Was told that the newly produced Yamaha CLP-170's are constructed with a "surround sound system" that is different than the older issues. Anyone know if this is true of is this the same as what they refer to as the IAFC (Instumental Active Field control)?

I don't know about "surround", but they have speakers in the back of the piano facing the wall that allows music to reflect off the wall as well as project from the additional speakers in front. Of course it's best to position it a few inches away from the wall for the greatest effect.

This is an awesome instrument!!! I was about to puchase one 'til I found a good deal on a Samick grand. See my earlier thread:
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=005303

The sound, when I tried it out in the dealership was fantastic! I compared various notes (like high-C, A above middle C, and low-A) with a nearby Yamaha grand and I could not tell the difference! Of course I'm a relative newbie, but I definitely could tell the difference between my Yamaha DGX-500 "Portable Grand" keyboard at home and the CLP-170 at the dealer.

While high-C sounds "better" and more high-C-like on my keyboard, it doesn't sound like a real grand piano high-C. The high-C on the CLP-170 sounded exactly like the high-C on the grand.

The action, which was important to me, was very nice. Like I said, I was about to buy one (because I wanted a digital for my home office), but the expenditure for the Samick has postponed the digital purchase for quite a while.

Check the model out on www.yamahaclavinova.com
The "surround" sound system is indeed the same as what they call the iAFC system and is explained on the site. I haven't been able to try it out under ideal circumstances but it sounded well. I read a review where someone said he didn't think it to be spectacular in the store, but awesome when it was installed in his home.
Best thing is to go try it out and keep that in mind.

Rgds,
Michiel

I believe it's because the iAFC system on the CLP-170 is designed in such a way that the piano should be placed next to a wall for best effect.

My 170 will be delivered next week and I'm sooo excited!!!

Nunatax

Went to the clavinova website and saw reference to the iafc under the specs sections. However, is there more specific info. relating the iafc as "surround sound" somewhere else on the sight?

If you read the Features section, you'll see a better description of iAFC. The only CLP models to have it are the CLP-170 and 175. The previous line did not have iAFC and the lower models do not have it.
http://www.yamahaclavinova.com/clavinova_2003/clp/clp_feat2/clp170fe.htm

It cannot really be called "surround sound" because unlike a home theater 5.1 system, the speakers don't really surround you. With a piano, a surround sound system doesn't make much sense.

However, with speakers on both the front and back of the console, the 170 sounds much more like a real piano because a real piano reverberates off walls and ceilings whereas a normal digital just has speakers in the front and doesn't have as much natural reverb.

Whoever told you it was "surround sound" either has a misunderstanding of iAFC or didn't have adequate words to describe it. If I were to describe it in two words, it would be a reverb system.

Bob Muir

Duh! How could I have missed it. Thanks so much for the reference. It was a clear description and your added perceptions made it even more understandable. This business of purchasing the right digital piano is very difficult. Every time I seem to have narrowed my choice....... Problem is so many of the digital pianos sound and feel very good to me. Thanks!