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Hi, I'm looking to buy a digital piano for around $2500. I've been playing an acoustic piano for 5 years, but now that I'm living in apartment, I need a digital piano so that I can play silently.

All I really want is for the sound and feel to be as close to that of an acoustic piano as possible. I don't care about stuff like how many different voices or recording capacity or USB ports or anything like that.

Right now I'm choosing between the Yamaha CLP-240 or the Roland HP203.

The Yamaha seems to be a perfectly decent choice, but I've heard that most experienced acoustic piano players say that the Roland has a better feel. So I was wondering just how much better does the Roland feel and does it justify buying the HP203 instead? I'm asking because my local store only sells Yamaha and Kawai pianos so if I choose the Roland I'll have to order it online, which is more of a hassle for me.

Just out of curiosity, may I ask why you have decided to rule-out a KAWAI instrument?

The touch of the wooden key equipped CA Series and competitively priced CE200 are highly regarded by performers, both amateur and professional.

If authentic sound and touch are a priority, KAWAI digital pianos should certainly be on your list of instruments to play test.

Kind regards,
James
x

And if doesn't have to be a console, take a look at the these great stage pianos, Kawia MP8, Yamaha CP300, and Roland RD700sx or gx.

my teacher is a pro, but he likes Yamaha's action better than Roland's, although he said that the Roland he tried had better sound. so, it's subjective, depending on individuals.

I guess there is no reason for me to ignore Kawai pianos. I checked out the CE200 and the CA 51/71/91. What's the difference between these in terms of sound and feel? They all seem to have the same wooden key/graded hammer action and harmonic sound imaging technology. And are they comparable to the Yamaha and Roland I mentioned?

In my opinion, you can spend less than
$1000 and get a digital that peforms
similarly to a $2500 digital. The difference
in price would be mainly due to better
cabinetry work and more features,
which won't matter if you just want to play
it like a regular piano. The circuitry
and software will also be better, but not
so much so that it will make a world of
difference in performance, in my view.

For example, my piano, a Korg SP-250 lightweight
console, cost $900 online. I use it
for the most difficult classical repertoire,
like big concertos, and it serves well
for that purpose. Previously, I owned
a Casio AP-24 console that I bought
online for $700. The less-expensive Casio
was actually my favorite piano. In
any case, all weighted-key digital pianos today
will grand piano-like sound and action,
so even ones in the $500 price range will
be pretty good.

I've tried more expensive digitals, some
costing as much as $15,000, and have
been unimpressed with how they compared to
my under-$1000 pianos in practical, real-
world piano playing.

Sorry Gyro,
IMHO there are no $1000 keyboards that will play and sound better than a new Yamaha CLP240. Touch, tone, opperating system, user friendly, inputs and outputs, amp and speaker system.

<font size="3" font face="arial" font color=#0000FF> I would recommend the Yamaha CP300 digital piano for your needs if you do not have to have "built-in" pedals and a traditional home cabinet. The CP300 can be purchased with a special Yamaha stand that gives it more of a traditional look however. If you want a fantastic piano action action with authentic tone and overtone capability like that of a concert Yamaha Grand, but don't want to get unnecessary features that you may not use very much, then the Yamaha CP300 piano is the one to get and it's priced at under $2500. You can find it on the Yamaha web site as well as www.azpianowholesale.com. I've played many of the good new digital pianos and the CP300 is a hot product. Oh yeah, the built in stereo speaker system is VERY powerful! </font>