Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Roland HP 305 versus Roland HP 207

Hi folks,

although I have been reading quite a while here, I registered only a couple of days ago and this is my first post. I am in the middle of deciding, which digital piano I should get and now I am a bit stuck right before the final decision.

I have been hammering my Yamaha CVP-35 for over 18 years now (this probably reveals me as an amateur ) and now I am ready to upgrade. I play mainly pop/rock and like to fool around a bit with different sounds. However, I (and especially my wife ) like the classic look of a cabinet style digital piano.

I can spend up to around 2000 EUR and after a while I can exclude the following candidates:

- Yamaha CLP 370 (did not like the harsh/hard sound of it, although the speakers a very good and the keyboard action would be something, I can cope with.
- Kawai CA 71 ( did not like the keyboard action, probably I am totally spoilt from my Yamaha CVP, the piano sound was average to me)
- Casio AP-620 (marvelous instrument regarding the price, I like the vintage E-piano sounds, keyboard would be okay, but the main piano sound is very Yamaha like to me and probably - when playing it, I would always think about my secret love - the Rolands )

So, here I am left with the Rolands. I simply loved both the deep sound and the keyboard action of the HP-207, which I actually played. However, the HP 305 covers the most specs of the HP 207, which are important to me. The piano designer functionality of the HP207 is nice to have for me, but in the long run, I doubt that I would use it so much. The HP-305 is sold in Europe for 2000 Euros, the remainder of HP-207 is sold for about 2200 Euro. I never had the opportunity, to play the HP-305 so far, I only know the youtube-videos.
So, if anyone had the opportunity to play both instruments, here are my deciding questions:
- would you think, the sample sound quality has increased significantly, so the HP305 would be the better choice?
-would you think, the speaker system of the HP305 (2*30 watts) would be an enourmous step-back compared to the HP207 (2*60 watts), although it is a new development.

Grateful for any input on my thoughts.

I would definitely choose the HP-305 over the HP-207 given its inclusion of the Super Duper Realistic Piano sound and having the same keyboard. However, I mostly use headphones. If you don't need the piano designer function and you don't mind not having the very latest PHA-III keyboard, the HP-305 is also a very good alternative to the HP-307. You can always add a couple of studio monitors later for a couple hundred of euros if you want more volume for whatever reason. If you do want the HP-207 I recommend to hurry as many dealers do not hold stock in it anymore.

Personally I would go for the HP-307. If you shop around you can find one for under 2500 euro. That extra 500 euros amortized over your next 18 years of playing is only about 30 euros a year!

Today I had chance to go down to my roland dealer and take a look at the 305,i was hoping to see the 307 but he said he wont be stocking it.

I have now got the 207 which i have had 2 years and before that I had the 107 for 2 years.

The new piano sound in the 305 did not make me want to give up on the 207 yet, i did try with headphones aswell,this might sound funny but to me this new roland sound is nothing new or fresh it still sounds like the same roland sound.

I think the new roland sound is less brighter sounding as my 207,and to compare the the speaker and volume of the 305 is no match compared to the 207 speakers.

It might be just me but I think I have got a bit bored of the complete roland sound and looking for a new fresh sounding instrument.Not that there is anything wrong with roland it is still a great sounding piano.


I have listned to the sample demos of the new yamaha cp1 stage piano and I am overly impressed and will be looking forward to seeing what happens with the next lot of clp clavinovas.

It seems you prefer a bright sounding instrument over a more mellow sound. But beware: You should try it yourself for an extended period of time to be sure the sound is fatigue-free for you.

@ theJourney,

I think I will take your advice and ditch the HP207, which would release me from some pressure anyway. I will wait, until the closest big dealer supplies both the HP305 and HP307 to test them and then decide, wether I save up for the "big" solution.
However, in the internet I did not find any European offer for the HP305 lower than 2799 EUR. Can you give me any hint?

They are not allowed to advertise for less than that amount.
You need to shop around and ask for their best price.
Sometimes a German can get a better deal in Holland and a Dutchie can get a better deal in Germany.
Go figure.

I've owned a HP207 for a couple of years, and have been very very happy with it. A friend of mine is currently in the market for a new piano (he only started learning 6 months ago, so has been renting a Classenti), and I've been accompanying him when he's been testing. Here in the UK they're selling the end-of-line 207's for GBP 1950, and the new 305's for GBP 1900 and 307's for GBP 2600.

I thought the 305 sounded very 'thin' compared to the 207. It's a smaller cabinet of course, so that will definitely be a contributing factor, along with the possibly weaker speaker system (though I never believe advertised wattage figures). I also preferred the touch of the 207, as the 305 felt a bit spongy to both me and my friend (I made sure I held back my opinions until after he'd spoken, just so I wouldn't influence his first impressions). Unfortunately the 307 was in a box in the store, as they had to wait for some of the 200-series to sell before they had room to put it on display, but it was out of his price range anyway.

In the end he's buying a 207.

I just purchased a 305 and my wife and I compared it to the 207 and 307. We also compared it to the Kawaii 63 (didn't feel like the money) and the Yamaha 340/370 (didn't sound like a piano, but did feel like a yamaha acoustic). Given the 305's price point, supernatural sound and touch, we found it to be the obvious choice.

Compared to the 307 we didn't notice much difference in touch. We preferred the sound of the 305 over the 207 - it was similar to a baldwin grand in the room. Last, while I much preferred the display on the 307 and the choice of cabinet resonance etc..., we both felt that the 305 sounded better. I think the speaker system in the 305 is more than adequate for a large room, and the 307 is a bit boomy. I think the larger speakers in the 307, and while removing those used in the 305, produces too much base and not enough mid. On the whole, given the prices and even the sound, the 305 came out a clear winner.

Last, not that people are necessarily interested in this, but the rosewood coloring on the 200s and the 300s are different. The 200s are more orange/red whereas the 300s are a darker brown.