I live in Manhattan, NY.
Have 1400 sq foot apartment. Would have LOVED to have the space for a Petroff V (I love the deep, warm sound)...but clearly do not have room (I'd have to, otherwise, kick out my 3 boys .

My choices are a spinet (I grew up with a Baldwin Spinet) or an Upright.

I went to a few stores in Manhattan.
For my taste, I do not like the bright Yamaha's. I liked the sound of the Hailun upright - but never heard of this company before(yes, I did read some posts on the Hailun here). The prices seemed high for the Hailun ~$5,000 (perhaps its Manhattan prices?)

Please, does anybody have suggestions for:
#1 Spinets? Good/bad, and if so, company?
#2 Uprights (non-Yamaha)? Hailun vs others?
#3 Places in the Manhattan vicinity that are honest places to buy a piano?

I so appreciate your reading my post and any reply or thoughts you may have!
Sincerely,
Adam T
(.....still wish I could have room for a Petroff baby grand)

Welcome to the forum, AdamT.

Please don't buy a spinet. Technicians hate to work on them (and some will even refuse to do so), and because they take up the same footprint of a console or studio upright, there's no advantage to going that short... but there are lots of downsides.

Don't let the fact that you have not heard of the Hailun deter you from purchasing one if you are happy with the sound. They are a newer brand and are considered by many to be the best pianos coming out of China these days.

In general, taller is better for uprights (except for the VERY tall VERY old uprights you can still find advertised on Craigslist). I would suggest trying out the tallest pianos you can find in your price range, and don't rule out buying used. But if you do buy used, try to get something not too old (say, less than 15 years) and have it checked out by a technician prior to committing to purchase it.

Thanks for welcoming me to the forum (I am so excited to have found it) and thank you for your thoughts. I think I will stick with the Upright.
Given a ~ +/- $5,000 price range do you have any suggestions for an upright other than a Hailun (and not Yamaha)?
My 'concern' for the Hailun is that because the company is not that old, we don't know how the Hailun will 'hold up' over the next 5-10years.
But again, it sounds good to me.
Thanks again.
Much appreciated.

I'd look at Kawai; I think a K2 would be in your price range.

You might want to try an Essex as well. They're made in China, like the Hailun, but marketed through Steinway so have the benefit of an established company.

In the Manhattan area I would guess there would be lots of pianos on the used market, so I would see what was available on Craigslist, too. Pianos are like cars in that they depreciate considerably once they're bought, so with luck you could perhaps find a piano of appreciably better quality in your price range than you are able to buy new. ($5K is not the lowest entry level but pretty darned close for a new piano.) People often buy pianos for their children to start lessons but then are eager to unload them a couple of years later when the lessons didn't take.

I like the idea of Craigslist, but:
1 I just had twin boys and don't have time to go to people's apartments to check their used pianos
2 I don't really know how to check which pianos are in 'good' condition and which are about to fall apart.

Is $5,000 too low to buy a new upright? Granted, finances are up to each person.

You mentioned getting a taller upright (for better sound; which I understand). But doesn't a taller upright look somewhat funny in a living room the size of 12feet by 20 feet. Again, I guess that is personal taste. But because I was used to a spinet when I grew up, the standard size upright seems really tall to me

Hi AdamT,

Welcome!

Let me answer your question about a tall upright looking odd/funny in a 12 x 20 living room. Frankly, I don't think it does. My piano is a 52" upright in a room that is pretty close to 12 x 20 and I think it looks just fine.

John

The definite one to check out at the $5000 range
is the Kawai K3.