Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Choice between Boston, Kawai, and Albert Weber

I am considering three pianos: Boston 178, Kawai RX-2, and a larger 7'6" Albert Weber by Young Chang, all in about the same price to me. The Boston is really nice, but I hear the RX-2 is also and it is cheaper. I haven't seen the RX yet. The Albert Weber was a surprise addition recently to my choices. It plays very sweetly although it is surprisingly quieter than I would expect for a semi-concert grand. I can get a really decent price on it and I think it sounds lovely. Does anyone have experience with these three? What would you buy, all new, all nice, similar prices?

RX-2 Blak is the winner.

I've only played the 178 and the RX-2, but never the big Weber. Generally I have preferred the RX-2 to the Boston, but then I played a very nice Boston that had been beautifully prepped and maintained by an area university and I had to look at the model number a few times to be sure I wasn't hallucinating... (it was a 178 before the PE version, by the way).

Seems at this point (without having tried the Kawai) you really like the Weber. What type of space will your new piano (whichever one you buy) be placed in? The 5'7" Weber I owned a few years ago sounded great in my living room (20' by 14'with a very high ceiling) whereas my current 7 foot Mason and Hamlin almost overwhelms the space sound-wise. A 7'6" piano with a sweet sound might work very well in your home.

Keep in mind that the piano will probably sound louder in your home than in the showroom. Unless your room is huge, of course. In this case, it may be a good thing that it sounds quieter than expected in the showroom.

The room where the piano is going will be 15.5' by 24.5' and 10' ceilings. The room is not lively as it has wall-to-wall carpets, drapes, bookshelves and other items which absorb the sound. My daughter had her Steinway L in the room and it sounded pretty small. Actually, I am more concerned that the piano may be a bit soft for the room, but the tech/owner said he was thinking of voicing it with a bit of lacquer as the hammers had not been treated at all. Not a lot, just a bit to bring up the sound a bit. I think that might be a good idea. I am really looking forward to going back to play it again after he does, and maybe play the RX-2 if he gets one by then.

I'd go for the 7'6" if you like its tone. The RX-2 would not have as clear fundamentals throughout the entire range. Even between an RX-3 and RX-2 you can tell the difference.

An expression I have used with shoppers many times is that "it is hard to overcome physics".

In this case, the size differential is great. On the other hand the tonal nuances of the Boston and Kawai may be a tad better.

I get the impression that piano builders these days are getting cannier at overcoming the problem of inharmonicity in smaller pianos?

The longer sustain and lyrical quality of the Albert Weber combined with the size make it the stand out choice.

Although I am fortunate enough to have a 7+ foot grand piano, I’m thinking the designers (like Del Fandrich) and the manufacturers are producing some very potent smaller baby grands these days. As has been mentioned, physics will always favor the bigger grands, but like I’ve heard before, dynamite comes in small packages.

Personally, I like the Albert Weber pianos. It is among some of the brands that I have played.

Rick

Sure but not every company is making drastic changes. For example, I really liked Del's new short Weber W114 upright vs. a Kawai K2.