Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum boston 178 or kawai rx grand, a good price?

I am on the fence for this new piano at around $24K. But I am not sure if this is a good deal given its quoted price from the piano blue book. Any views? May be I can go to Kawai rx2 for better value for the money?

Hi,

I was lucky to be able to sample both at the store i bought my Kawai at. Friends of ours own the Boston and I get to play it during get togethers. I think the RX2 is like their "flagship" model, in that size. They put a lot of thought and energy into that model. My opinion, and that's all it is, the Kawai out performed the Boston. I like the wide tail design of the Boston but the Kawai (even though both made at Kawai) was my favorite in both tone and touch. Again, just an opinion and you couldn't go wrong with either model.

As for price, that seems awfully steep to me. The dealers are making room for the GX model so RX's ought to be less expensive, provided they're any left. I know several people that beat that price for an RX5! I won't go into details but I was way under that price for my new RX3 as well. Good luck, either model is a great choice but you it's not hard to see my bias...blob

I know that each piano is an individual, etc etc, but in general, size for size, I prefer Kawai to Boston. That said, some of the Performance Edition Boston pianos are really beautiful.

What country? What state/province?

thanks for all your inputs so far. It seems that I am being ripped off here from the quote. I am in US, east coast...

I played a Boston in that size. The action is very different than Kawai's so usually people have a preference. You should be able to easily get the new GX2 Kawai for under that price. I'd look at that. It has Kawai's very consistent action but a lighter touch than the RX

Hi Eliot - Welcome to Piano World!

You mentioned that you were checking prices in "the piano blue book." I might suggest that you check the pricing in the "A&D Piano Buyer." It's considered the bible when piano shopping. You can fine the free, online version here:

http://www.pianobuyer.com/

It gives the prices and the expected discounts for all of the major pianos which are available.

Cheers,

Hi Elliot99,
Welcome to Piano World. As far as I know, Boston piano prices are higher than the comparable Kawai model. Of course, both Kawai and Boston grand pianos are made in Kawai's piano factory at Hamamatsu, Japan. There are points of differentiation in the design and especially in the action between Boston and Kawai.
Both pianos are similar the in quality of the build and their components. Personally, I have a bias towards Kawai because of the silky smooth action. I also agree with Joe that there are some lovely performance edition Boston grands. It is over to you to assess which of the two models appeals to you more.

Good luck!

Robert.

Thanks a lot for all your inputs. These are very helpful. I went and checked the piano buyer website. And it seems to me the quoted prices there are a bit floated. And it is quite surprising to see that the MSRP price and SMP price are the same for boston grands (seriously? because of the steinway logo?).

Based on your feedbacks, it seems that Kawai is superior to Boston for comparable models.

Eliot99,

Please read the introduction to the pricing section for more important info. You seem to misunderstand our suggestion of what to expect to pay, or the purpose of the SMP price.

"Superior" is not a word that I would use for the comparison. They are very different instruments and that is due to their basic designs. My preference usually tends toward the Bostons.

Thanks, got it now.

Thanks! Finally, one vote towards boston;)

Eliot,

Both are very well built and proven pianos. What we prefer means nothing; the best choice is what pleases you most.

I have a RX2 and my teacher has a boston 178. what i found was the boston has heavier action and slightly mellower sound to me. however, i wasn't impressed of the action. it's not as even and smooth as my RX2. however, this experience is based on a sample of 1 boston! but dollar to dollar, i think RX2 has a much better value because i think the price difference for the RX2 vs. 178 is at least $5-8K.

I say get a preowned RX-2 for 8-12K and keep the rest of the money in the bank. Kawai RX-2s are a dime a dozen and if if you find the right one you'll be happy you got the same thing for half or less of retail. I would personally not pay one dime over the price of a Kawai for a "designed by Steinway" logo.

I like the tone and feel of the Boston better, especially the new PE Bostons.

But since RX2's are a dime a dozen, couldn't we use one of those dimes to get a "Designed by Steinway" logo?

Coming from someone who sells Pearl River's with a "Designed by Lothar Thomma" logo. Sorry, couldn't resist.

I'm not sure if the Boston actually has a heavier action or if its mellow sound gives that perception.. Without actually measuring the weight it's sometimes very difficult to tell.

I'm gonna pop in to Steinways today and refresh my memory on the Boston piano. The performance editions are beautiful but expensive. Kawai tend to be quite heavily discounted here in the UK by some dealers, Boston are not. They are of similar build quality but they don't sound the same and that's the crucial point here. Which tone do you prefer.

Since I am a nice guy I'll give you an "A" for effort at humor.

The difference is there is not an artificial addendum attached to a Ritmüller piano. Quite the contrary.

Recently, I had an accomplished pianist choose a GH-188 Ritmüller over a GP-178 PE Boston. It only took about 5 minutes for him to make the decision. He said he preferred the Ritmüller sound over the Boston and saving more than $10,000 was not bad either.