Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Yamaha Grand C3X Silent VS non-Silent?

Hi everyone,

I am thinking to upgrade to a grand piano lately, I am an amateur piano lover who got full time job 9-6, so my main practicing time will be at night after dinner. I have tried Yamaha C3X i liked it, however I'm not sure if it's worth to get the C3x Silent Piano? I haven't got the chance to try it on myself for the silent function yet... my main concerns are:

- will the silent function have impact on the touch, which makes the C3X silent feels different than the original C3X?
- will the silent technology be outdated (or even broken) and eventually become something I don't want to use? ( Currently only 5 year warranty is given for the silent functions, 10 years for the piano itself)

I don't know if I should choose the original c3x or with the Silent...if you have any comment i will highly appreciate. Thanks!

I just tried a new GC1 with Silent Piano and I could not tell a noticeable difference but i am somewhat back to beginner stage after not playing for 20 years . When plugged into the headset the sound was amazing. I tried a nice refurbished C3 that was sitting next to the GC1 and the C3 felt (touch) and sounded much better but that was most likely due to the difference in quality between a GC1 and C3. If my wife would let me do it, i would definitely do the C3X with silent but my wife has limited my budget to a GC1 so i am looking at a GC1 with silent or keeping my current older hybrid for silent use and getting a nicer refurbed acoustic like the C3 i played. I hope this helps.

You mention that your time to practice will be in the evening, after dinner. Where will the piano be located? In a common area or in a room apart from the rest of the house? Who might have objections to your practicing? Family? Neighbors?

I never tried a C3X with a silent system when I was buying, so I can't offer any experience along those lines.

thank you both for your kind reply.

the piano will be located in a separate room but we live in an apartment so neighbours will be something i need to keep in mind..( and family too hahaha )....


one of the reason for my hesitation is, I currently have a Kawai K5 upright(10 year old) for daily practice (of course have used soft pedal for thousands of times during night practice lol) if I buy silent piano, i will sell my kawai K5. However if i buy c3x without silent, which I will save a little bit of money than silent, I might just keep my kawai k5? I'm a torn with these options ....

Thanks heaps!

- will the silent function have impact on the touch, which makes the C3X silent feels different than the original C3X?
- will the silent technology be outdated (or even broken) and eventually become something I don't want to use? ( Currently only 5 year warranty is given for the silent functions, 10 years for the piano itself)

1) when in silent mode, the action will be slightly different in theory, some people can feel it, others can't. my understanding is this does not effect the non-silent acoustic mode
2) sure, the digital side of the technology will be outdated (probably alkready is lol), but thats OK, as you can use VSTs. the actual silent bar physical tech may certainly improve over time, with the ultimate goal of not effecting the action in any way. I'm sure they will do it one day. imo not something to hold you up on your purchase right now though. also the 5-year warranty doens't mean that in 6 years they won't fix any issues... they just won't fix it for free

anyway to me seems like an obvious choice - C3X WITH the silent system ftw. dream piano right there I'll be looking to get something like that in about 9 years from now

If you can afford the silent C3X, in your situation it seems like an excellent choice. Without silent it is a pretty powerful piano. I have a C2X (without silent feature) and I love it, but if I had had the money for a silent C3X I would definitely have bought one. This would have given me additional freedom to play without worrying about family and neighbors (I live in a detached house, but the C2X is already powerful enough to be heard from the street when I am playing, according to my wife).

Silent feature or not, I think a new C3X is one of the very best pianos you can buy in that price range.

I am sharing my experience based on my former brand new Yamaha U1 SH silent model (2005). I believe the latest is SH2. I used it for about 6 years. Hope it helps a little.

Feeling different?
No. As in pressing down a key is exactly the same feeling.

Yes. As in when playing without silent system, some keys will have minor vibration especially at the lower register. With headphone (silent playing), you wont feel it.

What I like?
During silent playing, you can change the tone to warmer or brighter. And do recordings to a usb drive.

What i don't like?
1) The recordings sounded very mono, unsure if it is due to settings.
2) Techicially, the rail is about 1cm away from the hammer. Thus rightfully making soft palying alittle more difficult to archive.
3) Live recording can be tricky since there is keybed sound (more on next point)

Is the keybed loud?
I didnt measure db but you can certainly hear it even with headphone, but not so much on full covered ones.

Will be outdated?
Yes, technology will be outdated but you will hit your objective of silent playing.

Can it be connect to ipad? Speaker?
Yes. Can I had created a Youtube tutorial to assit others.
Yes too. Saw youtube silent model with speakers

Shall you buy?
If you just need silent playing and don't wish to use a digital piano, u got the obvious choice.
If you are willing to spend more, check out Yamaha C3X Transacoustic which I will get if ihave the money and space.

Good luck.

Continue...
And also check this keybed sound video . I don't hit the keys like how the person. So at my room, it is never so loud for my case. There will be a knocking sound for sure. Wont wake babies but I can definitely hear it, so can you.

you should also take a look at the kawai GX series with atx4 system. action-wise i think they are superior to the cx series from yamaha. i think it is much easier to play ppp on the kawai. from the sound it is a matter of choice.

I have the c3xta2, the action is slightly affected by the silent mode, but not significantly. It is still better than most digitals in silent mode.

Thank you for everyone's reply! very informative!


And Yes I did try KAWAI GX2 and GX3, ( Without atx4 system tho, I'm not sure if we have them in Australia).. I really liked KAWAI series too, i feel the touch is ever so slightly heavier than the yamaha.... haven't made the final decision yet....

Thank you Jojovan, i'd love to have the transacoustic but it is a bit out of my budget at this stage.....i think the maximum i can consider is c3x or kawai gx2 around that price range...

I have the Disklavier C3x. I'm pretty sure silent mode works the same, minus the player system and the (slightly) advanced MIDI sensitivity. You put in your headphones and the piano puts the mute rail above the hammers. So everytime you strike a key, the hammers strike the mute rail instead of the strings.

Yes, it will feel *slightly* different than when the piano hits the strings. It is a very subtle feeling, more mental than physical, because the entire response to you is technically the same.

In terms of going outdated, it's not going to be any more outdated than any other silent or player system installed in a piano. As long as you live in a place where your neighbors might hear you, you will ALWAYS have the issue of the piano being too loud. A 6'1 piano is not a baby grand, it WILL travel through walls and ceilings. even If I play at relatively quiet volume.

I pretty much use the digital action 99% of the time. I trigger VSTs which gives me an enormous range of piano sounds to choose from. So technically I bought a 50k MIDI Controller but so worth it.

I'm in the same boat, and it's not even neighbors I'm worried about. Household with young kids, and the only realistic time I have to set aside a few hours to practice is very early in the morning. So I currently have a digital, and I'm looking at acoustic grands for that 1-5% of the time when I maybe can play a bit without headphones, but for the foreseeable future it's going to be 95-99% silent for me as well.

I have the C3x silent and never had regrets purchasing it. It made my opportunity to play versatile anytime I want to play practice without worrying if I will disturb the people around me. I have not experienced any difference on the touch when I switch to silent mode. On silent mode I can still hear the keys but not too loud to be distracting. I have not tried recording on it to produce better sound but that's my project for the coming months lol.

I would strongly suggest getting a silent system for a few grand difference. Free up your space and just have one piano that has this ability. This is what I did and I am very happy still! No what if's!

Navi9187

I appreciate your sig… Yammie P-140 => C3X with a stop at the N2. I’m looking at doing the same but going from my Clp-380 and thinking of next step (GC1/SH or N1X). I am leaning towards the GC1SH and then a C3XsH in a couple of years.

Thank you so much Navi9187! Agree with Free Up the space and just have one piano... feel a bit hard to justify to keep 2 pianos at home for just being an amateur hahaha

Im also an amateur. I consider my room to be small. That said, i have a DP, 5"8 grand (nothing under the piano), a couch, dehumidifier, a standing fan, two cube chairs left with a short L shape walking path. Silent /ATX / transacoustic models are way too costly for me. If you can afford and like silent features, really should consider.
The few considerations could be:
1) resale value
2) ease of finding buyer
3) much higher price ( meaning you can get a longer piano)
4) you may not find a floor model

Cheaper alternative is still a DP and a grand. My two cents.

I am trying to figure out whether there is any difference between:

- piano without the silent system
- same piano with the silent system, played in acoustic mode

I am currently considering purchasing a Yamaha S3X SH2, which is a high quality piano and very rare to find on the market (and long waiting time from order to delivery). But some experienced people are discouraging me, saying that the silent option should not be installed on pianos of this caliber because it has an impact on the action and on the dynamics. Of course not because of the motion sensors which are optical, but because of the bar stopping hammers and the engage/disengage mechanism which have a small but noticeable negative impact.

Other people say that there is no difference at all, SH2 has zero impact in acoustic configuration. I am confused.

C3X with Enspire Pro here. Silent system is great, I feel no difference in touch because of it. It's much better than the N2 I had!