Best Digital Pianos Under $1500 – REVIEW | Feb 2024 Update

Korg only does one thing…they design and produce higher end music products in many categories directed towards people who appreciate more advanced and realistic digital technology in their musical instruments. Korg builds top rated keyboard and digital piano key actions along with impressive digital piano sound technology and they have been in business building music and percussion technology products for over 50 years.

Korg Piano

Korg home digital pianos are not normally available at the more well known US consumer stores such as Costco, Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc. This is because the Korg Home Digital Pianos are considered “special order products” at those places and are normally equated with higher price ranges when it comes to how they are rated by users, both professionals and beginners. Korg home digital pianos can sometimes be found on-line in a variety of on-line music stores as well as some local piano stores so it is possible to find them and play them, but the other mainstream brands such as Yamaha, Kawai, and Casio are generally easier to find. However, we do recommend that you seriously consider all of the Korg home digital pianos from $500 to $2000 because they are super impressive and have new digital piano technology that the other brands do not have, especially in this lower price range under $2000 and under $1500

 

 

The size, power, and quality of an internal speaker system in any digital piano has a lot to do with the quality of piano sound that you hear. Starting off with Yamaha in this $1500 and under price range is the new lower priced Yamaha YDP-105 entry level model at $1099. The YDP-145 at $1299 internet price follows that one and has just 16 watts of total power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers pointing down towards the floor.

The piano sound on the YDP-145 is good but unfortunately a bit thin and tinny because of the smaller 16 watt total amplifiers in that model. The new Roland RP701 and F701 digital pianos has just 24 watts of power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers with the speakers mounted inside the piano pointing down to the floor. Like the Yamaha, the Kawai KDP120 digital piano has 40 watts of power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers mounted inside the piano pointing down to the floor.

If it were a choice between the 40 watt Kawai KDP120 at $1499 or the higher priced 40 watt Yamaha YDP-165 at $1799, I would take the Kawai over that Yamaha, especially considering the Kawai is $300 less than the Yamaha and sounds somewhat better to me. Even the newer Casio AP-470 digital piano at $1699 internet price with 40 watts of power going through 2 amplifiers and 4 speakers mounted inside the piano sounds better to me than the Yamaha model and  more realistic as compared to the Kawai KDP-120, but the KDP120 is still pretty close.

This is because the Casio AP-470 has a top lid speaker projection system that helps the higher sounds come out towards the player. So when it comes to a digital pianos priced at $1699, I like the Casio AP-470 better than the Roland RP701 or Yamaha YDP-165. Even though the Casio is a bit higher priced than the Yamaha and Roland, it is definitely worth the difference and worth mentioning here in this “under $1500” price range, even though they are more money.

The Korg LP-380U achieves this big beautiful sound by offering specially designed speaker system components mounted into a sealed rectangular speaker box which is mounted under the piano. The speaker box is also uniquely electronically “tuned’  permanently within the speaker box and the speakers are pointing towards the player rather than down to the floor away from the player like most other digital pianos.

The sound coming out of this model is produced in such a way that you “feel” the piano sound (like on a real grand piano) as well as hear it, which the other digital pianos cannot do. Even playing at lower volumes on the LP-380U still gives you the sense that it’s a grand piano you are hearing instead of a smaller, more metallic sound that you would normally get out of other digital pianos such as the Roland digital pianos.

Another thing I like about the LP-380U is that it is easy to operate, has some very cool features along with offering USB Audio Streaming and can close up flat when the key-cover is put down over the keys.

Casio AP-470

There are certainly other good choices under $1500 for a furniture cabinet digital piano including the newer Casio PX-870 ($1199) which I like very much and it is well under $1500 price, and has some impressive features along with the Casio AP-270 ($1199) and Korg LP-380U ($999) that I already mentioned. Finally, Korg makes a higher price model called the G1 Air which is priced at $1999 internet price and is certainly over this approx $1500 review. However, it is definitely worth mentioning if you can go up in price towards the $2000 price range because the G1 Air piano sounds are upgraded even further with more advanced piano reproduction technology and all of that going through an amazing internal 80 watt sound system which goes through 4 discrete amplifiers directed through 4 speakers.

The 2 main bass speaker system is in a separate speaker box but the 2 additional G1 Air speakers are mounted inside the piano near the top and pointing upwards to spread out the higher frequency sounds. The result of that system is incredibly impressive but it is higher priced than the Yamaha YDP-165 ($1799 price) and the Roland RP701 ($1729 price). The cabinet on the Korg G1 Air is also upgraded with the ability to hold twice as much sheet music along the top than any other digital piano in its class. It’s just good to consider bumping up your budget to consider a few of the other digital pianos that are between $1500 and $2000.

But for digital pianos, let’s say from $1000 to $1500, in this specific price range then I would choose the Korg LP-380U at $999 and then the Casio AP-470 at $1699 (slightly over the $1500 price range) but it is worth mentioning it here because it is not a lot more money for a very impressive instrument.. The Casio AP-470 has the much more traditional furniture cabinet design as compared with the Korg digital pianos and it comes with a nice height adjustable bench whereas the Korg pianos do not come with a bench.

So if you want the best looking “traditional” furniture cabinet digital piano around or under $1500 that has a very satisfying piano playing experience, then I would recommend the Casio pianos, especially the PX-870 at $1199. However, if you want the bigger, better piano sound in a more contemporary but yet elegant compact style cabinet, then I would recommend the Korg pianos. If  a person could get closer to $2000 then I would recommend the new Yamaha CLP-725 furniture cabinet digital piano which I will review shortly. Factory warranties on both Korg and Casio as are Yamaha CLP models are 5 years parts & 5 years labor against factory defects, which is a very big warranty. Warranty on the Yamaha and Kawai pianos under $1500 range are 3 years parts & labor, and warranty on Roland is 5 year parts and 2 years labor.

Something I think piano shoppers should be aware of is that there are a few (off) brands out there that I do not recommend, because very simply put…I do not like the piano playing experience I get from them. Those brands would include Williams,  Gewa, many Suzuki models, Artesia, and Adams. These brands generally look good on the outside, but really don’t offer that realistic piano playing experience that you would get in the top name mainstream brands. I have played and I have been very disappointed with them, especially with their key actions, piano sound and dynamic tonal expression, and pedaling. Some of those pianos do have a bunch of “bells & whistles” but many of those bells and whistle features sound like toys. Just because something is a cheap price and looks good on the outside does not necessarily make it good on the inside with regard to piano playing. Beware of these digital pianos when shopping.

Actually, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the digital pianos I mentioned here between $1000 – $1500. When it comes to furniture cabinet  and even portable digital pianos under $1000, as I mentioned earlier, I already have reviewed those portable and cabinet pianos under $1000 and there are some good ones there too. Even though the Casio PX-870 ($1199) is not under $1000, I recommend that people consider it because in my opinion it’s worth the extra cost. Casio also has the entry level cabinet model Casio PX-770 at $899.