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i really want a baby grand and did find a good (for me) deal on a Kawai GE-20.. the problem however is that I really don't have the space. i mean - I can squeeze it in, but it will not be nice.. otherwise I do play quite a bit and even the baby grands have better and more responsive action than any upright I've tested so far. of course - just my subjective opinion.

I tried the Wendl (in Europe it's marketed as Feurich), but I honestly don't like how they sound. and it might be just me, but I haven't found one Chinese/Korean piano that sounds anything worth the money (that includes Wendl, Essex, etc.)

I also tried some new Seilers and Grotrians and wasn't quite impressed, given the price difference between them and a Kawai upright - I really did expect more from those quite famous brands.

but i more and more get convinced that it really gets down to the dealers - in many cases they don't even bother properly tuning and voicing the pianos (even the Seiler wasn't tuned!).. and this is smth I'll never understand - what's the point of having all these pianos on stock if they are not in their best shape?

that's why i will try getting some good service deal with the Danish official Kawai dealer (that includes tuning, voicing and adjusting the touch as part of prep) and if they agree to make the piano as I'd like it to be, I'll order a K6 without even having it heard.

damn, why should it be so complicated to buy a piano? increasing my budget 10 times didn't make the decision making any easier

Tell me about it.
It was MUCH easier for me to buy my house than buy my piano if you can believe it.
And I still think I bought too early and should have shopped a bit more (although I love my Hailun).

I would be scared to buy an instrument that I have never even heard.

I wouldn't buy a piano without trying it first, but Kawai with the 10-year transferable warranty (at least in the USA) and their usual good service reputation should mitigate some of that risk.

We all are. However, there are times when it's usually unavoidable--it's called special orders. This generally happens when a person wants a special finish (e.g., mahogany instead of polished black) or when the order is for something else not likely to appear on the floor of the dealership (like a silent piano in America, as I had to special order). Depending primarily on the brand, but also the dealer (in terms of prep work) the risk can vary from surprisingly small (Kawai or Yamaha from a reputable dealer) or remarkably large.

Thus, even with the seemingly straight forward advice, "never buy a piano--even new--that you haven't played," it's not always a slam dunk and there are times when this reasonable dictum needs to be ignored and even times when it can be ignored with a modicum of safety. There are other times--most other times--when I think it shouldn't be ignored.

Well.. it turns out that the local Kawai dealer in Denmark doesn't have K6/8 at all on stock in the country. so I was told that if I want, I can order a K6 which they'll import from Japan, and until it's here (estimated to be somewhere in August) I'll have a temporary K5.. Ah yeah, and the K5 is of course in another city, so I'll need to pay to get it over for this period.

I tried an Irmler P132 today which was advertised as built-in-Germany piano with Renner action, which after I got home turned out that it's preassembled in China and hammers + tuning added in Germany.. I personally didn't find the action too responsive on this one

Besides most dealers here don't have the pianos in their showrooms even tuned! I'm honestly shocked - how can you keep something on stock, hoping for someone to like it and buy it, if it's not even tuned?!

I think I'll soon go crazy and probably rent a van and drive over to Germany to some _decent_ dealer there that has good and tuned pianos on stock..

Aaaaaaaaaaarrrgghghghgh