Apologies for one of those newbie recommedation posts.

I know next to nothing about pianos, digital or otherwise (Im a banjo addict) but i'm looking to pick one up a piano for my wife.

I've been looking at digital piano's rather than the real thing. We have a 2 year old and I'm thinking with a digital, its possible to stick in headphones and play silently.

I'm looking to spend about £750 GBP which is about $1200 for those in the US. I've been looking at the new Casio PX850 and i've read the entire 21 pages of the post about the new Casios. It seems to meet all the requirements. I'm just looking for a well built digital with a good piano sound. I dont need a myriad of sounds or tunes etc.

Are there other makes, models or things to consider?

Thanks in advance for any input on this topic.

Have a look at pianobuyer.com

Go to a store, with your wife, and play some. It will provide context to all that you have read. Depending on the circumstances, if it is for your wife, the choice may be best left to her.

Yamaha P105 is within your budget too.

Its a matter of personal taste on the touch and the sound.

I've heard $$$$ furniture type DPs that sounds tinny and horrible to my ears.

While some sound strange. While others sound OK.

The touch? You have to go and experience it.

Try out the standard not-too-expensive recommendations:

Yamaha P155 and CP33 (maybe CP50)
Kawai EP3
Casio PX150, PX350

Kawai and Yamaha also have some console style (as opposed to slab) pianos that aren't too expensive. Think of the Yamaha YDP line and Kawai CN line. Though I find slab style pianos to be a better deal pricewise and more convenient to move around and position. Roland also makes good pianos, though I'm not sure what will fit in your price range since my experience with them is that you need to pay a pretty penny for the good models. Yamaha's P105 has very good sound for the level of piano it is, but it has a cheaper action. I played one the other day and it didn't bother me, but that action has bothered me in the past.

The higher end casios don't seem worth it to me personally. They feature the same action but more bells and whistles. You can make up your own mind about that.

Being able to play while still having children in the house (asleep or awake) is the primary reason I use a digital piano. You will love that aspect of it. Buy a nice set of open-style headphones and you will be happy.

A couple of quick comments:

There's no such thing as a silent digital keyboard. The keys will "thump" when you play them as they hit bottom. If the environment is quiet, It can be quite loud even if the "piano sounds" are turned off or routed to a headphone set. So if the piano is in your bedroom, you might have trouble sleeping if someone were playing it. I don't mean to imply that it's monumentally loud or anything, just that it isn't silent. In a noisy music store you might not notice that if you try them out.

The Casio should be fine. The new privia pianos are a great value imo. I think the best advice is for your wife to try to find some models at local stores and play them. The feel and touch of a piano is such a personal thing, it's hard to make a commendation because my tastes might be opposite of hers. I would suggest maybe getting one of the stage pianos rather than the console pianos. The PX-150 would be significantly cheaper, be a great piano to learn on, and thanks to its portability it would be much easier to sell if she wants to trade up to something better in a few years.

You might consider the older models that are being phased out. Some sellers are offering discounts on the older models such as the Casio PX 830. I recently bumped a 2010 thread on the that model because I saw a $750 USD price (vs. $1100 for the new PX 850). Check your local sellers and see what kind of deals are available.

If the discount isn't that much, I'd lean towards the newer model. If it is a big discount it might be worth thinking about. With a 2-year-old baby, the money saved might come in handy.

My wife complained about this in the living room. So I unplugged the headphones, and played the same thing 35 times with 35 different errors ... She then demanded that I use the headphones, and I haven't heard any complaints about the key thumping since!

Yes, that is a great guide.
Read it. Study it.

This may be so but not all brands are the same, and so if this aspect is important and xorbe's solution does not work, then Kawai actions in general are much quieter than Roland or Casio. I don't know where Yamaha fit in this regard.

Well, I've tried and tried but I cannot get any thumping from the keys on my Kawai CA95. Perhaps I've got a faulty one.

Hi ,
I am in the UK and have a brand spanking new Casio PX-330 for sale for £399.
Its in its box never opened and is a warranty replacement.
Register it on line and you will get a full 3 year guarantee.
The reason I am selling is that I now have a PX-350 for gigging but the PX 330 is still a great piano and you will need to spend at least £1200 to find a Yamaha/Roland/Korg equivalent.

Mark.