Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Casio PX130 vs Yamaha P155

My goal is to get an 88-key with the most realistic piano sound and the best keyboard feel. If people are sure the Yamaha 155 is better than a Casio PX130 (which is 1/2 the price), then I would spend the difference.

I have felt a Yamaha P85 and it was ok but seemed a little heavy - like they were adding fake hammer feel with more weight. That is the GHB action. The P155 has the GHE action which is their best. I felt their CP300 pro model and Yamaha told me this was the same keyboard feel. I have decided that if I get a Yamaha, it would be a P155.

Is the feel of the Casio PX130 as good? Is the sound as good? It is not out yet so I cannot try one in a store. Also no stores here have the PX120 to try either. I have tried a PX800 and it seemed nice. Is the PX130 and PX800 keyboard feel identical. I mean, is it mechanically identical?

Always go for the Yammie...........some more money but much more quality !!!

Best regards,
JB

It's true that Yamahas are very well-made and tend to hold up. Casios are made ok, but pedals sometimes break and keyboards actions can sometimes get loose or noisy. Yamaha also has a good reputation for support.

The specs for the P-155 are slightly better, including speakers, main piano sample and action. The GHE action on the P-155 is not actually Yamaha's best (the GH3 and NW actions on the Clavinovas are better), but it's fairly good and better than the P-85 or (probably) Casio. The sound is a tougher call, since the Casio sounds pretty good. I think that the Yamaha sounds a little better, but you might disagree.

If you like the PX-800, than you'll probably like the PX-130, which is basically identical. However, the Yamaha is a better DP on the whole and worth the extra money (i.e. another $500 or so). You really should try to play the P-155 before you decide, though.

I don't think I will find a P-155 in a local store. I have only seen P85s.

I played a CP300 side by side with a C7 Grand. I was happy with the CP-300 key action and cannot say it was worse than the C7 (though I am not experienced so if you are a good player don't listen to me but I was trying to notice differences and could not), and that is GHE.

Does anyone know if the PX130 action is the same guts as the PX800? Because there are local PX800s.

The PX-800 has the same action as a PX-120. I played a PX-130 in Tokyo and it felt a little different, but that might just be because it was very new and the PX-320 next to it was a well-used demo board. In any case, the PX-130 was not an improvement, in my opinion. It felt a little sluggish and not very responsive to soft touches. The P-155 at the same store was much better, in my opinion.

According to a Casio person who posted here, the action of the PX-130 and PX-120/PX-800 are supposed to be mechanically identical.

By the way, the P-85 and P-155 do *not* have the same action. The P-85 has a GHS action, which is significantly inferior to the GHE on the P-155. Other (desirable) Yamahas with GHE include the CLP-320, YDP-160 and P-140.

I believe the Casio PX-800 resembles the PX-200 which is now discontinued. The major problem with Casio is the action can loosen up and as the keys return they make a loud clacking sound. Their piano sound is good, and they offer excellent value for the money. I believe their new models--PX 130 and 330 offer 4x sound sampling and 128 polyphony like the Yamaha P-155. Yahama does offer better quality at higher cost. You should play anything you are considering purchasing as these decisions tend to be personal.

Hi! Maybe you should view this demo : D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E90JGRaFkY

Thanks for the video. That seems to sound good. Someone posted they could not stand the PX120 plastic key (material)feel and they returned theirs and got a P155. What does everyone have to say about that?

I have to say that I have sold my Yamaha P-120 (same action as the P-140 as far as I can feel) for a Casio PX-320, and so far so good.

This change fits my personal needs - that might not be your case.

I needed a lighter keyboard than the P-120. I did not like the lower end Yamahas (GHS action). The Casio has been so far very much what I was looking for: a light DP that I can bring with me during the week ends and a practice instrument when it is too late or too early to play on our acoustic.
I purchased the PX-320 over the PX-120 because of the USB and Line OUT connections. Also the price difference was ~$40.

I don't know who posted that but that is exactly what I did. I had a px120, the keys are a joke. Hard plasticy feel that make a ton of noise (besides musical noise) and get loose. Stay away.

In this thread, the question is PX-130 vs P-155
1. the PX-130 is not yet available in the US - Tough to make an opinion about it. Still, some posters living in Asia had a chance to get their hands on it, and they do not feel that it is drastically improved vs the previous line.
2. the PX-130 costs half the price of the P-155 - The Yamaha better has to be the best.

These 2 DPs are not in the same market.

Will the PX-130 be good enough for the OP? Or will he have to spend 2 x $ or maybe even more to get satisfaction? Only he can tell when he has the opportunity to try the DPs himself. And even then, it will be question of time, whatever he gets, something "better" will be out that will make him feel that his current DP has intolerable flaws.

Well I tried the PX-800 and thought it was pretty nice but people are saying the keys may not last. Still, I am not going to play that often so it would probably get obsolete before I would wear it out. Overall (all things considered) I did not feel the P85 was better. Maybe more durable (though I have no direct evidence of this) but not a better feel. And now I see from the awesome spreadsheet file that the P85 just has one sample per key and between that and the GHS keyboard I would not consider a P85.

It seems like, as I am learning from all you now, one has to go to the P-155 to be clearly better than Casio.

I wish I could gut them side by side and look at the innards.

You know, looking at the video, it seems Casio is going after the gigging musician emphasizing the size and weight of the Privia. Mike Martin talks up all the major features and improvements the new models have, which gives the impression that the thing is extremely well built. I mean it would have to be to get the gigging musician to even look at it. And Casio knows that Yamaha has about 2 models in the size, weight, and price range to compete with them. So Casio wins hands down in value for the dollar, but not in durability with their noisy, clickity, clackity keyboard action (still not fixed). And yes, the keys are hard plastic, not the worst crime in the world, but a sign of inferior quality to keep it cheap.

If the Casio is hard plastic, what is the Yamaha key? Soft plastic?

You can make something light by skimping on material thickness, or you can make it light by using more advanced design and materials with a higher strength-weight ratio. I would have to say if something is expensive and light it is probably better materials and design and if something is cheaper and light it is probably just more flimsy.

Although I don't have the PX130 I can comment on the PX-800 that I've had for nearly 2 years and which I play at least 2 hours every day. So far I've broken no pedals, the keyboard action has not loosened up nor have the keys started clacking. When I bought the PX-800 I did compare it with the entire Yamaha line and found I liked the touch better on the Casio.

Now, having said that, the PX-800 is not perfect. The tone is a little thin in the upper registers and a little over-rich in the bass. Other than that I certainly think that the feel of the 800 is wonderful and I plan on keeping it for several more years.

BTW, the plastic keys don't bother me at all.

Ed

From the impression I got, there was a few shipment of duds from casio that had the keyclacking problem and it's not a common problem.

At least from all I have gathered it looks that way. Correct me if I am wrong.

The noisy keys on Casio Privias go back to the early Privias. Not sure when they started making the Privia line, but starting with at least the PX-100 on up to present models, this problem is prevalent. The action on many Privias loosen up in 6 months or less of use. It's not an uncommon problem. Sadly, Casio has chosen not to correct this defect.

I had a Yamaha P120 and my friend also have the same Piano. After 4 years, both pianos had broken 3 keys in different locations. I called Yamaha and Yamaha promised to replace my keyboard at the Yamaha dealer closet to my home with the expenses of Yamaha. However, the dealer charged me about 250 dollars for other parts I broke besides the keyboard difect. My friend also called Yamaha but his piano was not in the list of piano qualified for free replacement of the keyboard. He also called the store which repaired my Yamaha piano, and the estimated cost was about 250 dollars as well.
Yamaha P120 has the noisy sound of the keys touching their base, too, expecially when the volumn is turned down. I hate this noise, for when I have ascoustic piano, the older the instrument, the more noisier it sounds. I do not expect that noise from a new instrument, but P 120 has the noise any way.
When you say that Casio has also the problem, I have no way to go.

Yamaha agrees to pay, yet the dealer jumps in and says you must pay $250? It sounds like your local dealer is a cheat.

Hi,

I tried the PX-130, PX-330 and P-155 side by side at a Guitar-Centre store in the US.

1. The key action (GHE) of Yamaha was far superior to the Casio PX series.

2. The sideways action/wobble was similar in both the PX models. But i also noticed this (to a lesser extent) in the GHS action of Yamaha P-85 and DGX-640.

3. The sound of the P-155 was also in a different league. More rich sounding.

Brian