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Yes, I agree that this is likely. There are also other things you can do to mitigate the transmission of sound. Having the keyboard on a rug (or carpet) instead of on a hard floor might lessen the transmission of sound. You might also mask the sound with something else, say by playing nature sounds or something more pleasant than the thump thump thump of the piano mechanism.

Jane very nice playing.



In that case you may want to be aware it is quite common complaint here I noticed, and if you are thinking about buying in the Casio range that I recall you mentioned. I can say +1 that it makes a fair old thumping noise too.

From what I remember play testing some others Kawais, they were not as noisy, but it is a year ago I compared so I am a bit vague on how much of a difference there really was.

As such it doesn't really bother me, especially when using closed back headphones with fairly decent sound seal, but with some full open back headphones I can hear it quite clearly at times.

I have a console digital in the Casio range on a wooden floor, so some of it may well be due to resonance of sorts with the floor not helping transmitting that sound. Suffice it say I live in a an old house with very thick walls and floors, not a paper thin new build type house where you can hear you neighbours flush the toilet , I can never hear my neighbours through walls, even when their baby is crying out loud, a hoover is running etc. TV music etc ( lucky me), but my missus knows when I am playing with the headphones on because of the thumping noise, though she says it is very muffled, so doesn't bother her downstairs.

Make sure you play test if is something that concerns you, because you will find many people complaining about such issues, quite often posts come up on it here.

I am okay with it with my Casio, but I wouldn't be lying if I said it would be nice if it wasn't a bit less noisy.

No doubt about that. As far as I've done research, boards start getting quieter at 1.5-2x the price of what I'm currently looking at.

If you are thinking just about the keybed as a priority, I recall you mentioned just using software as well as a possibility, but it would force you down the software midi route only, for not a great amount more than the PX-5S you can get a Kawai VPC1, I have never tried it but by all accounts it has excellent action and low noise.

Seeing I am mainly a software piano person now, but did not really know about this route at the time. Unfortunately they are mostly not on display as far as I can see, however the CA-15 often is, which has the same keybed in a console you'll find probably is in many places in the Netherlands, you could try that out.

Thomann regularly do B-stock for around 1000 - 1100 Euros. I've seen the VPC1 in the UK at prices very similar these days to what I paid for my Casio 450 a year ago + about 70 GBP, and not much more than the going rate of the PX5.

Mind you, I am not sure I would even like the VPC1 since some people say it is on the heavier side, but you never know 'till you try. Suffice it to say, I am happy with what I have now in the Casio keybed, but if I had to buy tomorrow it would be near the top of my to try list.

Just me personally but if I were in your situation already familiar with DAWs and got some studio monitors and all the other components already for home use I would strongly consider the VPC1 too as an option.

That being said, no frills, no spills, no mod wheel or pitch bend, just a keybed, that's about it, but for me that is by far the most important to play the piano. Synths and other things are a nice bonus, but not a priority for me, and that VPC1 action, arguably may not be the best for some of those other instruments.

pianomanchuck has some useful reviews on the Casio ranges with demos of all sounds, the 350 and PX5 are both covered, with detailed discussions about the various actions, the VPC1 is also discussed there.

You'll find it here

I thought worth to point it out to you since I did not know about half of these possible options at the time until after I bought mine.

Choices choices

Sigh,

I do not wish to derail Jane's thread any further. So my final words on this are...

We are not in the car industry.

The key sensor in the V-Piano and what made its way to the PHA-4 action are in fact different.

It's not as easy as you claim, to just "ditch PHA-III and replace with PHA-4" and it's misleading to assert that.

It would be unfair to EVERY customer out there right now enjoying their PHA-3 equipped instrument if we upgraded the same model with a new action.

Believe me, there are many, and the number still grows daily.

As models are replaced, newer actions will be included with them. That's the way of the world in electronics. You may not like it, but it is what it is.

Jay

Sigh,

Nice attitude Jay.

Great timing, just as I've been looking at the RD-800 a senior Roland person basically tells me to shove it.

I guess that rules me out stuffing a PHA4 in my DGX. . .

My gripe with controllers is you can't just walk up to them and turn them on without having to turn on some kind of computer. Switching on my speakers and interface is easily done, probably within the time something like a PX-5S boots up.

Sure, I'll use a DAW for recording, but I'd like to be able to use it without a computer as well.

When the PX-5S is almost too much cash to cough up, a VPC-1 is definitely not an option. If it was, I'd probably consider an ES7 over a VPC-1.

At no point did I imply that you should shove it. Not at all...

This is unfortunately what happens when an end user over simplifies the process and thinks that they know better than a team with decades of experience.

You don't seem to want to accept that what you're asking for is impossible, and is simply not the way product R&D, Design and Manufacture is done.

I regret you feel that I "Basically told you to shove it", as that was not my intention.

Don't let the perceived attitude problem stop you from checking out what is one of the best Pro Pianos available.

Jay

I appreciate the argument for standalone in many ways but for me I find it no issue, so to each their own .

For me the software piano sound is worth it alone even if it was 20 seconds I'd still do it, just my 2 cents though.

In my case my PC is always on anyway, to use ivory or pianoteq I don't need a DAW to run it for regular practice or even simple piano recording, which is what I use most of the time, I use these apps by themselves and they are standalone apps that boot very quickly, 1 to 2 seconds, Cubase does take a fair bit longer to boot up.

For me it is literally one click on the desktop, walk over to the piano, switch it on and I am ready to play, both of these software packages boot faster than my Casio, which is itself is no slouch mind you, 5 secs or so perhaps.

My honest beginner opinion, Casio grand sound which is perfectly fine to play and practice, and that is not to say there are good pianist play a 1000 times better than I can make great music with them. in bands and mixes it can sound great too, but for pure solo piano sound, classical, the software pianos I now use I feel more inspired to play, and enjoy it that much more.

As time has gone by I have less and less tolerance for the Casio grand sound, but again may be that's just me. :shrugs

I suppose that's why I feel strongly about the VPC1 as all the money goes into the the best key bed one can buy for the money, since I feel the buildin sounds are just collecting dust these days most of the time. My piano has turned into a MIDI controller more or less 90% of the time.

For me, it's closer to 20 minutes than 20 seconds.

I understand and acknowledge your argument in favor of the VPC-1. But I simply can't afford it and if I'll ever end up on stage with a piano, it wouldn't be very practical. Maybe there's a VPC-1 in the cards at some point, but not right now.

Tomorrow I'll play some pianos in the store. The store doesn't carry Kawai. However, they do carry pretty much everything else and I sure will try the F-130R for which this thread was created. Quite curious to find out how the action is compared to that of the Casio models.