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I went to my favorite piano store today to try out their digitals. I have decided against Casio, as the 320 has a heavy touch, which gets unbearably heavy toward the backs of the keys. Too bad, because I'd like something more portable. I already ruled out the 110 because the tone was just awful. I did like the 800 at Sam Ash, though.

They had lots of Kawais, including the wooden key ones, really high end models with lots of buttons. I liked them, but all of these seem to have keys that go KERPLUNK! when you play. Some actually make a noise, but others just suddenly drop down with a silent THUD.

Some of the Yamahas were decent, but my favorite out of the many was a Roland RP-101. Yes, I know, entry level. Very simple. But the keyboard felt most like an acoustic to me, and I liked the sound. I was hoping to find something NOT built into a cabinet so that I can move it around the house myself, but I was having a hard time just finding a few that didn't go KERPLUNK. They had I think two of these 101 models, and both felt nice.

I'm going to go back to Sam Ash and try the Casio PX-800 to compare. It was significantly cheaper.

I guess if I have a question in all this, it would be whether anyone else notices and is bothered by the THUD of the keys on most of these major name brands.

Bump. Did you go back to Sam Ash today? I am curious how the 800 compared.

I did go back. They didn't have the PX-200, but they had every other model I wanted to try. Found a few others too, a Benjamin Adams BCR-400, and still more.

My favorite is still the Roland RP101 at $1188. (At another piano shop).

Next would be the Casio PX-800, and the stand is much more attractive and lighter weight than the Roland. The 800 is $799 for the next 3 days, $899 after that. Unfortunately, I didn't get to use the headphones. Back tomorrow for that. But the tone is just better, not as piercing as the 320. The touch is lighter. The pedals work beautifully.

Still, I could live with the PX-320. Haven't ruled it out yet, because it is cheaper and more portable.

Also liked Yamaha YDP 213, which is $799 for the next 3 days, $899 after. Deciding between this and the Casio 800 is tough. The Casio looks better.

So, in order of preference:

Roland RP101 ($1188)
Casio PX-800 ($799)
Yamaha YDP 213 ($799)
Casio PX-320 ($599) + stand + pedals

I THINK! I actually walked away more undecided than ever! I hate making decisions under pressure, but they are only doing the $100 off for the next 3 days.

Wow! $599 for a PX-320 plus stand and pedals? Is that right? That seems like a screaming deal to me.

No, sorry, I meant $599 just for the keyboard. The stand and pedals are extra. Still, I haven't seen it for less than $699, so I thought it was a good deal.

One thing I noticed on the demo 310's that were for sale is that two out of three of them had noisy keys. They weren't plugged in, so I couldn't even try out the tone, but I played silently on all of them and only one of them had quiet keys. They were $499.

So in the end, I'm not sure the Roland is worth all that extra money. That leaves the two Casios and a Yamaha, all located at Sam Ash, which should simplify things. These are all current models, so I could just take my time deciding and wait for their next big sale.

Have you looked at the:

Yamaha P-85, P-140
Roland FP4, FP7
Kawai EP2

I did do the Yam P85. It actually was really nice for the money, but the tone was too bright for me, and only got worse as I tried to fix it. I thought the keyboard feel was good. It was better than I thought it would be at that price.

EDIT: I *didn't* try the P140. See below.

The Rolands--I did try FP7. Can't remember about FP4. I actually didn't like any of the Rolands except for the bottom of the line model. It was all about the feel of the keyboard with that one. The RP 101 felt much like an acoustic to me, and had nice sound.

Kawai EP2--I tried several Kawais, mostly really high end ones. Overall, the keys clunk too hard when they hit bottom. Even the wood ones had clunky keys. Sam Ash had a couple Kawais, so I'll see if they have the EP2 if I can get over there today.

I've decided not to be forced into a quick decision, which is my usual policy. I'll have to catch them on their next big sale.

Okay, here's the latest update.

Today, the Yamaha P140 was the winner. Thought I'd tried that one, but I hadn't. I had listened to it online, and jotted down that I liked the "grand3" sound. Sure enough, that was duplicated in person.

The touch was good. It's really more than I wanted to spend, at $999 for just the keyboard. But after playing it for awhile, only the other Yamahas could compare. I still like the YDP-213, which is cheaper, so I'll have to decide whether I want a cabinet, or something I can actually move around the house.

The Casio PX-800 wasn't good thru the headphones, and my daughter didn't like the tone. It seemed brighter today, especially after the P140, and brighter isn't good.

Looks like it's going to be a Yamaha either way, so I hope that 64-poly is good enough. I'd like to go back and try that low end Roland, because now when I add the stand and pedals, the Yam will be up there in price.

BTW, the Kawai EP2 had a nice touch, but too bright for me.

Just a note - when buying P140 you must consider a really good stand for it. What you will hate most is stand that makes piano unstable. When it moves during playing forte and fast passages, it's no good - nothing irritates me more

It's good you are finally getting decided. Being undecided is horrible, I had the problem for more than few months Went with Kawai though.

Are those double braced X-stands stable enough? I'd really like something that can be moved easily. If that doesn't work I'll have to go with the regular "wood" stand.

I'm not going to buy just yet. Want to wait long enough to make sure this is the route to go, so I don't find something I like better two months from now.