Hello,

In my spare time I play the piano and write music. Upon giving me a very generous Christmas bonus, My boss kindly reminded me it was time I'd give a concert for my fellow workers. We've got a generously-sized conference hall (~500 sq. m.) which has a nice surround sound reproducing system. An acoustic Stainway grand would fit in perfectly but we have to go with something slighly more compact.

My original idea was to get a Yamaha p105 but after playing it in a store I didn't like it. Here I'd like to mention I play an acoustic upriht Petroff at home whose keys are heavy and it's sound is gorgeous. While I didn't mind the p105 action, it's sound was far too light and distorted. I test drived it both with its own speakers and headphones. Would recommend this piano only to true beginners.

Next, I tried out the CP-50, which sat next to it. A much better product (and it should be so, at more than double the price) but it still left something to be desired soundwise.

Lastly, I tried out the CLP-440. I used to own it's predecessor, the 340 and developed strong hate against it, because the GH-3 ivory keytops, despite it's nice feel to the fingers, was giving me troubles and my wrists ached after playing it for more than 1 hour. Perhaps my unit was faulty? I don't know. Compared to the 440 it's like heck and heaven. The action is quick and responsive, heavy enough, and there is a good connection between the keyboard, pedals and speakers, it sounds and feels like a high quality instrument. The fact that it has a USB audio recorder is a strong plus because I will use it to record my own compositions.

So, this topic is not about asking for a recommendation as to which piano I should get. The brand is Yamaha, the model is CLP-440. My question is how far we are into the CLP-400 series product life cycle and when are they expected to be replaced? I'd describe the difference between the CLP-300 and CLP-400 as 'drastical'. Have you got any idea what the CLP-500 will bring to the table and when? If the 500 are expected to be released later this year I might postpone the purchase.

400 series Clavinovas were introduced in early 2011, so it'll be at least couple more years before the next upgrade.

So, the 400 series was released 2 years ago? Then we must be somewhere in the middle of its life cycle. Perhaps we should buy with confidence if we decide on this model eventually. Thanks for the reply.