pianist and wants the best action, feel that they can afford because they play it regularly and for hours at a time.

I fall into category #3 . So as a songwriting tool, my needs do not demand that the unit play exactly like a piano , look exactly like a piano , or be lightweight for gigging use. My needs to require it to sound simliar to a piano , have other sounds built in and have a built in recorder for recording original ideas. To my ear, the dgx640 has a very good set of piano samples, that can also be edited with the built in digital effects. Sure , the piano may not sound EXACTLY like a concert grand piano, but its close enough that 99.8% of the public would think it is a real piano, if they heard it recorded in one of my original songs. The .2% that may notice it was a digital piano, probably are so musically trained , that they may not like my songs anyways.

The good thing is that technology ensures that these units will continue to sound better and improve , while becoming less expensive over time. I remember owning a Roland D50 back in the 70s. They were considered groundbreaking hi tech units but were very expensive and could not reproduce piano sounds very well. Its just like digital home studios.

example :

The Roland VS880 8 track digital recorder came out in the late 90s and was considered the premiere all in one recording studio. Price tag was around $1500. Now, 13 years later you can buy a brand new 16 track digital recorder for under $1000 . I just bought a used VS880 off ebay, for $58 delviered. It works perfectly and even came with the updated FX card installed.

$58 for a home digital recording studio that has more power/capabilites then what the Beatles recorded on. Hows that for technology ?

My reason is 4, and only 4. (Some may dispute the 'well-trained pianist' part, but that would belittle my teachers that I had till I was 22, otherwise substitute 'self-trained pianist'... ). I only play 'live gigs' for groups of friends, and then I'd be using whatever piano happened to be there. And that could be anything from honky-tonks with missing notes (and even keys) to concert grands that I could play on all evening & night and next morning...

And I would guess people like you are probably the most particular when it comes to the feel/sound of a digital piano and therefore are willing to spend more money to get something that sounds as close as possible to the real thing, compared to someone like myself who is happy with a unit that feels and sounds fairly close to the real thing.

For my needs , I am happier with a dgx640 , and all its features for $699...

even if I coulda found a unit that sounded and felt exactly like a real piano for $699 , it would not have interested me unless it had other sounds / features that I needed for songwriting and recording.

I think if you take my unit and recorded its piano sound in a song, and then took another unit that cost 3x as much as mine , and supposedly had a much more realistic piano sound, and recorded its piano sound , and then played it for the average person in society who listens to / buys music { and isnt a trained musician} , they would not be able to tell much of a difference between the sound of the less expensive unit compared to the more expensive unit.

Most people dont even notice when a live band purposely tunes down 1/2 - 1 step on their instruments , so the band can play a song in a key that the singer can sing in. Ive seen bands try to play Boston songs live , and they tune down a whole step , for the sake of the lead singer , and people in the audience did not even notice that the song was being played in the wrong key.

I only bring this up , because I have seen a few commnets on this site, by certain posters , who go around and call other peoples choices on digiatl pianos , as being
" junk" .


One persons needs may require a certain unit that cost alot more then another persons needs, but that doesnt always mean the lesser expensive unit is " junk' . When I hear a great original song written by someone, I dont listen to the song trying to decide if they used a $700 digital piano or a $3000 digital piano, I listen to the song itself. On a recording , it would be difficult for most people to tell the difference between a $700 yamaha or $2000 yamaha digital piano . Now, it does become easier to differentiate between a radio shack $200 keyboard piano sound and the digital pianos sold at music stores that start at around $500 price range. For the average person in society, they arent gonna be able to notice a difference between a $600 recording of a digital piano or a $2000 recording of a digital piano..ecspecially once you mix in all the other instruments to complete the final mix of the song.

Some people like to always say " you get what you pay for' ...as if implying that a less expnsive unit is gonna be unreliable, sound like shit, play like shit, look like shit...etc...I do not think this is always the case.

. I personally like to say
" you pay for, what you need/want.

The things important to me for choosing a Digital Piano are the following reasons:
1. It needs to feel as authentic as possible. This is very important to me as I'm neither in a position space-wise or financially to afford a good grand (no baby grands please!).
2. It needs to sound as authentic as possible. This is very personal, but to my ears, of the digital pianos I've played, the SuperNATURAL pianos from Roland, and the CP1/5s are the best.
3. It needs to be relatively easy to move with one person. This unfortunately rules out such DPs as the CP1/V-Piano/MP10.
4.It needs to offer a high value/dollar ratio.

I've found my RD700GXF exceeds rather well in all of the above. The RD700NX is looking more and more likely as the replacement. It's either the RD700NX/CP5/MP6. I've been offered a pretty sweet deal on the NX and I'm coming from a Roland, so I'm naturally leaning that way.

I would say that I fit in category #1. I started learning on a basic 61 keyboard which worked okay as I was a beginner. In a way it was a good choice since I didn't know that in a few years would I still be interested in playing the piano. At the time I didn't know anything about digital pianos at all and did not discover this forum yet. A few years later after playing slightly harder pieces and getting to play on acoustic pianos a few times I found that my 61 keyboard was rather limiting. At this point I felt that playing the piano is something I enjoy and will continue to do so. Then I went to research various digital pianos and came across this forum. Since I still consider myself a beginner at playing the piano I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money. So I was looking for something in the $500-600 range that had good key feel and sound.

I ended up getting the Casio Privia PX-120 since it met my expectations. While I can't say that it sounds like a real concert grand piano, it definately an improvement over my 61 key keyboard in terms of sound and feel. Sure its not the best out there or the most expensive but I'm satisfied with it. If someone ask me which digital piano to suggest them buy I would tell them to go and try out different ones at the store. If they like the sound and feel along with the price then that particular digital piano would likely be a good choice for them. Price range can be a factor to help narrow some choices down. Just because one person likes one particular digital piano doesn't necessarily mean someone else will, so its not always a one size fits all thing.

Hi..I would like to put a #5..I want an excellent ensemble accompaniment..for jazz and blues...as well as a high quality piano sound and feel..I am looking at the Yamaha CVP505..been and test run it and love it..I know its not every ones cup of tea...it has the features I want....BUT...there is never anybody that can demonstrate the full capacity of what its capable off...I know more about it from researching on the internet than the sales persons.. Theres a few demos on Ytube.....Dont think this price D/P is selling..have been offered 40% off so far and I think I can do a little better..Has any one got one!!! Please give me you thoughts on it
People would ask ..why dont you buy a real piano...my neighbor has one and I can use it any time ...Dissy

I have a CA63. I would rate myself as a mixture of 2, 3 and 4:

2: I play gigs but not on my own DP.

3: I do songwriting and composing, but mostly on my USB keyboard which is located at my desktop PC with all the needed sequencer and VST software on it.

4: I definitely want the best action and feel (and a dynamic sound), but despite the fact that I play the piano for about 35 years I wouldn't consider me as a well trained pianist, because there is still lots of room for improvement! ;-)