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Hello,

I'm looking to spend about $1800 (I will go up to $100 over budget if it sounds better) on a digital piano. I've played on some in my local stores, I played on lots of Yamahas but I didn't like the sound of them. I'm looking for something in a nice wood encasement with a powerful speaker system and a good feel to it as well.

Thank you.

I think whatever you get in that price range, or even a lot higher, you will need to get external self-powered monitors, since the onboard speakers and amps on DPs aren't too great. I am happy with my Casio Celviano 620 and a pair of M-Audio BX5A monitors. For a few hundred less, the Celviano 420, I believe, has the same key action and piano sounds, but fewer "extras" (voices, recording capacity, etc.) You should make sure I'm right about that, though. Good luck with the hunt.

To hear what a DP really sounds like, take a good pair of headphones with you when you're shopping, since that will give you the sound the piano is capable of producing through better speakers.

Do you have a subwoofer to go with those M-Audio monitors? Does they give enough bass without a subwoofer?

Digital pianos with good sound systems start at around $5000.

At lower prices the sound systems are neither powerful nor good. To produce good sound they really require an external sound system.

If I was going to spend $5,000, I would just get an acoustic piano. I don't think it's necessary to spend that much money to get a good sounding piano. In my price range would it better to get a cheaper digital piano for around $1000-$1500 and then hook up monitors for better sound, or should I spend the $1800 just on the digital piano?

I don't have a subwoofer. Just the 2 monitors and I'm very happy with the bass. Playing Chopin's preludes 15 and 20 are very satisfying on it! I have one monitor sitting on either end of the piano.

Also, I would get the 620 and monitors. I have played a bunch of DPs and none of the factory speakers sound nearly as good as the monitors.

For piano, you first want the best left and right speakers that have good bass, only aftr that go for the sub woofer. Mostly it is better if you don't need it because your left and right speakers go down below 50Hz. Subs are mostly for playing the sounds of car crashes in movie sound tracks

If you don't like Yamaha's sound then perhaps you will like the Roland FP7F with Roland's "supernatural" piano. It's a bit different than Yamaha.

The other option if sound is the #1 thing you are looking for is a virtual software piano that runs in a computer. With that, a good audio interface and good speakers you could get better sound than you'd get in an $1,800 DP.

I'd look at home stereo type speakers rather then studio monitors like the BX5a or BX8a. You get a lot more for your money with something like these Polk M70

There are two parts to sound.

1) the internal sample engine. There is a small computer and some memory in the piano that creates the sound.

2) And amp and speakers

Putting great external speakers on a piano with low-end sound generation will not give you great sound. It will give you very loud mediocre sound

So what you should do is try out many DPs using headphones and find one you like. Then if you add big external speakers and an amp the sound in the headphones will be louder and fill the room.

If you are not used to digital pianos and you have been playing acoustic pianos you may find you use the DP differently and you will turn the volume down and even play in headphones.

I'd look at home stereo type speakers rather then studio monitors like the BX5a or BX8a. You get a lot more for your money with something like these Polk M70

ChrisA


Why do you prefer the Polk over the BX8A ?

For home use only, do you still go with a subwoofer or the Polk are fine right off the box ?

Regards

The bx5a monitors are powered, though, so you don't need an external amp like you would with the polks. I doubt if a DP would be able to drive the Polks by itself. Also, the bx5a sits nicely on the piano. Since price is a consideration here, the bx5a is about 150.00 less. It's 70 watts instead of 130, but I find that 70 is plenty. (Speaking of price, was that 199.00 each for the Polks, or for the pair? Seemed to me like an each price.)

I thought that it wasn't good to get home theater speakers rather than studio monitors because the sound from home theater speakers isn't as accurate and they aren't designed to be used for instruments?

Also, what I was suggesting when I asked if I should get a less expensive DP and get better speakers for it, is that sometimes DPs might cost less but then they have the same sound sampling as their more expensive models. This is because sometimes the only difference in the more expensive models are the features.

I heard Kawai was good too, what about those?

I think the casio 420 has the same sound generating system and keyboard as the 620, only with less power and fewer bells and whistles. You really need to try a bunch with a decent set of headphones to see what you like the feel and sound of.