Im still unsure on which way im going to with this, the 161 or the p155. Went to millington music shop again today, p155 wasn't plugged in. Played about on the 161 and 181, the 181 looked better with the buttons and the screen. but thats more expensive than the p155, if I was going to get a more expensive model than the 161, it would be the p155 it has better spec.

I am really confused on this matter, its the 4 layer sampling of the p155 vs the 3 layer of the ydp's. Is the p155 a clear winner over the YDP series. The thing is umm I tried out the ydp141 today side by side with the 161, and I know the 141 had only 6watt speakers but it sounded good enough for me. So im pretty sure I'd be happy with the 12watt speakers of the P155.

I looked through some previous threads on the p155 v 161 matter, people saying p155 clear winner spec wise. And with the 161 you'd be paying for the looks/speakers. I'd rather get a better piano, than a better looking piano. Can anybody guide me?

I would try plugging in the p155 if I were you - next time you're in the shop.

The reason I gave up on the 155 idea was that it was significantly more than the 161. And I did not like the 181 much for some reason - certainly no more than the 161.

But if you can get the 155 for about the same as the 161, then certainly it's the better piano - but DO check the sound from the speakers first (there is more to it than just speaker size and wattage, by the way - my 12+12 watt Roland gives a fuller and louder sound than the Yamaha Clavinova 220 which probably has the same 20+20 watt amplifier as the CLP 320)

Try it and see.....

They are all about the same in every way that matters. The only difference that means anything is the quality of the speakers. If all the speakers are good enough for you, my advice is to get whichever is cheapest.

I tried switching the P155 on didn't turn on, might have to ask next time If Im allowed to test it. Thats true on the speaker part, do you own a DP currently? Or are you about to purchase one?

EDIT; Aah I just seen your sig, Roland. Nice

(161 is cheaper by 160 poundsish) But what about the 4 layer sampling in the p155, would that not be a significant difference?

I've got the Roland HP302 - 1. because I like the PHAII action, 2. because I like the SN sound engine in Rolands, 3. because it had over 300 other sounds in it, many of which are usable for recording and 4. because I found a shop willing to do a great deal on this piano in particular.

But I was originally going for the YDP 161.

Shokz: would that not be a significant difference?

Me: Probably not much.

Thanks tods, Ive only tried out 2 rolands (today) the f110 and rp201, I didn't really like the keys, I prefer the yamaha's with the GH/GHS.

Yeah - the action on the Roland f110 is horrible.

Not really. It's only one extra layer. I'm not sure we can say which has better sound. The P155 may have more looping and stretching, for example (I don't know). And anyway the difference between 3 and 4 layers is not all that significant.

Personally I would definitely take the 161 since it is cheaper and has USB-to-host. Edit: oops, I guess it doesn't have USB to host. Silly Yamaha.

Thanks gv, I'll keep that in mind. *thumbs up*

You would be better off trying out the new F120 or RP-301. They have a new firmer and more expressive action. Nicer keytops, too. On Monday, a customer went round and round in our store and eventually chose an RP-301 over a YDP-181. It was quite close, but to her, the sound of the Roland won her over.

Also, I wouldn't know how best to explain the speaker difference of the P155 vs. the YDP-141 because the housing and direction of the speakers has probably more to do with the sound than the wattage. I definitely prefer the YDP-161 over the P155. If you don't need the portability, enjoy the benefits of a console.

Yeah the F120 and RP301 models I actually considered buying at one point. I was hoping they stocked those 2, but unlucky for me it was the models before that. Portability is no factor, once its in my room its going to stay there. Based on what I know the roland models Rp301 and F120 have the lower end Roland keys, Ivory G something.. Whilst the YDP/P155 have a somewhat higher end with the GH action. I prefer a heavier action, and from my research the roland models I mentioned will have a lighter touch to it compared to the yamaha.

Speaker wattage isn't everything but spec wise, these roland models have 12x12 watts whilst the ydp 161 is 20x20. Another thing is the ydp 161 is actually cheaper then both those roland models.

The Roland and Yamaha not so far apart, but I would agree the GH action is firmer. The Ivory Feel-G action isn't really light. The previous alpha II action was very light. It still had very good expression, but without a doubt it was among the lightest DP actions within an acceptable range of a normal acoustic piano. Too bad your local dealer hasn't sold through their older stock.

Sounds like the YDP-161 might be your best bet. We also received the new YDP-C71PE which specs basically like the 161, but it sure is a pretty thing!

6w vs 12w or even 12w vs 20w does not indicate the volume will be significantly louder; especially with the same size speaker. It will be clearer though with the increased watts

One thing you might need to consider is if you need something more portable or want a console.

I think the consoles are very nice; in terms of the piano sound I found the YDP a little mellower and more to my liking than the P155 which I found a little bright. Hence, I was happy with my P95 since it more closely resembled the YDP140 (current at the time)

Hi I had a dream about the P95 few days ago haha. In this dream my parents brought me a P95 for my birthday. I wasn't happy since I wanted a DP but not that one :p

Anyhows. Nah, portability is no problem. I do prefer cabinet style DP's, It feels more fulfilling to play on. I liked the YDP 181 aswell, but thats too pricey. Once easter comes, it will be easier or harder to decide which one im going for depending on whether some of the DP's mentioned have a price drop. Then it makes things very interesting. Assuming they don't drop, the YDP161 at the moment seems the best value for money.

I have seen alot of people make the comment ''don't go under the p155". translating to, anything below it is just not good enough. When DP's are recommended to people, there is ALOT of recommendations for the P155 compared to the YDP's. There must be something about it

Yes, there is - it's under a thousand dollars in the united states, whereas the YDPs cost more: YDP 141 $1150, YDP 161 $1500

Here it's the other way round! Curious.

ps - just to drive home the point, that means that this Yamaha keyboard (which is in many ways a low cost bench mark in quality DPs) costs a mere £635 in the USA.

Haha, Your right. the price thing didn;t cross my mind. I was thinking from the perspective of the prices in the uk, thanks for the reminder.

If both shared the same price tods, what would you do?

WOW. I could so purchase that! Over here it is going for £1000 not so good.

Toddy's right. The recommendation to get the P155 can be restated as "get the cheapest piano with the GH action."

Candidates: CP33, P155, YDP 161. Don't go below those. Between them it's just a question of which is cheapest in your locale. In the US the CP33 and P155 both cost the same and they are cheap.

Thanks, yeah they sound pretty cheap in the US! As far as cheapest in the locale, then the 161 is the winner there.

Although I did like the YDP 140/141; I will say the 161 is excellent. In particular I liked the fact it had a Rhodes sound where the 140/141 doesn't.

The fact that you do like a cabinent and don't need it portable certainly makes it a good decision.

Thanks for advice Possum

This confused me also for the longest time and it took me a while to realise the P155 is recommended a lot because in the US it is the cheapest piano with the GH action, not necessarily because it is better than the YDP161 / CP33.

I actually did not enjoy the P155 that much in my testing and preferred the CP33 out of the yamahas. The YDP161 is so cheap in the UK it is very hard not to recommend it although I did find it a little uninspiring to play. In the UK my pick at this price point is the Kawai CL36 for similar / less money than the YDP161 in the UK.

Yeah its a confusing matter lol, I didn't realise there could be a 400 pound difference in the price of the P155 in different countries!!

Personally I found the YDP 161 quite inspiring to play. I preffered the 181 because of its screen and more buttons, but its quite expensive that model. If the 181 model gets a bit closer to the price of the 161 I'd purchase that, time will tell

I went to the Dp store today, and this time I actually asked if I could try out the p155 since it wasn't plugged in. He was messing around with the wires, looked all over the place, couldn't find the cable. He asked the other worker, and he said something about we sold the cable earlier on or something haha. Well there's my luck I will visit again, within 2 weeks and im sure to get a taste of the p155

On another note, I was playing around with the 161 and 181 model, the 181 sounded better. And now I need to know where the p155 stands in this scenario, and I will find that out hopefully in 2 weeks.

So I tried out the P155 today finally, sat down and played it for a good few minutes with headphones. Also tried it without headphones and it was loud enough! I did the same with the Ydp 181. It was very difficult for me to pick out the differences between the 2 models, when playing it, they sound fairly the same which makes things slightly confusing for me lol.

The situation is like this, I can get the P155 and the Ydp181 for the same price. I was told,

''the YDP181 was bought cheaper from Yamaha this is because they have stock which is re-boxed, these are brand new pianos and usually it's simply because of a small reason .. eg the piano is un-boxed and say one of the keys is damaged, Yamaha replace the key and then sell cheaper to an authorised dealer like us, these pianos are new and have a 3 year guarantee. the one we are offering is boxed not ex-display.''

I feel slightly reluctant because of its previous damage whatever that may be, its going to be like new, but not a new one. Its just im paying so much money, wouldn't feel too good if the item wasn't brand new, do you know what I mean. Any word of advice?