Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Need advice on choice in DP

I am in the market for a quality digital piano for the home. Portability is not much of an issue for me, since it will likely stay in the same spot. I prefer aesthetics over portability for this reason. My main concerns are:

1) It costs under $2000.
2) It has the most realistic piano sound possible.
3) It has the best action possible.
4) It has at least 64-voice polyphony.
5) It has good internal speakers.

I have read various threads on these forums, and have seen the Roland FP-7F, Kawai ES6, Kawai MP6, and Yamaha CP300 recommended for various reasons. Many of these threads focused somewhat on portability though, which as I’ve said, is not a great concern for me. I still am having trouble discerning which of these (or others) would be best for my needs. If anyone has advice or suggestions, please post!

I would recommend you review the following:

"VP" series from Galileo (Galileo VP-121)
"CN" series from Kawai
"CLP" series from Yamaha
"HP" series from Roland

Each of these have a "home" style model that would be in your price range and they all offer decent cabinetry and touch/tone.

MP6 does not have internal speakers.

"Most realistic piano sound" and "best action" are both subjective, You won't find universal agreement on these things here. You have a nice starter list that you should go audition in person, and see which sounds best and feels best to you.

Also, since portability isn't an issue, you could look at some of the "console" style pianos, though I have no experience with them. My guess is that you probably pay a bit of a premium for the extra cabinetry, but that also might give the manufacturer some more flexibility in speaker selection and placement, so they could sound better in some cases (since your focus is on how they sound using their internal speakers).

I would be open to choosing one without internal speakers, so long as the total cost of keyboard + speakers doesn't exceed $2000. Would it be worthwhile to explore this line? Would the results there likely yield better, more authentic acoustic piano sound? I do know "authentic" is subjective, but other informed opinions would be useful in narrowing down the choices.

On a side note, I'm having trouble locating local stores that stock those keyboards I'm interested in. I live in the East Bay (East of San Francisco, California), and it looks like the closest Kawai dealer is in Fremont, but they don't appear to stock anything but Kawai. Is this a common theme among dealers? I don't have much time for shopping these days, so I was really hoping for somewhere that at least stocked two brands that I'm interested in viewing. If anyone else lives in the East Bay and knows of good, reputable stores, please let me know.

Sorry - I have to ask. How much longer are the moderators of this forum going to tolerate such vigorous and blatant self-promotion here? So let's see... your top recommendation is the...



Ah yes, that well-known brand always spoken of in the same breath as the



At least this poster had the decency to identify himself as a "Galileo" dealer. Unlike our Williams and Hemingway friends. eh?

To be fair, Galileo would come first in an alphabetical list though Yamaha then should come in last.

I've haven't played one though will try and find a dealer close by. Fatar makes the action.

There is almost certsinly a "Guitar Center" near you. They aeill have the Yamaha CP series, the Kawai MP and roland FP7F and RD700 pianos. Bring headphones and make certain the piano is on a proper stand before you try it. "Sam Ash" is the other big chain and they will have about the same
stuff.

You will have to hunt dow a Kawai dealor to try out the KawaI CN or CA series pians and a Yamaha dealer forthe CLP series. It seems that all the home type pianos are only sold by dealers while the stage pianos go through the big chains. I'd bet the stage pianos are sold in 100 times more volume

Does Guitar Center really carry Kawai in their stores? They don't list them on their web site and I was disappointed that the only place Kawai lists on their web site in NY that you can get an MP6 is Sam Ash. I'm 260 miles from the nearest Sam Ash store.

Lefty Chev, may I ask if you have tried the 'Dealer Locator' tool on the Kawai US website?

Cheers,
James
x

My Guitar Center did not have any DP's that cost more than $1000... Call first! A lot of workstations but no DP's to speak of.

Hi James.. Yes I did check the dealer locator. There's a "locator" for digital and acoustic pianos and then a page that lists where you can get "professional products" like stage pianos. Would a "dealer" also carry stage pianos? I didn't get that impression from the site but it would be great if that was the case.

Lefty Chev, yes I believe a number of Kawai dealers also carry the MP models. It may also be worth contacting Kawai US directly to enquire into the availability of these instruments in your area.

Kind regards,
James
x

I'm not sure where you live in the East Bay...

There is a Guitar Center in Concord. They stock many stage piano and keyboards in your range. Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Casio, etc. Don't forget that you don't have to pay full price -- they are willing to lower the price at least 10-15% if not more, most of the time. Do your homework, use the internet to find fair pricing (EBay, CraigsList, Sweetwater, Guitar Center, etc) then visit the stores. It is worth it to try out different DPs so you know what works for you.

You could make a separate trip to Fremont, about a 30 minute drive.

CraigsList
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/msg/

Under 2 grand? Can get one easy.

Most realistic? Ya you can get that, but that's all up to your ears with whatever acoustic piano sound your looking for. Plus you can plug near any digital piano into a sound sampler and get the sound you really cherish.

Best action? That's a whole new ballpark there. Just as the sea of acoustics come in all sounds and feels, so do digital. Have fun traveling to em.

64 poly. Id say most easily top that now.

And speakers. Internal speakers aren't that grand to begin with. You could get a moderate set on the cheap and it would sound just as good if not better then the ones in the cabinets id imagine.


Well all that aside. If your aiming for looks, you'll prolly want a cabinet. Now kawai to me has the best action. I just like the feel. Feels just like my old Hamilton in weight.

What is the best action is up to opinion. Some people really like the action on the ca's I think I like the RH action a lil better. However as I don't think you'll be able to get a CA 63 for 2 grand id say your best bet is the cn models. Id go for the cn33 as I like the look of the cabinet better then the 23. Or if you can haggle one a 43 would be nice to.

Now if your a handy man and don't mind some work you could go for the mp6 and buy yourself a couple of monitors. Build a nice lil cabinet or even gut an upright and set the keybed in, and you'll have yourself something that looks nice and has great sound for under 2 grand. (1500 for the mp6, 400 for a really nice set of speakers like polk 70's.)

Thanks everyone, for your advice and feedback. I know that a great deal of what I ask for is subjective, but knowing the opinions of others knowledgeable in these matters is helpful at least in narrowing down my choices.

I am not really stuck too much on aesthetics, despite the impression I seemed to convey in the OP. All I meant was that I just weight that over portability. Sorry for the confusion. Sound quality, action, and price are by far more important than having a pretty cabinet. If I can get a better DP for the same money (or less) within my budget in a stage piano vs. one with a nice cabinet, I will take the former.

Additionally, I am not stuck too much on internal speakers, so long as I can get a great DP with decent monitors that, combined, fall within my $2000 budget. I do not need stadium rockers, just quality speakers that will have some oomph without blowing out my eardrums (or my family’s or neighbors’).

I have to admit, I am a complete beginner to all of this, having just taken up the piano four months ago and professional lessons three weeks ago. I know nothing of plugging a DP into a sound sampler. Is this a piece of specialized hardware that feeds into a monitor? Or is this something accomplished through software on a computer? As a former computer professional, I do have extensive technical knowledge from that perspective. I just do not have much working knowledge of musical technology, except what little I learned twenty years ago in a garage band as a vocalist. Would someone please enlighten me? I am intrigued.

I plan to visit Guitar Center in Concord after I call to insure the models I want to view are there, which can be hit or miss. Fremont is promising too, since there is supposedly the only authorized Kawai dealer in the Bay area there. Oddly enough, Yamaha and Roland’s dealer locaters for their stage pianos list Best Buy as a source, though I am skeptical that I will find the models I hope for there. I guess it cannot hurt to call ahead though.