Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Yamaha CLP 430 vs. Kawai CE 200

Hello. I'm looking to buy a digital piano as a piano substitute until I can save up for a grand. I played a Yamaha CLP 430 yesterday, and was really impressed by it--grat touch, great sound, felt almost like playing a "real" piano. I was quoted $2,395. Is this a fair price for this instrument? Does anyone know a dealer that is selling it for less (and who ships free, or cheaply)?

I've done some research, and it appears that the Kawai CE220 has a lot of the features I liked on the CLP 430, for about $500 less on Amazon. The features I care about are realistic key feel (with resistance), fine gradations of pedaling, sampled sound, resonance that increases with heavier pedaling, ability to be played hard like a real grand. I don't care about looks, extra instrument voices, or midi capability.

However, I can't find a dealer in my area that has a Kawais CE 200. To those of you who have played one, is it in the same league, in terms of sound and touch, as the CLP 430? Any serious disadvantages I should know about? I just don't want to spend $2395 on the Yamaha if I can get what I'm looking for for $500 less.

CCM Stephen, the Yamaha CLP-430 was launched earlier in the year, and is a very nice mid-range digital piano.

The Kawai CE200 was launched in 2007, and is also a lower/mid-range instrument with a good selection of features. It is typically sold by the larger musical instrument retailers (in the high street, and online). The 'AWA Grand Pro II' wooden-key keyboard action is very well regarded, however the sound technology is several generations old and arguably inferior to the latest CLP-430.

A closer comparison Kawai model would be the CN33. While this instrument does not feature wooden keys, the action is still very good, with Ivory Touch surfaces and let-off simulation. The sound technology is also far more modern, and therefore closer to the quality of a Yamaha CLP-430. This model is sold by Kawai dealers, not musical instrument chain stores.

Kind regards,
James
x

I've not been piano shopping for quite a while, so I can't comment on the $2395 price quote for the CLP430. But I can say this: If that's the dealer's asking price, you can surely do better, probably by hundreds of dollars.

No, the dealer was asking $2999. I talked him down a bit, and $2395 was as low as he said he would go. It still seems a little high to me, though I'm a newcomer to the market. The best price I found on the phone was $1995 but they won't ship to my location. My intuition tells me that if someone is selling it for $1995, there's got to be SOMEONE who can match that. I notice, though, that nobody lists their prices of new Yamaha CLP 430s, which makes it hard to compare prices and know if you're getting a fair deal.

Hi,
I am shopping around for a CLP 430. May I know which dealer is selling at 1995 ? Thanks in advance

KawaiJames

Note, he was also looking at the CE220 ...

No dealer is selling it at $1995. That price is only had by those people who make the low offer.

I wanted to know if there are any stores which accept that low offer.