Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Any reason to by NU1X instead of NU1?

Hello,

I have the option of buying an NU1 (used) for roughly $2800 all in vs an NU1X (new) for $5400 all in. Is there any reason I should buy the newer instrument other than the longer Warranty?

The used NU1 is 3 years old and under warranty for another two years.

I live in an apartment so I primarily play with headphones. I mostly play classical music.

I'm buying the Yamaha because I found my previous piano (Roland) flattered my technique too much and I sounded like a moron when I played on an acoustic instrument.

I'm aware of the loud note issue but it sounds like there's a patch available I can get from Yamaha?

The NU1x has the CFX binaural sounds that are well liked here; do a search and try them out for yourself.

Are you sure the Yamaha warranty is transferrable in the Republik of California?

The NU1X also has an audio interface and works with the “Smart Pianist” app.
This app is robust; you can do everything from volume note-per-note control to assigning middle/left pedal for page turning (convenient if using a tablet for music reading).

You may want to double check with your seller. From what I heard, Yamaha AvantGrant warranties are not transferable to the second owner. I learned this when I was considering buying a used N3 from a private party which was about 4 years old. The seller (original owner) called his dealer to ask about his warranty and was told by his dealer that the 5 year warranty on it would not be transferable to me.

I ended up buying a different 4 year old used N3 (sold as a trade-in) through an authorized Yamaha dealer. This dealer confirmed with me that the Yamaha 5 year warranty on that N3 is not transferable to me either. Nevertheless, because they are a dealer, they provided me with their own 90 day warranty and said they'd have a certified Yamaha AvantGrand tech check out this N3 before they deliver to me.

If I'm not mistaken, the firmware update for the NU1X that seems to fix the "loud note" problem, is not available for the NU1. Or is it?

There was a forum member who was sent a beta firmware with the fix for NU1 too. Whether it’s officially released though I’m not sure.

From the Limited 5-Year Warranty on Yamaha Hybrid Pianos pdf on Yamaha's website: "This warranty covers only the Original Owner and is not transferable."

Ran out of edit time to add:

Having noted the above, if a thorough inspection and playing reveals the NU1 to be in good condition, I personally wouldn't be too concerned about the lack of warranty. Most warranty-covered issues will have surfaced in the piano's early lifetime, and things occuring as a result of normal wear/usage are not covered in any event. From the Warranty document: "(c) action regulation, the results of normal wear, battery or battery replacement and any periodic maintenance" is not covered . . . plus a bunch of other stuff such as "deterioration due to perspiration", etc.

- Improved Sound Quality due to VRM etc.
- Better speakers/amps
- 15 Voices (instead of 5)
- USB Audio Interface
- Fixed Loud Note Issue
- Binaural Sampling for CFX Voice
- Smartpianist App compatible
- Bluetooth Audio

$2800 vs. $5400 is a really tough call here. I user an NU1 as a practice piano frequently, and when 8 first played it I was kind of meh on it-short samples with almost no. sustain/decay, very bright tone, sloppy, wiggly pedal, heavy, loud keys with short pivot that, with the heavy keys makes it even harder to play bear the fallboard...but over the years I've really grown to like it. Maybe it's because I don't have to live with its various shortcomings, but I do like playing it much more than most other DPs--only the NV10 and acoustics feel clearly superior. It's crisp, nuanced, the sampling and time are actually quite good, and the action is authentic.

I hit the loud note issue several times an hour on it, and it is distracting, but again it's just a practice piano for me so I can live with it (one of the acoustics I play has a bit of a chipped keytop, which would drive me crazy if it were on my own piano but I can ignore when it's not mine).

If I didn't have my piano and were presented with this choice, it would be a tough call to make. I'd probably try to negotiate the NU1 down to $22-2500, and take that over a full priced NU1X (for $5500 if save my beans and go for a full fledged N1X or used N3 over an upright action). But price aside, I think highly enough of the NU1 to consider it as a personal piano candidate.

The loud note issue should be mitigated by a software upgrade. It sounds like despite tails of a beta version for the NU1, that this patch is not officially out yet and hasn't been applied to the NU1 you are practicing with. Is that correct?


The big difference between the NU1 and NU1X that I am aware of is the sound. Yet, one could buy and set up a VST machine with a top VST for less than the $2600 difference between $2800 and $5400.

“......and when 8 first played it I was kind of meh......”
Who were these ’8’, and how did the ‘9th’ change your opinion on the instrument?

Correct, the patch wasn't available on the NU1 last I checked (a few weeks back).



8 out of 9 pianists recommended the NU1. The 9th preferred ultra-flouridated Colgate, but the action was just particularly mushy under the fingers and way too xanthum-gum like.

Not going to lie - the NV10 is 100% my first choice but I genuinely cannot afford a $10K piano right now : /



This was my thought as well.

No point in waiting for the NV5, then I guess as the price of the NV5 is bound to be more than the NU1X.

Seems like you should go with the NU1 and set aside some money for a VST machine and getting something like Garritan CFX or VSL Synchron Concert D. If and when you get it, you might also pester Yamaha to get the beta patch for the loud note issue.

Lucy, I also live in the Republic of California. Although I am down south. I recommend you make an offer to the dealer for about 80% of his proposed price. Free shipping, but you will have to pay the sales tax. If he says no, go buy the used one. But tell him that’s your alternative. If I were you I would buy the NU1x. But not at full price plus the 10%? sales tax. Maybe try another dealer?

Both prices are with shipping / moving / tax etc. but I do think you're right I can try to be more aggressive with the dealer since I have the backup option.



Digital pianos also depreciate pretty quickly on the high end. (Years ago, I sold my old Privia 850 for almost exactly what I purchased it for whereas I'm pretty sure I should expect 50% or less of whichever Yamaha I buy if I sell 2 to 3 years from now) so I'd like to think of it as the Yamaha being a good technique-builder piano as I save up for the Kawai. (I also just prefer the sound of acoustic Kawai pianos to acoustic Yamaha's so there's that.) Or maybe I'll win the lotto and buy a place big enough for an Hamburg Model O. =P

I'm going to go test the NU1 with the Korg Module on iPad and see if there's any latency. If there isn't and it solves the sound quality + decay issue (the main thing I care about with the NU1 since I'm upgrading specifically to play better on both digital and acoustic pianos) then I'm going to buy that because it sounds like $30 solves my problem. If I have to invest in a VST machine then I'm going to negotiate hard for the NU1X.

Thanks Everyone!

The NU1 DEFINITELY has a short decay/sustain. And if you play the top octave and a half, you can barely tell there aren't any dampers on those keys.

That's probably the main "built-in" drawback of the NU1 that you can't avoid (the loud note issue being variable depending on your playing style). When I first tried the NU1 I really didn't like the fact that you can abuse the pedal (never lift it) and it never sounds bad. Made for promoting/allowing poor pedal technique. But I got over it as I just don't pay as much attention to the pedal when I play the NU1, I save that for when I'm on the acoustics/NV-10

And a VST solves the pedal issue of course.

LucyAlis, if the $5400 price includes sales tax or what; 10%? Then the price is not too far.

Hi Everyone - Thought I would provide any update in case anyone is following (or anyone looks up this thread later on).

So here is where I landed:

1. I tried out the NU1 with the Korg Module + output line + input line on an iPad Air. It "works" for a given value of works (eg the technology does what it's supposed to and there's no noticeable lag relative to how I play). However, the volume is too low ( via headphones, via the iPad, even when fed back into the piano) for the experience to be truly enjoyable. That said, in theory, you have a $45 ($30 for the app and $15 for the cord) solve to the sound sampling quality issue and the limited # of voices issue.

2. I played through a piece with really sloppy pedal work and Gombessa is correct, this piano is ultra forgiving of a lead foot.

3. I was not able to consistently reproduce the loud note issue on this piano.

So having done that I sat down, thought about it and decided to buy the NU1 instead of the NU1x because of the following:

0. My primary need is a piano that a) fits in the tiny space I have available, b) can be played with headphones 90% of the time, c) doesn't encourage me to build bad technique (I would classify myself as an intermediate to advanced classical pianist), d) can be purchased for less than $5000 because that's all I can spare right now. This criteria led me to settle on the NU1 based on the limited number of digital pianos I was able to try.

1. My main issues with the instrument could be solved through software + external hardware. Not perfectly, but well enough even with just an iPad that I'm willing to give it a real shot.

2. The math made the NU1 a more sound financial decision. My expectation for keeping a piano I buy now is roughly 2 to 3 years since that's how long I anticipate it will take for me to get to a place where I can afford to live somewhere where I can have an acoustic (and thus invest in a good one). With the NU1 my expected loss on resale is probably $1000 to $1500. With the NU1X It's at least $2500.