Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards AvantGrand N2, or, N3 - Best digital?

Yes, as I have to agree with you after listening to this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKktyeuIs1U

The N3 sounds are far too boxed in, canned, and, appear to have no life or ambience to them, whatsoever. It is rather appalling to hear this much quality lacking in the samples. I am also surprised that Yamaha released this considering that Cyprien Katsaris is a fine pianist, and, the recording does him no justice as for the shallow depth of the piano sounds. What were they thinking?

I can see why a lot of folks do not like the AvantGrands.

I own the N3 and practice mostly with headphones. The TRS is a nice touch but it's, for me at least, unnecessary icing on the cake. I don't turn it on when using headphones ... and I don't miss it.

Don't compare specs between pianos, simply play the pianos and make your decision that way. We get too wrapped up into the spec sheet.

The N1 represents the best package for the money and if I had to do this all over I might have bought two N1s instead of one N3.

I guess I must have pretty low standards in sound since I don't get tired of playing my N3 through headphones.

It would be interesting to hear your reactions Dave to playing a Roland RD700NX for an hour, then your N3 for an hour, then back again....

Comparisons are easy to win when you aren't comparing.

For me, the action comes first with the sound a close second. If I thoroughly enjoyed the action of the Roland the sound wouldn't be that much of an issue.

I've used the P250 and the CP300 on jobs and while they sounded great to the audience I was always slightly irritated by the sound. When someone else played the pianos and I listened, they sounded just fine.

There's a connection between the sound, the action, and what the player expects to hear ... and I don't have that lack of connection with the N3.

I love reading and responding to these trite arguments by people who, for the most part don't own the instrument they're bashing. Yamaha has filled a void in the marketplace but probably would rather the consumer to purchase one of their acoustic pianos if space, money, desire was greater.

As for me and other happy owners of an AG, it's our little secret that these pianos are very gratifying and are helping us obtain a level of aesthetic pleasure and technical proficiency that is unmatched in the marketplace.

The other crowd that thinks the same way about their V, or other DP, I'm happy for you. It's just I could never find the action, lack of amplification or Feng shui, a replacement for my upright acoustic. The new Kawai controller with the Vintage D might of worked but it wasn't available at the time.

As always, I'll appreciate the next person who starts this discussion in another new thread after this one wains.

Good day.

Not choosing to buy any given instrument for objective and/or subjective personal reasons -- and then stating those reasons -- is not bashing, it is communicating and sharing.

Better to have not bought an instrument that one is personally not convinced about, then to have bought e.g an Avantgrand and subsequently either feel compelled to praise it in a sheepishly insincere manner or winding up having to sell it at a loss to replace it with something more suitable.

Everyone is different. Thankfully we all have at least a little choice.

However, just because everyone doesn't do as you do, does not make Avantgrand owners into some kind of spiritually superior, gnostic, consumer congnescenti positioned at the summit of the holy marketplace. For example, many would argue that a stereo-speaker-sporting Avantgrand N3 can't hold a candle to the possibilities of a Yamaha C3XSH Silent Grand Piano with its real hammers, soundboard, strings and more advanced CFX sampling. But, if one's funds are limited, than an Avantgrand might be a settle-for alternative...

I sometimes pick a word, in this case "bashing." Probably stronger but I seem to be good a picking the wrong word.

If you've read my posts, I can't fit a grand piano in my small space, so you might be right around silent grand but it's a mute point and part of the allure of the AG series.

As far as my comment about AG owners and our secret. That I stand by. It's an amazing instrument to practice on and personally wish I had such an instrument many, many moons ago when I starting playing. Of course, I would also need some of the great teachers I also only found later in life. I also feel this issue can't be debated with someone who doesn't own one and plays it everyday.

I think you mean a moot point. To be a mute point the volume control on your tiny but alluring Avantgrand would have to be turned back to zero.

Most of my comments are moot points

The problem is that this suspicion only builds as time goes on. The only reason I'd get a DP at this point would be if our household couldn't function without one (and if we didn't already own an OK one). The used market is starting to look better and better with all this stasis.

You are absolutely correct in this thinking, as I already have had several digitals that I didn't keep and shouldn't have bought, in the first place.

Make sure that you are going to be reasonably happy with the item before buying one!

What this forum needs are more moog points!

Indeed. However, another reason the used market is filled with more and more (digital) pianos is because of all the young people stopping with the idea of piano practice (years of lessons demanding a decade of discipline and delayed gratification to learn to play) too early so they can have more time to groom their virtual social image on facebook and hone their murder and mayhem skills on increasingly realistic video "games".