Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum About to buy Yamaha S7X

I'm about to buy a Yamaha S7X. Can anyone who has bought or sold one of these PM me? Just want to be sure I'm paying the right price for it.

That is super exciting... what is the wait time?

Just 7 days as there is one in Australia.

Excellent - Congrats!


~Lucubrate

Excellent decision. I would love to own one of those! Congratulations, I know it's been a challenging process for you. Now you can move on and enjoy your music with your new instrument.

I realized that for the kind of music I play (eg Rachmaninoff/Scriabin), I needed a brassy instrument with clarity, brilliance and a powerful bass and tenor. Bosendorfer, Shigeru Kawai and Schimmel seemed too polite for this kind of music. Fazioli were double the price and seemed to have a very plain sound. It's possible that a brand new Steinway C would have fit the bill, but they're double the price. So it didn't seem to me there were many competitors that fit this criteria.

I believe C.Bechstein or W.Hoffmann might have fit the bill. Did you try one of those as well?

I did play some Bechsteins at a dealer once, but didn't pay much attention to them at the time so I can't recall.

I was a bit concerned that Yamaha might be a piano designed more for jazz music rather than classical. But now I feel like this may actually make them more suitable for music like Rachmaninoff, rather than less. It sets them apart from "quaint" pianos which are designed more for early classical music like Mozart, baroque music, or french music like Debussy. But I feel like the new Yamahas are not just powerful, they are also capable of being played very softly. They have a very delicate character to them, particularly in the crisp treble.

Congratulations! If someone advises on pricing, remember that your market may not reflect no dissimilar regions.

I think you just have your personal tonal preferences. I don't think its at all true that any of the best pianos are "quaint" or designed more for Mozart or Baroque music.

You mentioned Shigeru as not to your liking based on your preferred repertorie. But a PW member, Can Cakmur, just won a big competition playing the Liszt Concerto on a Shigeru.

Based on your preference, I don’t think you will find pianos that you like other than Steinway, Fazioli and Yamaha. And you already excluded Steinway and Fazioli. Not sure if you’ve explored the used piano market. If you like the S7X, just go for it!

The main thing is to pick something that gives legitimate satisfaction. Nobody here can measure that, or weigh the precise alternatives OP has. Even if the average Yamaha is less good than the average Shigeru Kawai, we don't know how well either of these has turned out.

Also, we do have reports that the S7X can be quite marvelous. Best in class? Perfect value? Unable to be improved? Probably not. But that doesn't mean that this one won't be a great companion.

How does one define best in class? Some people claim that Shigeru Kawai is better because it is more handmade. But when I sat down at an SK-5 it just didn't have much power or grit and I couldn't see myself playing Rachmaninoff or Scriabin on it.

Well, then, go for what you like and don't worry about global reactions to averages.

You;re comparing the S7X to a piano almost a foot shorter.

Others claim the S series Yamahas are equal. I'd love an S7X or an SK-7.

Actually, it was an S6X I was playing as the dealer didn't have an S7X. And unfortunately the Kawai dealer didn't have an SK-6 or SK-7. But I did get to compare the 212cm S6X with the slightly larger 214cm Bosendorfer 214VC right next to it, and the S6X blew it away in terms of power in the bass and tenor.

C7X was next to a C6X when I went to the store in CA. (I wish they had an S7X). There was the expected increased power in the 7, for sure. Both were very consistent tonally. A "platinum" top end on the f -ff tones. A distinct, new generation from the C7 E or F series.

I've played many rebuilt Steinway B's in showrooms, rebuild shops, and not one has gotten me inspired...nice, but no magic "Steinway" moment. Midrangey....I also played a brand new D in a home, and it was very good, but not so inspiring to justify the jump in price.

As I look to possibly upgrade, I'm also interested in the Enspire PRO features, having had a 2001 DC7APro Disklavier in my previous studio.

Absolutely! +1

He's actually playing on a concert grand, not an sk 5,6 or 7. It could be a matter of voicing - perhaps the new SKs have soft hammers and need to be worn in a bit. All I know is, the sk5 at the dealer, in it's current state, did not seem to me aggressive enough for Rachmaninoff or Scriabin.