I'm buying a piano for my son.

I am currently deciding between a 10-year-old Yamaha U1 (first owner), supposedly played for about 2 hours a day (price 2800 EUR) and a new Kawai K25 or Petrof 125 (price 3300 EUR).


Any suggestions would be very useful (since neither me nor my wife play piano it's a very hard decision for us).


Mare

I went through the exact buying process over the last 4 weeks and placed an order for my piano today. I got a Kemble Windsor but the 3 pianos you mentioned were strongly considered in the process. Personal opinion - I prefer the Kawai sound to the Yamaha sound, I also thought the Petrof 125 was more comparable to the Kawai K50 in terms of quality of sound. So if I only had those 3 choices, I vote for the Petrof 125. I am sure others will have a different opinion. By the way, I don't know how much pianos cost in Euros, but the U1 price for a second-hand is 90% what I would pay for brand new one in Singapore.

These three piano should differ significantly in price. I would set a budget and look for the best performing piano at that price. That appraoch is much less confusing.

Well, it is always hard to assess the real qualities of pianos, esp. uprights, but because I have got my own music school, I have tried some Ups and Grands during the years. But I have found out one interesting thing. The first impression gives a lot, because it reveals certain magic, which is present /or not/ in the REAL instruments. I rate Kawai K 25 highly because of the good discants, but Petrof 125 has different and enriched sound in terms of harmonic content. But the last decision lays only on you and your ears.

I'd go for the new Kawai myself, but as the others have said, it's ultimately a matter of what sounds and feels best to you.

If you do decide to go with a used instrument, it's a good idea to have it inspected by an independent technician prior to committing to buy it.

For what's its worth, I was trying to decide between Petrof P125 M1 and Yamaha U3 only last month. Over here, brand new Yamaha U3 is a tad cheaper than the P125 M1 and used U3 is about half the price. Personally I like the sound of the Petrof better (and I listened to several Yamahas) but I am just a beginner. Another friend tried out both for me and thought that the Yamaha had better action.
I ended up with a Petrof eventually after visiting the store 4-5 times over a few weeks period.
I don't think you can go wrong with either choice really.