Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha NU1 v N1 - a totally subjective review and comparison

I was able to try out the new NU1 for the first time yesterday, and as the store wasn't busy and I had lots of time to kill, and had brought my own headphones (Grado SR325is, which I've been using for some time with my V-Piano), I thought I'd do a detailed side-by-side comparison with the AvantGrand N1 which was next to it.

But bear in mind that I'm evaluating them from my standpoint as a classical pianist who has no interest whatsoever in anything non-(acoustic) piano related: and that includes non-piano sounds or computer-related stuff. And I'm judging their sounds through my headphones, not through their speakers - in any case one of them was backed up against a concrete wall while the other was beside a glass pane, which would affect their sound through speakers. I set their volume controls to a level (listening through the Grados) that simulated the volume from a medium-sized upright: it turned out that the dials on both were exactly at the same spot to achieve that.

I played some favorite pieces that I can play from memory (as I didn't bring any music scores): Chopin's Etudes Op.10/12 & Op.25/1, Mendelssohn's Rondo capriccioso, Ravel's Ondine, Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor, Op.23/5 and the big chordal cadenza from his 3rd Piano Concerto, Scarlatti's Sonata in D minor Kk141, Schumann/Liszt's Widmung and parts of the Yellow River Concerto. The Scarlatti tests for fast repeated-note capability; the Ravel tests for the ability to bring out the melody in the midst of complex figuration, which also relies on the coloristic effect of stressing particular notes rather than just volume; the Rachmaninoff cadenza piles chordal climax upon climax and so tests the dynamic range between ff and fff and beyond (if available). I'd play one piece on the NU1, then unplug my headphones and move over to the N1 immediately to play the same piece, then continue playing the next piece on the N1, unplug and play that again on the NU1, and so on, moving back and forth between the two.

First off, the NU1 felt immediately lighter in keyweight/resistance - I checked that by playing some scales, arpeggios and chords without sound or headphones (as the perception of keyweight can be fooled by the quality of the sound). In fact, the NU1's keyweight felt very similar to that of acoustic pianos, whereas the N1's is heavier than that of any acoustic (upright/grand of any size) I've ever played. The let-off/escapement feel is slightly lower down on the key travel (and less 'notchy', as you'd expect of an upright) on the NU1, and you can still play the note with key partially depressed. Repeated notes were no problem on the NU1, but hard work on the N1 due to its key stiffness - personally, if I owned an acoustic piano with this keyweight/stiffness, I'd ask a technician to do something about it. Or more likely, I wouldn't buy the piano in the first place.....

As for the sound, the NU1's sound samples are from the CFX which is rather more colorful and has a wider potential for tonal nuances and brilliance than the old CF-IIIS, which all other (i.e. older) Yamaha DPs are sampled from. Unfortunately, the dynamic range of the NU1 seems to be more attenuated at ff than that of the N1, and there seems to be fewer velocity samples too: when playing a long scale gradually going from p to f, for instance, the volume and tone suddenly 'skips' up with a jolt, which is somewhat disconcerting. That's not something that's evident on the N1.

I was really disappointed that Yamaha has (seemingly) chosen to set the upper limit at ff lower on the NU1 than on the N1. In fact it sounds to me like you can't get a true fortissimo at all, especially in the bass registers where the change in tone quality from ppp to fff is most marked: when you hit a low note really hard, you should get lots and lots of brilliant overtones above the fundamental note together with the sharp 'attack', something that's exploited by Romantic composers, e.g. the low octave A - which uses the lowest note on most acoustic pianos - played ff in the Rach 3 cadenza (and also in the 1st movement cadenza of the Yellow River Concerto, played sfz, and in the opening of the Grieg Concerto) following crashing descending chords: - it should sound spine-tingling and really thrilling, but on the NU1 it counts for nought, no matter how hard you hit the keys. Play the same passage on a real CFX and hear - and feel - the difference. (The N1 is not much better here, but then its inherent sound doesn't have the brilliance or color of the CFX.)

So, which of the two would I choose, if they were the same price and there were no other alternatives? Well, I couldn't live with either of them as my only piano; there are just too many compromises when compared to an acoustic grand (or the V-Piano/Grand) - especially in the realms of tonal and dynamic range - for either of them to satisfy me. After two hours of playing my pieces on them the way I would for a performance (i.e. with no holds barred, the same way I routinely play those pieces on my V-Piano), my finger joints ached from using excessive pounding force involved with striving to get the kind of ff and fff sound with tonal brilliance and depth that the music demands, but which neither DP could deliver. But as a purely practice piano, to get fluent with the music I'm learning rather than the niceties of working them up to performance, I'd go for the NU1. Its 'upright action' isn't inferior to the 'grand action' of the N1, and its keyweight is much more like that of real pianos. Its inherent sound is nicer, and as I'll only be using it to get the music fluent in my fingers, its restricted dynamic and tonal range, and (seemingly) fewer velocity samples compared to the N1 are not such a problem.

Thanks for making this comparison. I posted a mini review of the NU1 in www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1949747/Re:%20Question%20about%20Yamaha%20NU1%20.html#Post1949747.

I agree you have to pound to really bring out ff in the bass, but felt the balance with the treble and upper was about right. That may be my lack of experience with a grand. However I was able, even as an ongoing beginner with limited repertoire, to make the NU1 sing, ring, echo and vibrate, much as an upright acoustic (using the inbuilt speakers for listening) although perhaps more amplification would also help.

I've also been back a couple of times, and do agree that if you want a practice piano that does not have to be tuned, the NU1 is ideal. It's not really a DP in the current de-facto understanding, lacking lots of voices, features, adjustments, but it is a darned good practice piano. Maybe that's the intended market? The action is (obviously) much more like a real piano than any other DP, other than the N1,2,3, and it does make a difference especially if it's 'piano' you are learning.

@bennevis,

Sounds to me like neither one of us will be giving away our V-Piano(s) anytime soon, right?

Don't forget the standpoint of having constantly slagged the Yamahas off and always unequivocally favoured your V-Piano (which of course you mention in this review). So quite why you'd want to play these dreadful, unexpressive, dowdy old Yamahas is anyone's guess. Unless of course it is to slag them off and big-up the V-Piano. Yes, that's probably the reason.

Now I'd like to read your review of the iPhone 4S or a Blackberry, or the latest laptop, or some new burger (or any other junk food), or indeed anything else you're on record as hating. Do please make sure you throw in a plug or two for the V-Piano in each review...

I am away for six months, come back and see you guys are all still ragging on each other over the same things. Nice review. I too got play the new NU1 and also came to the same conclusions. FF doesn't sound as it should. I also like it better than the N1 in terms of feel, but still prefer my V-Piano.

Good review, thank you!

I wanted to ask you how did you feel about the pp-ppp range and the pedal effects, are they well implemented?

On the contrary, I've long ago made my peace . But I don't have any influence on what others believe .

Essbrace, believe it or not, I was actually hoping that the NU1 would be a real improvement on the N1 in terms of responsiveness and dynamics etc - after all, Yamaha spent 10 years developing the CFX concert grand as a potential threat to the dominance of the Steinway D on the classical concert platform, and in some ways, they've succeeded: quite a few 'Steinway Artists' are playing the CFX, to Steinway's wrath. One would have hoped that Yamaha would have spent a lot more effort in sampling the CFX for their first DP to use those samples, and exploit the greater tonal range and brilliance (when pushed hard) of the CFX compared to the CF-IIIS. I was really disappointed.

pv88, I think you'll find your new keys won't scratch, because they don't have the coating of the old ones, so no need to replace your V-Piano - unless the new NUI appeals, of course....

The store wasn't quiet enough for me to assess the DPs' pp to ppp range (and my headphones are open-type), so I didn't mention that. But I did try the trick of playing very quietly by playing the notes from partially depressed keys, which worked OK on both DPs. As for the pedal effects, like all sampled DPs, the sustain pedal doesn't give you all those resonances you'd get from a real piano, i.e. the sound is far too 'clear' when the pedal is down. Unlike (shock, horror! ) the V-Piano/Grand, once you've adjusted the decay & damping times appropriately.

The una corda and sostenuto pedals worked OK on both.