Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Hailun 178 VS 198

I did search on hailun and read all the threads related to this piano.

What different between this two size? Are they using the same action, hammer? I tried the Kawai RX3 and like it, but it too expensive. Will the 178 or 198 perform similar to the RX3? I am a beginner. The piano will be for me and my daugther who is learning piano for five months now. I have a Yamaha U3 and I don't like the sound, it too bright.

We also tried the rebuilt S&S M, L. Some New Kawai RX2, GE-30. Old Yamaha S400B, C2, C3, G3, and Pearl River.

All we tried, we still like the RX3 better.

We are going to try the Hailun 178. The shop doesn't have the 198. So we will try the 178 to see we like it or not.

oh, My wife and I love the Shigeru SK-7 we tried, may be we can sell our house to have that. :-(

Thanks

Dad_of_3,

I am looking for the Hailun dealer too in Toronto, can you tell who is the dealer ?

By the way, I agree RX-3 is much better

Did the OP say the RX was better than the Hailun?
I must have missed that.

Dad,

They are different in tone and touch. If the RX3 is your cup of tea, the Hailun 178 probably won't be. I haven't played a Hailun 198, so I can't comment on the difference between the two Hailuns.

Turandot

How would you characterize the differences between the RX3 and the Hailun 178?

Thanks

oh, I should say I like RX3 better then the other I tried except SK-7 and the Fazioli. :-) Not necessary my cup of tea.

Actually, we tried the Fazioli 5'+ too. It sound much powerful, deep, round than the SK-7. The Price are deeper too. :-)

We did tried the Baldwin too. We all don't like it. I actually hate that sound. Sorry!

I saw some member here pick the W&L 178 over the RX2. I want to know how the HG 198 compare to the RX3. HG198 actually 4" longer than the RX3.

BTW, is the Hailun exactly same as the W&L?

thanks

turandot,

Did I say RX-3 is better than Hailun

MusicBud,

I stand corrected. I guess you were saying that the RX-3 is better than Toronto.

Furtwangler,

Are you trying to get me in trouble? I don't want a raging Oso Uno clawing at me.

The Hailun fan will say that its tone is clear, clean, and well-defined. The RX fan will say that the Hailun's tone is thin and lacks depth.

The RX fan will say that the RX tone is warm, complex, and has a lot of depth. The Hailun fan will say that the RX tone is muddy in the bass and weak in the midrange.

I will say nothing.

I have had a few newer low milage RX3 in the past and am also an authorized Hailun dealer having had the first 198 on the west coast. Making a comparative assessment on the two pianos,first of all one should realize that the Kawai RX3 cost near twice the $ as the Hailun 198. I think both are great pianos in their category and pricepoint but are quite different in tonal characteristics. The 198 and the 218,Hailun's concert series grands are a notch above the smaller 151,161 and the 178 upgraded in their components and scale. The scale of the 198 was designed by George Emerson,former engineer for Mason & Hamlin and Baldwin. I think it's tonal characteristics reflect his background as an innovator of the American piano sound. They sound far from the typical asian produced piano. The use of Abel hammers probably doesn't hurt. The 178 after minimal prep and voicing sound superb with no reflection as for compromise againest the artist level Japanese precision. There is definitely no comparison as for Hailun quality over the entry level Yamaha and Kawai mdls.Don't get me wrong, Yamaha and Kawai artist level (C series & RX series) are great pianos. But it all comes down to pricepoint and one's personal and subjective spin when you play the pianos.

No one will get you in trouble. ;-)

thanks to your info.

We tried RX2 and RX3. There are lot of different between RX3 and RX2 in turn of the sound. "RX tone is muddy" is what I should describe the RX-2 we tried. May be no preparation and voicing done on this RX-2. I don't know.

thanks

PianoBroker,

thanks for your info. I understand the Hailun 198 is almost 50% of the RX3.

"The 198 and the 218,Hailun's concert series grands are a notch above the smaller 151,161 and the 178 upgraded in their components and scale."

This is what I want to hear. :-)

Is the 198 sound and touch a lot different then the smaller bother 178?


"The scale of the 198 was designed by George Emerson,former engineer for Mason & Hamlin and Baldwin. I think it's tonal characteristics reflect his background as an innovator of the American piano sound. They sound far from the typical asian produced piano. The use of Able hammers probably doesn't hurt. The 178 after minimal prep and voicing sound superb with no reflection as for compromise againest the artist level Japanese precision. There is definitely no comparison as for Hailun quality over the entry level Yamaha and Kawai mdls.
"

Now this really get me engar to try this Hailun. ;-)

thanks

Okay, two quick points before I jump in on the topic of Hailun pianos.

First, isn't EVERYTHING better than Toronto?

Secondly, T-dot, I will only believe that you will say nothing when I don't hear it myself...

On the topic of Hailun, there are a number of threads on the make here which can be searched to see a run-down on specifications of the different makes which have been built by the Hailun team. Hammers is one area where there is a difference between models - I see in the posts above that Abel hammers have been selected for some of these new and longer Hailun models. It will be interesting to see how that affects the sound.

I played a Fazioli recently and found it a strange experience. There is something pleasing about it - the tone is more reminiscent of Kawai than Steinway to my ear. That's a matter of taste, I suppose, but the Faz didn't have enough complexity for me. It was a more sterile sound that didn't do anything for me emotionally.

The finishing level on the Fazioli is superb, however, which makes sense, since the founding family has been furniture makers for generations.

In contrast, Hailun has been a piano part manufacturer for some time, and the designers of the scale and structure have a ton of experience, and that reflects in a good instrument at a very reasonable price. But given that background and its price point, the "cabinetry" is not the strongest suit of my piano, a Steigerman Premium 178 made by Hailun (but with Renner hammers). Not sure about the finishing on this year's models - recent reports seem to indicate that everything is continually improving from that factory.

To mention Hailun in the paragraph after Fazioli is already a bit of a stretch. They are vastly different instruments, pitched to vastly different markets. No one will buy a Hailun for its name status. At least not this year.

Pianistical's great post the other day on the China tour really piqued my interest again about how the Hailun brand will develop over time.

I look forward to hearing more on your experience with the bigger instruments. (Note to self: better get down there and try those out myself!)