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Does anyone have any views on the Roland KR577 digital piano compares to the new Roland KR series, ie. the KR5 and KR7?

Presumably it's better than the KR5?

Also, do any KR577 owning people out there know what power the speakers are? Are they better than the KR5, which are a bit small at 2x30W?

I can get a second hand KR577 for about 20% cheaper than a new KR5. Does that seem a good deal?

I purchased a Roland KR577 Last November. Most of my research was done on the internet and with spec sheets. It has been a while so I don't remember all of the details. I chose the KR577 over the new KR5 and KR7 for the following reasons.

a. It was less money.
b. It has 120 tone polyphany. I beleive that the KR5 has only 60.
c. The amp is 2 X 40W and the speakers are physically larger than the KR5 speakers.
d. In my opinion and more importantly my wifes opinion was that the KR577 was more attractive that the KR5 and KR7 models. This is due to the new speaker location on the new models. The speakers face out from the bottom panel and have a fabric cover. The speakers on the KR577 face down from under the keyboard and are not visable.

Those are the main reasons for my choice. It looked to me like you have to go to the KR7 model to get equivialant features to the KR577. The new models also have a control panel that I didn't like the looks of. They have a couple of glitzy gold things on the sides of the screen that I thought looked cheep.

My understanding was that other than the cosmetic changes wchich I did not care for, they made some changes to the sound system and according to their sales people made the control panel more intuitive. I believe that the main tone samples were not changed.

Personally, I could see no improvement in the new models. All I saw was marketing. That is my opinion. Hope it helps.

Thanks for that Craig.

My decision is now between this Roland KR577 and a Yamaha Clavinova CVP207, both of which I can get for the same price.

I guess it's all down to personal preference, but the Yamaha is higher spec on a lot of things, including 196 polyphony instead of 128 in the Roland, and 2x60W speakers instead of 2x40W.

Can anyone think of any reasons to choose the Roland above the Yamaha?

One thing in favour of the Roland is the touchscreen, but this is counterbalanced by a bigger and colour 640x360 screen on the Yamaha.

Hmm..decisions...but I think I will plump for the Yamaha CVP207 unless Craig or anyone else can sway me otherwise!!

I find Roland's sound to be warmer/smoother than the bright/shrill Yamaha samples. But then again, it's all personal opinion at some point. If you like the Yamaha, you probably can't go wrong. They make great stuff too.

I did not research the Yamahas much. One of the considerations was finding something that would be suitable for our living room. I couldn't find a Yamaha that fit the bill visually so I didn't do any further research on them. They certainly seem to have their fans from what I have seen on chat pages. I thought Rolands KR series fit the furnature requirement. That may seem like a strange requirement but we are going to live with it in the living room so it is in fact furnature. A happy wife makes for a happy piano player. I thought that Korg and Kurzweil also had nice looking cabinets.

I'd say go with whatever sounds and feels best to you and that meets any other requirements you may have. I'd bet you will be happy with what ever you decide.

Please - no more posts saying the Roland is better! Finally took the plunge last night and bought a Yamaha CVP207.

Haven't tried it at my house yet, but it sure looks funky!!

Did you get a lower price for the Yamaha vs the Roland?

Thanks checking back in with your decision. I was curious. Play the heck out of that pup. Enjoy.

Craig

Ender, congratulations on taking the plunge. Enjoy your Yamaha!

There's a very good user group for the CVP pianos at www.cvpug.com. I recently sold my Roland and bought a CVP900, and the site has been a great learning resource.

jim

Thanks guys!

Put the legs on last night, it was a git to stand up though, took 4 of us! Had a quick play (well, all evening!) and was very impressed. It even plays the backing for Britney Spears, sounding pretty much identical to the real thing (if you would want that...!).

It's going to take a while to get to grips with all it can do, and I can't wait!

Iyi Bir - Both were second hand, the KR577 for £1900 and the CVP207 for £1750.

Craig - I think you were right about the cabinet business; the Yamaha is absolutely HUGE in the living room and unfortunately I think it may have to soon be relegated to a spare bedroom (soon to be christened "The Music Room"...! But it's going to stay in the lounge for at least a few weeks!

Jim - Thanks for that link - it's a great site! (I'd already put a couple of posts on there asking if the CVP207 would fit in my smallish car - they said "No Way!" but I went ahead and tried it anyway, and it did! Woo!)

Later!

Ender,I've been experimenting with adding a couple of medium-quality bookshelf speakers and an inexpensive amplifier to my CVP 900, and the sound quality improvement is incredible! The sound systems in home digitals typically aren't anything to write home about, plus I was spoiled by the Roland I had to give up (because we're moving to a smaller house) - it had 240 watts and 12 speakers! If you have a home stereo you might filch the speakers and receiver temporarily and see if you like it. Your mileage may vary - the speaker locations in the 900 are different from the rest of the CVP series (mini-grand case) and that may be part of the issue for me. I put the speakers under the piano and they sound like they're coming from inside. Give it a try and see what you think!
jim