Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai MP5 or Yamaha P-155

Okay everyone I have been doing research on these forums for quite sometime now. I've been looking at prices and comparing different reviews on different instruments and what not, but with my budget I think I can really only afford these two instruments unless you count the casio privea line, but I have ruled those out already. I really like the clp-280, but their is also an issue with this not being very easy to move and portable. I have also been on youtube and have watched several videos of people playing these instruments. The only thing that I have not done is sampled both of these instruments, because I am without a vehicle at the moment, and I'm thinking that asking this question is only going to bring up the "it's all about personal preference" answers, but it's worth a shot I guess.

So has anyone played both of these instruments or own them and can get me pointed in the right direction? Oh also I will be playing with headphones most of the time like sennheiser hd595's or something like that. Thank you!

I'm pretty sure the MP5 doesn't have speakers, so with that one, you'll be using headphones all of the time, unless you have other equipment. The closest Kawai equivalent to the P155 is the ES6.

Right. If I do buy the MP5 I will consider getting a monitor for it just in case I want to play without the headphones. I'm mainly interested in sound and portability and action. Is the ES6 just as portable as the MP5? Also, the ES6 is a bit of a price jump in terms of the p-155 and MP5 I believe, like, say a few hundred dollars correct?

Kawai MP5 usually is comparable with Roland RD700/RD300 or Yamaha CP300. These are high-end stage pianos that are for people that are not usually use the instrument for classics and solo piano. These pianos also have some features (like assignable MIDI controls) that a classic pianist don't need. In general, if you need a piano for your studio that need to have a reasonable action and sound and also some MIDI controls, go with MP5. But if you need a Digital Piano for practice and classics performances (at home, churches, ensembles, etc.) then Kawai ES6 would be better choice because it has better sounds and action than MP5 and it also include speakers.

reza is correct. Also the MP5 is sold online and in regular music shops, whereas the ES-6 is usually available only at Kawai dealers. There's also an MP8, which is similar to the MP5, but has Kawai's wooden action. Of course, this makes it even larger and heavier, and it still needs an external amp. But it's still portable (albeit heavy and bulky).

If you're mostly playing piano at home, but want a very portable instrument with good sound and action and built in speakers, then the best choices are the Kawai ES-6, Yamaha P-155 and Roland FP-4 or FP-7. Between those four, it honestly comes down to personal preference, as all of them are excellent instruments. If you're on a budget, the Korg SP-250 is also worth considering.

KHen, just out of curiosity, may I ask why you have ruled out the Casio Privia range?

Cheers,
James
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KHen, if you're a gigging musician, portability is a plus. If you're just thinking about the occasional move, all you have to do is keep the box in which the 280 - or any other DP - is delivered.

Re the 'phones, to some extent it depends on repertoire. The 595's are a little punchy, so better for rock. The 600's have a "flat" - linear - response and are better for classical. (The 580's, which are the 600's predecessor and are much less expensive now, sometimes show up on eBay. I used them for years and only bought 600's because I couldn't find 580's when I wanted a replacement set. I play mainly my own stuff.)

BTW 'phones can provide a listening experience which is much superior to that of the included speakers. 'Phones let you create a musical envelope. (My DP has 8" woofers. I still prefer the 'phones.)

Cool so I got the Kawai ES6, MP5 and MP8 to look at, although the MP8 is hard to find these days, and I also have the Yamaha p-155 to look at as well and possibly the 280, which is also hard to find lol.

Really? so the sennheiser 595's have to much punch, I was under the impression that they were more flat for playing classical music with, I'll keep that in mind thank you.

So it sounds like I need to find a way to demo each of these different instruments to compare them. Thank you for all the responses it is making my search alot easier.

Oh, Kawai James my buddy has one of the privea's px130 I believe and when I played it it seemed like the instrument and I were just not connecting I think the action was a big part of it I just didn't like the feel of it. Thank you!

Does MP5 have a recording option? I mean to internal memory.

No...

Okay so I got a chance to play the ES6 and it was a nice piano. I really enjoyed the sounds it had. Didn't buy it though I am still searching. I'm still trying to find a clp-280 and If I can get one for around the price of an ES6 I might have to jump on it.

I still haven't found a store around here that has the mp5 or mp8ii, but I will keep looking and when I sample them I will let you know what I thought about them. Thank you.

Trying out several models is a great way to go - both to determine your personal preferences as well as to identify differences between them that you might not otherwise have considered.

I just bought my first DP, the P-155; it's terrific. The feel is much closer to my instructor's Steinway grand than my Kawai upgright (I'm a "4 year old piano student"). It's purpose in life is to allow me to practice at night.

My best advice for anyone on this same path - pay attention to how comfortable the headphones are! I'm not that discriminating about the sound, but if the headphones are heavy, too small for your ears, or otherwise uncomfortable you'll soon be thinking about them more than your playing.

Or simply turn the volume way down when you practice at night. I've also played over headphones a lot lately and it has been my impression that my playing suffered a little. It's almost as if the sound over headphones is too distinct, perhaps making small mistakes too obvious. It's like looking at your performance under a microscope. I feel that this hyper-realistic sound quality of headphones has made me a bit too self-conscious of my playing, so I've switched back to speakers...

Okay so I bought myself a pair of beyer dt880's for headphones. They sound very good with all the different kinds of pianos out there. I kind of like playing with the idea of knowing that my skills are being monitored underneath the microscope, it helps me in many ways; although, I haven't played with them constantly, so I can't relate with you on the suffering part.

If I do decide on any of the stage pianos and I don't want to use headphones then I will have to buy some nice monitors to play through because the stages don't come with inboard speakers, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing in my opinion. Still comparing prices and different brands, but I'm still interested in the mp5 or 8 and the ES6 for the kawais and the clp-280 and p-155 for yamaha.

So you've found a CLP280 since they are an older model. One I wouldn't mind owning for sure, very nice Digital Pianos...

I wish I could find an MP5 to try. All I could find is an ES4 at a dealer, which I believe is supposed to be the same key action and sound engine, but with fewer features other than the speakers. The P-155 felt very nice to me, although I haven't used headphones to compare them accurately. My Casio PX-320 is still working, but sooner or later it's going to develop problems or I'm just going to decide it's time to move up so I like to keep up with the available options. While the P-155 is my leading choice at this time, the feature set on the MP5 is more attractive to me since I would connect it to a mixer and use headphones or studio monitor speakers or use it as a MIDI controller for PianoTeq, Garageband etc. I don't need onboard speakers or recording since that is handled by external hardware and software, but the extra voices and ability to control them are plusses. Unfortunately, Guitar Center doesn't carry Kawai at all and neither does any other retailer I've been able to find, and Kawai dealers don't generally carry the MP5 or MP8II. I'm also wondering if the MP5 and MP8II aren't getting a bit long in the tooth, considering both became obsolete as soon as the ES6 hit the market. Does anyone know what Kawai's typical design refresh cycle is? It might be fairly long since they seem to be minor players in the stage piano market.

OlTinEar, in North America, the MP5 and MP8II (and EP3) are typically sold through musical instrument chain stores (as opposed to dealers) - a full list of which can be found at the KAWAI US website, here.


This is largely true, yes. KAWAI dealers can stock these instruments if they wish, however it is perhaps difficult for them to compete with the low prices offered by the likes of Kraft and Musician's Friend etc.


While the ES6 does feature superior piano sounds, I wouldn't say the introduction of this model renders the MP5/MP8II obsolete at all - they are different types of instrument, intended for different applications. Certainly there is a degree of overlap in terms of usability, however the ES6 and MP5/MP8II are sufficiently different for both classes of instrument to co-exist on the market.


The CP33/CP300 are both older than the MP5/MP8II, yet I very much doubt anyone would question Yamaha's significant strength in the stage piano market.

Cheers,
James
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OlTinEar those are good questions and I'm running into the same problems with finding any mp5's to demo around here. I also like the possible use of pianoteq or some other software programs for the mp5 or mp8. I still have alot of options here for which piano to pick up.

I didn't know that the Cp33/300 was older than the kawai mp5 and mp8II. And yes I would say that although the ES6 has hit the market and it is a very good piano it does not render the MP5 or MP8II obsolete at all just like kawai james hit on. Although I did like the ES6 when I demoed it I still haven't put the Mp's out of my mind yet. I'm just having a hard time finding any around here to demo as mentioned earlier.

Oh and TTig I've been calling dealers in the Southern CA area for any clp-280's. So far keyboard concepts said that they would look into their database and warehouses to see if they could get me a deal on any or if they had any. They recently had a half off sale for the clp-380's and they were going for 2500$ and the lady told me they sold like hot cakes. She said she could get me a 280 around the price of an ES6 if any are available. If I can manage to find one at the price of the ES6 I would have to grab it, no offense Kawai, but the 280 seemed so perfect for me despite how well I liked the ES6.

A CLP-280 for the same price as an ES6?

Gosh, even I would have to say that this is an excellent deal!

Cheers,
James
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That's what she said, but it's probably going to be the price of msrp ES6 and not what the local dealers here offer it at. I asked her if she was positive she would give it to me at that price and I kept mentioning that it is an older model, a few years old now I believe, and it is discontinued so it isn't that far fetched to get a great deal on one, oh and it would most likely be used. Hopefully she manages to find one in her database, but we will see. And if not I'll just have to wait to demo some of the MP's before I make my final decision on a piano. Whether it be p-155, es6, mp5 or mp8/8II I would be getting a great instrument regardless and I'll be happy with it.