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I'm thinking of retiring my Yamaha U3 and moving up to a 7' grand. Two strong contenders are the Yamaha C7X and the Hailun 218. The Hailun is a little shorter at 7'2 vs 7'6.
I know the Hailun 218 has been discussed (favourably) several times in the past, but I thought perhaps there might be some updated opinions, and perhaps the quality of Hailuns could even be improving over the years so it would be good to get a fresh perspective and any updates.
In Australia the yamaha C7X has an RRP of AU$83,995, although a dealer gave me a price of about AU$59k (AUD/USD is currently about .73). The piano is said to be a significant improvement over the C7. I have also been looking for used C7s in Australia but have not found much so far. Plus, a used C7 would not incorporate the improvements of the C7X, would have (say) 20 years of wear, and would only be about 40% cheaper I'm guessing.
There are three variants of the Hailun 218 that I can find in Australia. They are Hailun 218 (AU$48,950 on store website), Feurich 218 (AU$38,000 on store website) and Bernstein 218 (AU$43,950 on store website). The latter I understand to be a variant produced for the Australian market. Another one is Wendl and Lung 218, although I have not seen these in Australia. I understand all these pianos are essentially the same. Does anyone know if there are any significant differences? I'm not sure until I talk to the dealers, but I'm guessing I could get any one of them for about AU$35,000 (please let me know if you have any knowledge of what the Hailun usually goes for inside/outside Australia, and whether I could perhaps get an even better deal than this). Perhaps the Hailun and Feurich dealers could compete to offer me the best price, as the two brands are sold at different stores.
Obviously the Yamaha C7X is significantly more expensive, but I can afford it if it is worth it. When you spread the cost of the piano over the 50 years I'll be playing it, it works out to about $1000 a year which doesn't matter very much when you consider how many hours I'll be making use of it. Does anyone have any opinions on the comparison between Yamaha and Hailun 1) ignoring the price difference and 2) taking into account the price difference? I have played the Yamaha C7X, but have never played the Hailun as there don't seem to be any in Sydney (the Hailun and Feurich dealers are both in Melbourne and the Bernstein dealer is in Perth). So I would need to book a flight to Melbourne to try them. This has been impossible for the last few months as the Victorian border was closed to the rest of Australia due to a covid outbreak, but should be opening in about 2 weeks I understand.
Listening on Youtube, the Hailun/Feurich seems to have a more pure and "bland" sound (not necessarily a criticism) compared to the Yamaha. A previous poster suggested that it would lend itself better to Mozart and Bach than Scriabin or Rachmaninoff. If true that's a pity, as my main composers are Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and Medtner. It seems like music like this is better suited to a piano with a bit of complexity to the sound and a bit of growl/bite. I have in the past played on a Stuart and Sons piano and found the sound seemed a bit "dull" or less metallic than a Yamaha (again not necessarily a criticism), similar perhaps to the Hailun. (While they are quite unique instruments, my understanding is that Stuart and Sons pianos are very expensive, being manufactured in a ridiculously expensive country like Australia, so not considering them).
Does anyone know whether the pandemic has made it easier to get a great deal from piano stores, who might be finding customers more thrifty?
And please let me know if you have any better suggestions than the Yamaha C7X and Hailun 218. Not really considering the more exotic pianos like Bosendorfer or Steinway or even Yamaha SX series, as these are dramatically more expensive. However, I will have a play on some of these this weekend when I go on a piano-store hop in North Sydney, just to compare.
Could you give some reasons? Have you actually played the Hailun 218? People have reported on this forum and others that they compare reasonably well even with very expensive pianos like Steinway and Steingraeber. See for example
No I haven’t. But from what I have read it has a completely different tone compared to a Yamaha. Since you had a U1, hence my suggestion to continue with the relatively brighter Yamaha sound.
If the Hailun sounds almost as good as certain very expensive pianos, at AU$25,000 less than the C7X, I'd be willing to give it serious consideration even if it wasn't my ideal piano sound.
I am in similar situation as yours. I have been looking for a new piano for 6 years, but there is no floor models to try here.
I plan to get c7x or s6x, however yamaha indonesia is not helping at all. I plan to go to Japan to try the pianos at the factory, but yamaha indonesia won't allow it. They want me to order blindly and pay the down payment first without trying. So I have not ordered it.
I have asked around about Feurich/Hailun, and it seems there is a Feurich store with floor models to try in Jakarta. So I am going to try playing it first.
About Rachmaninoff on Feurich, you can listen to Paul Barton youtube videos.
but no matter how much you listen to youtube videos, imho there is no substitute for trying the piano in person.
This sounds like it is a lot engineered. I wouldn't count on videos to judge on the sound unless it is indicated that the recording is raw without any enchantments. Even better, to make a fair comparison the two pianos must be recorded in the same room with the same setup and same pianist playing the same piece one after another in a live recording session.
Unfortunately, only you can decide if the Yamaha is worth the extra price and how much the difference in costs will affect your finances. I wouldn't worry at all about one person's opinion about what composers Hailun is good or not so good for. As others have said, trying to decide by listening to YT videos is only minimally helpful, at best.
I have never tried a Hailun Or Feurich. I have tried several C7s and CX7s. I absolutely love the C7 sound because C7s were used extensively in recording studios. My vote would be a C7X, because I’ve come to love the Yamaha sound in that particular sized piano. I’d also love the opportunity to try the top of the heap CF7X.
J & J Estonia L190 Hidden Beauty Casio Privia PX-330 My piano’s voice is beautiful!
I agree that I would not select any piano based on recordings over the internet. The Hailun 218 is nice, but a sort of distinct piano that you might like or may do nothing for you. Would never suggest buying one sight unseen.
Has anyone seen or heard anything about the Hailun CF286? If the Hailun is a 7'2 grand for about AU$35k, once can imagine that this would be an amazingly affordable concert grand. Is it also designed by Stephen Paulello? Does it even exist?
Well, Certainly there's a Cunningham Concert Grand manufactured by Hailun to Cunningham Piano's design. So perhaps Rich Galassini chose this 286 as a base model for the Cunningham? I have no idea because I don't actually know the length of the Cunningham.
Well, Certainly there's a Cunningham Concert Grand manufactured by Hailun to Cunningham Piano's design. So perhaps Rich Galassini chose this 286 as a base model for the Cunningham? I have no idea because I don't actually know the length of the Cunningham.
So sorry I am arriving late to this party. Thank you for the shout out Joseph.
Actually, our concert grand is 9'2" and only 280-ish cm. For those who have never heard it, here it is on video. It is well customized, including boutique parts from a variety of sources all customized to work to our desires on this piano. To be clear, some of the components used in our concert grand have been used in no other Hailun built piano ever:
![[Linked Image]]( http://forum.pianoworld.com//gallery/42/medium/12292.png)
