UPDATED REVIEW – June 8, 2013 – Recommended– The Yamaha YDPC71 is still a current model although the new 2013
model YDP162 is actually a more advanced piano in terms of piano sound
and other functions and it’s the same price (for standard finishes). Go to
the following link for a review of the Yamaha YDP162: Yamaha YDP162 review.
– Please note that the new YDP162 is also available in a polished ebony
but that polished finish is available only (in the US) in Yamaha
authorized piano stores and generally for a much higher price.
The only new piano that Yamaha came up with this year (2012) in their Arius series was an attractive polished ebony cabinet finish of their YDP161 which they call the YDP-C71PE at $1799 original internet price (upper left pic). The YDPC71 is otherwise the identical digital piano to the Arius YDP161 ($1499 internet price) which has a nice piano tone and fairly nice and solid piano key action (GH). However, the YDPC71 is somewhat basic in most every other way when it comes to its limited control panel where all controls on the left side of the piano which is a bit inconvenient in my opinion. It is also limited in amount of instrument tones & educational technology and has no USB output or USB flashdrive input unlike other digital pianos in this price range.
As I mentioned above, this model has the same specs as the YDP161 including just 10 total instrument tones (the piano tones sounds nice but the others are just OK), 128-notes of polyphony (which is very good), a 2-track 1 song MIDI recorder, 40 watts of stereo audio power, and all of it in a very polished basic cabinet. The polished ebony finish however is not on the pedalboard or cabinet back panel so the piano is not completely polished ebony and looks a bit cheap to me because of that.
In the lower price range right now I believe the new 2013 Casio PX850 at just$1099 internet discount price is a worthy competitor of the Yamaha. This new Casio
has 256-note polyphony, 40 watt 4 speaker sound system, synthetic ivory & ebony keys, and many other cool features including high speed USB direct connection to iPad for educational apps. Yes, Yamaha does have the more popular name in pianos
(they make great acoustic grands & uprights), but the name isn’t
what you will be playing…it’s the piano itself and with that in mind,
check out the new Casio models because I think you’ll be impressed. Go
here for my Casio PX850 review: Casio PX850 Review
Also, another digital piano that has caught my attention is the Kawai CE220 ($1899 internet price in satin black, left pic). What makes this piano a great choice is a few notable things such as a real full length wooden key action that, in my opinion, comes much closer to duplicating an acoustic piano upright key action than any other piano in this price range. Wood keys is a very big deal and not available on digital pianos until your at $3000 or more. The CE220 also has 192-notes of polyphony (it’s the same overall sound chip from their $3000 CN43 digital piano) with very high definition sound sampling that gives this piano more fire-power in reproducing an even better acoustic piano sound and something that really sounds like a grand piano. The wood key action and grand piano sound reproduction alone is worth the price of admission:).
With regard to the Yamaha Arius model YDPC71CE, the upside to this
instrument at this price point is that if you are a “minimalist” kind of
person who wants to keep it very simple with minimal functions, and you
really want that polished ebony high gloss look in a digital piano (and
you don’t mind spending the $1499 to get it), then this piano may be
just perfect for you. It really doesn’t matter which piano you get, because at the end of the day you’ll be able to make great music on any of these fine pianos and have something that should last you many years. Yamaha has always had good quality and I have played them for many years and you will likely be very happy should you choose to buy one. However, I recommend you do your digital piano research and contact me for advice before you make any buying decisions.
If you want more piano info and LOWER PRICES than internet or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.
