Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Requesting suggestions for a mid-range digital piano.

Thank you to all for your wonderful input. I took in consideration many of the tips and spent the entire day with my family testing out different keyboards and pianos. I could definitely hear and feel the difference between the cheaper models and the higher-end models (especially the feel). We narrowed it down to the simiarly-priced CN35 and CLP-535. While I liked CN35 feel just a tiny bit better, CLP-535 sound was simply stunning. My wife and I both felt like the Yamaha has a bit more "growl," which is what we prefer. I think both are fantastic instruments, though. In the end, we have decided to purchase CLP-535.

Thanks for the update bkboggy - congrats on your new piano!

Cheers,
James
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Thanks!

Congrats on your selection, I was following your thread because
I was just in a similar situation looking to buy my wife a digital piano for Christmas, she's an intermediate player who hasn't played in awhile and had recently expressed interest in playing again. So on advice from members here I decided to involve her in the process. Long story short we ended up looking as the Yamaha's YDP163 CLP525 and Kawai CN25.

She ended up selecting the Kawai CN25 because she felt the action and sound was just so much closer to that of an acoustic piano vs the other choices. I'm a guitar player and I thought all these models had a fairly realistic tone and sounded very good.

Funny two different people two different choices.

Anyway after a bit of research and homework I found that I was able to negotiate a decent discount off MAP (not MSRP). Happy me! We now have a Kawai under the tree and my wife can't wait for it to be setup ; 0 ))

Thanks for the update Hwtele - congrats on your new piano!

By the way, you must have quite a large Christmas tree if you fit a boxed CN25 under there...I expect wrapping it took some doing too!

Cheers,
James
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I'm in a similar situation and am looking for advice.

My 7 year old girl started piano lessons once a week at the beginning of the school year, and I'd like to get a digital piano for the home as a Christmas surprise for the kids (I also have a 4 year old boy). She has been very excited about lessons so far, but of course I have no idea how long the interest will last. Regardless, having grown up myself with an acoustic, I think it would be nice to have in the home, regardless of how far my kids take it (I also have a 4 year old). I stopped lessons myself in 4th grade after starting in the school orchestra. My parents offered to give me the acoustic (a pre-WW2 Knabe/Emerson spinet), but it would be ~$1K to move (from suburban New York to suburban Boston) and I'm not even sure it is worth that much. Also, I like that you can use headphones with digital pianos and I'm a gadget geek in general.

From talking to friends in a similar situation who have bought one recently, I settled on a price range from $1500 to $2500. Here is what I have it narrowed down to at this point:

Yamaha
YDP163, CLP525, CLP535

Roland
RP501R, HP504, HP603*

* I can get this for $2750 cash, which is a little above my target upper limit.

Through my own research and from talking to a dealer, several people have commented that the key action on Yamaha (GH3/GH3X) has a high static touch weight, meaning it can be tiring to play for a long time, which can be particularly difficult for children. Also, it seems that Roland may have more digital features for learners. Finally, I like that ALL of the Roland models offer the 3D ambiance effect when using headphones (I was very impressed with this in the store), while ironically, only the YDP-163 offers a similar feature (the Clavinovas only have this starting with the CLP545).

My wife requires that it "look like a piano", so keyboards are out. It is a shame because the new Roland FP90 looks nice and uses the latest key action and sound engine. She also doesn't like the look of the DP603 (same keyboard and sound generation as the FP90 and HP603) because she is concerned it will collect clutter like a shelf when closed, which will disincentivize anyone from playing it. So, the only way for me to get Roland's latest keyboard and sound engine is to spring for the HP603, which is just out of the range I was shooting for ($2750 vs. $2050 for the HP504). I can afford the extra $, but I am concerned that my tech lust is getting the better of me, especially considering this is really for a beginner. I did play with the HP504 in the store a bit, and I liked it, but the gadget geek in me is bothered that I would be buying something that has been on the market for nearly 3 years, rather than something more recent. Same thing goes for the Clavinovas which have been around since 2014, and which I imagine are due for a refresh in the near future (CLP6XX series).

Regarding Yamaha, I have had 2 friends purchase them regardless of the dealer's recommendation for a Roland, mostly because of the Yamaha brand recognition and resale value (in case their kids lose interest). That said, I'm sure you can't go wrong with a Clavinova (I think he got a CLP430 a few years ago).

It seems like the reasonable thing to do would be to go with the "starter" YDP-163 or RP501R, although I haven't yet seen the later in person. Would both of these last a long time if my children stay interested, or will they grow out of these quickly?

I'm bad at these kinds of decisions, and I'm running out of time!

From my own gadgetgeeking investigations and some searches and calls made I managed to find an Roland HP605 (b-stock) at 2000€ with adjustable stool to go with it.

I had lessons as a child but having no piano at home just playing at friends and family every now and then it's been on my list for some time now, and with our son nearing 4 and showing every sign of having inherited a severe case of musical appreciation and good memory for tunes we felt we needed to take the plunge and just go for the best we can afford and see where it takes us.

Not having any Kawai dealers near here I can only go by some of the praise and complaints - one that struck me was yes the all wooden keys have good action, but our climate goes from pretty cold and dry to pretty warm and humid all of the time, and all wooden keys did not strike me as a good thing. Also having spent quite a bit of time listening to shared roland supernatural 2015/2016 tunes and comparing to pieces played on sample based pianos I'm pretty much sold on the modelled sound vs sample based.

Dealers we visite here mostly had Yamaha offerings in our budget which all sounded sort of ok, until I heard a Roland LX-17 and then found out Roland basically built óne model of digital piano - with the same action ánd modelled piano synthesis in the lowest end model up to the highest end model and basically you pay an increasing premium only for cabinet finish and the various amplification and speaker systems which is a business model I reAlly appreciate.
( unlike Yamaha where you end spending a little more here for key action, some added effects for resonance modelling alone, going up and up till you get a key action that did not really feel as nice as the Roland's PHA-50 )

Resale value did not enter into our decision - it will be enjoyed till it's broken and hopefully needs replacing ^^

Wow, that's a great price on the HP605.

After calculating for currency conversion, it seems like prices are way lower in the UK and EU compared to the US. Why is that?

I suspect entrenched dealerships, perhaps some tarifs due to the pianos being imported goods? There's a thread concerning the introduction of the new roland models that spans 60 or so pages, read some comments of people visiting dealerships and those dealers demanding almost double the recommended retail price for some models =_=

Prices for the HP605 here are usually around 2400 for all finishes cept the polished ebony-that one sells for nearly 2900 usually.. We did not care much which finish we ended up with - the PE version certainly looks nice but nothing else in our home is shiny and black, and when the warranty runs out and we tire of its current finish I can ask a neighbour to give it just that finish for far less than the difference we payed vs the PE version if we want.

There was an LX-7 we could have gotten for the same price as the PE version of the HP605.. We decided on our limits and that was reached at the price we payed for this HP605.

Hi
May i know what did you end up getting
Im contemplating between yamaha ydp163 & roland rp-501r too

You give some important clues:

"She has been very excited about lessons so far, but of course I have no idea how long the interest will last."
This suggests a lower cost piano for starters, moving to a better piano after your daughter shows long-term commitment, interest, and progress.

This also suggest a low-cost piano:
"I'd like to get a digital piano for the home as a Christmas surprise for the kids."
If the piano is a surprise, then no before-purchase tryout is possible for them. I wouldn't buy an expensive piano without trying it out first.

You mention the "latest key action". I suggest that this doesn't matter much for a beginner.
It's not irrelevant. But I don't think I'd make it a criterion for choosing a beginner's piano.

I'd revisit the Casio PX860. They announced a new PX870 at the same $999 MSRP, so the prices on new PX860s may drop as the 870s begin to ship. The big differences between the 870 and the 860 appear to be additional resonance sampling, which may or may not be discernible, and control placement.

I'm very happy with my PX860. Highly recommend it. If you can pick it up on a closeout for $100-$200 less, it's a steal, IMHO.

Y'all seen how old this posting is?
Rather think he's been and gone and done it by now . . . . .

I'm not the original poster--whose last post was in early December--but he did state above, "In the end, we have decided to purchase CLP-535." Hopefully they're quite happy with it.