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I think folks may be overthinking the pedal here. On acoustic pianos, the pedal dynamics are all over the place. Some are light, some are heavy, some are very linear, some have weird response curves. IME there's more variability in acoustic pedals than there is between any two keyboard actions you can think of. You just have to get used to the pedal on whatever piano you are playing.

It starts really bad! They've chosen the worst type of piano patch. However the rest is actually very good I liked some of the classical patches. At least on headphones they sound much better than Pianoteq to my ears which is surprising since I'm usually easily bothered by the typical modeled sound. At least on these demos I would be hard-pressed to say the sound is modeled. I'd be really interested to test the piano myself though since online demos and real experience differ so much.

You're right, this is a cabinet piano; however, there is no rule that says cabinet pianos have to be button free. I think having the buttons there is a bigger asset than disadvantage (to me, it's tastefully done); however, it would be an improvement to be 'able to' cover up the buttons and dials for when one is playing it as a straight piano.

I'm not one given to offering praise too often; however, the updates provided---the TRS like system, the updated modelling engine, the nicer cabinet design, the improvements in damper technology, the improvement in amplification technology, the improved pivot length in the action etc etc.,---I think Roland have provided quite a lot in this upgrade, i.e., a combination of characteristics that other manufacturers *at this price point* have yet to offer.

IMO, this product is differentiated enough to make it a tasty offering; further, the top model is cheaper than the LX17 RRP (LX708 - £3519; LX17 - £4025). Therefore, Roland have succeeded in becoming more competitive based upon maybe having reduced the manufacturing cost (and thus RRP) and improved functionality. Whilst constructive criticism is always helpful, I think praise is due to Roland for the improvements they have made.

Having said all that, I'm keen to try it out rather than assume these spec improvements add to the experience.

I like the new control panel. Dials are more ergonomic than buttons. A long line of identical-looking buttons with small text next to them is weak UI design. I wonder if this will make it to the next generation of their HP range, or when they are likely to arrive?

I think the 706 hits a sweet spot. I'm not bothered by a traditional-looking fallboard (further back than on a real piano) on the 708, and I like to put music books on top of the piano so the opening top would be more of an inconvenience.

I look forward to hearing if the new action is any good. It is the first major re-design in 20 years so maybe there will be teething problems. And as someone else said, the pivot points were never really too short anyway, so let's hope this isn't just for marketing.

I wouldn't call that major nor redesign. It's the same action as before, only longer. Certainly there are structural/tensional challenges in having longer pivots but I doubt it's that hard to just stretch the already existing design.

I can't say whether longer is an engineering achievement, but imho it's worthy of a new action name and categorization. From physics alone it should result in a noticeable difference to the performer.

Clearly it's more substantial than the move from Yamaha GH to GH3, or even GH to NWX.

+2.

Also the display is OLED which is a very nice touch. OLED doesn't require backlighting, so blacks really are black at any angle, and the light shouldn't be distracting.

so why don't one of you send me a link for the demo, that you heard for the current hp600 series and this new hp700 series?

I watched again this clip at 2:13:



This improvisation was very familiar to me although I didn't know where from. Then I remembered it was the "all silver" demo from V-Piano:
V-Piano All Silver Demo

Wow, what a progress, right? I have always thought V-Piano sounded like cr*p but I've long forgotten about that. Comparing them side by side, V-Piano is simply awful, it's a bad joke of a piano sound! So there's an immense progress made with Roland modeled piano. I applaud them!

Roland are really the masters of buzzwords :-)

The three new LX 700 models feature a monochrome 132 x 32 dot matrix display. The marketing genius here is using the OLED word to make it sound amazing. Today, OLED technology is being used on high-end displays on smartphones, TV and monitors. However, OLED dot matrix technology has been around for ages and is the standard technology for this type of displays. You will find such OLED dot displays in many consumer devices, from refrigerators and air conditioning control panels to portable mp3 players and hi-fi systems. To find a backlit dot matrix display one needs to get a device made in the 1990s or so..

I haven't found that to be the case. Most low-end OLED displays today still suffer from abhorrent burn-in, and LCDs are still prevalent, from smart thermostats to clocks to dive watches to other household appliances. Though we are seeing a few more OLEDs nowadays

I know the Nord Piano has recently moved to a monochrome OLD display, which is nice as it provides additional contrast on-stage (some Roland stage pianos have a very useful knob to adjust the backlight due to display angle contrast), and IMO a new OLED display looks a lot more striking and elegant than an LCD, so this change is welcome to me, if minor.

Well, a DP that uses technology designed after the 1990s is a cutting-edge device ;-) But, you are right. There are still plenty of LCD displays out there. But OLED dot-matrix displays like these have been around for quite a while: https://www.winstar.com.tw/products/oled-module/oled-character-display.html and seldom have have burn-in issues. The lower-end OLED higher-resolution colour graphical displays (not the dot matrix displays) do suffer from burn-in.

Anyway, it is always positive when DP manufacturers use better technology. Maybe these new LX models will even support USB Audio like the RD2000. That would be really welcome.

BTW I was disapointed to see that delivery time is december, so 2 more months of waiting

Thanks for the comparison! Indeed, the differences are striking.

Roland should really think about start developing and selling virtual modelled instruments, like PianoTeq as been doing. This would allow these DPs to be updated with new instruments and would also create an additional revenue stream for Roland. This is one of the big advantages of the modelling approach over the sample-based approach...

Unfortunately still horrible artificial tone, but extremely natural behaviour, even better than in previous series. To my very dissapointment, Kawai still sound worlds better. That one sound cheap. As I said, behaviour is something what other companies are far behind, but tone itself still is weak and thin. Really strange, that after over 10 years after releasing Vpiano, improvement is so modest. Sampled pianos sound like dead ones compared to Roland, but Roland is life robot and its competition is dead human. Honestly, I was hoping more, but in terms of resonances, possibilities of playing, definitely, it's like real one. Pity that tone is just poor and very thin.

Also, I do not like sheet music holder being always on top of the front panel. Lx17 looked much better than lx708

Although I respect your desire for a controls cover and your points are valid for some, I beg to differ. I think the reason they do not have a pull over cover on the LX708 is because of the design of the traditional fallboard, which opens like that in an acoustic piano. I'm not sure how a sliding cover would retract with such a design as I'm not sure if any other piano manufacturer is doing it this way (thus the placement of the controls in the cheekblock area with other manufacturers), but I could be wrong. I'm not sure how the cover is implemented in Roland's lower lines, but I seem to recall those pianos did not incorporate a traditional fallboard. Nevertheless, I don't see a problem with the controls being where they are and within view (and prefer them within reach) so long as they are not an eyesore. I don't need to "fool" myself into believing the controls aren't there because they are. As long as I am able to lose myself in the feel, touch and tone of the piano, I will have experienced a realistic piano playing experience.

I don't see this ever happening because it doesn't make much business sense for Roland to create a product beyond the expected planned obsolescence. They are not interested in selling software updates, but more interested in selling you a new DP. Thus, the interest by many on this forum even though we may already own an existing DP.

Well, it would still be obsolete. For all the "infinte adjustability" touted by the V-Piano engine, I don't think there's a way to get it to sound like this new "PureAcoustic" engine, the modeling processes are just different and more advanced now. Just as all the V-Piano pianos sound like variations on the same theme, I suspect the PureAcoustic is similar in that it's got a particular characteristic set in stone, and you can adjust around the edges. The next iteration in Roland's 2020/2021 pianos will undoubtedly be more advanced and it won't be possible to duplicate it in the older engine, so those who want an upgrade will have to do so with hardware

Agree.