Review – Digital Piano Buyer’s Guide: Best Digital Piano between $1000-$1500 (Casio PX860, Yamaha YDP142, Roland F130R, Kawai KDP90)

In this digital piano review, I’d like to introduce some of the bestselling home digital piano models today within the price range $1,000-$1,500. I am not going to tell you whether I like a specific piano or not, because I believe the final decision is always up to you.

You might heard someone saying “this piano has bright sound,” or “this one has warmer sound. The sound of digital piano also varies, and I don’t believe I should say “oh, this is a better sounding digital piano than the other one.” So I want to leave these final decisions for you, and I believe the decision-making factors (such as sound, touches) have a lot to do with personal preference, not with such value-laden words as “good,” “better,” or “worse.” You are the person who is going to play the piano all the time, not the person who talks or about it, and this includes me. I will just tell you about some facts about best selling models, and I want you to be the final judge.

Casio PX860                               Kawai KDP90

   

Yamaha Arius YDP142                Roland F130R

      

The digital pianos that I am going to introduce today are Casio Privia Digital Piano PX860, Yamaha Arius Digital Piano YDP142, (this is the newer version of YDP141) Roland Slim Digital Piano F130R, and Kawai KDP90. First, let’s have a look at the comparison chart.

	Amplifier (Speaker Output)	Keyboard Sensitivity	Keyboard Touch	Price
Casio PX860	20W + 20W	3 Sensitivity Levels	Weighted scaled hammer action	$1099
Yamaha YDP142	6W + 6W	3 Sensitivity Levels	Graded Hammer Standard	$1099
Roland F130R	12 W + 12W	5 Sensitivity Levels	Escapement	$1299
Kawai KDP90	13W + 13W	6 Sensitivity Levels	Advanced Hammer Action	$1149

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These four features (amplifier volume, keyboard sensitivity, keyboard touch, and price) are probably what you have to care when shopping for digital pianos. Speaker output volume level (amplifier) are conducive for better sound; Keyboard sensitivity and keyboard touches are related to “feel” of touches. Casio PX860 and YDP142 have only 3 sensitivty levels, so they might be able to limit the expression of players; this means that even if you want to play your piano at very little volume (like pianissimo level), those two pianos cannot express it because it will just let you play at medium volume(mezzo piano)! Kawai KDP90, however, will enable you to express from very little volume like ppp (pianissimo) to the loudest one like fff (fortissimo) because it has 6 sensitivity levels. Regarding touches of each piano, Roland F130R has the most outstanding touch, because it actually employs “escapement,” which grand acoustic pianos use. Casio PX860, Roland YDP142, and Kawai KDP90 have all similar “weighted” action in different names.

If you care about the realistic touch for education go for Roland F130R. If you want the best piano sound, choose Kawai KDP90. (It uses the renowned synthesizer sound chip from Harmonic Imaging™) If you are the person who believes in brand reliability, buy Yamaha YDP142. Or if you are on a budget, Casio PX860 is a great choice. Like I said, the final decision is always up to you. The following table explains the brand strength of each manufacturers.

Brand Strength
Roland	Most Realistic Representation of Acoustic Piano Touch
Kawai	Best Sound Technology (The renowned Harmonic Imaging™)
Yamaha	Brand Reliability (They also manufacture acoustic pianos)
Casio	Affordable Price

The following table is a comparison chart. This is based on our customer’s review.

Bestselling Home Digital Piano Model Comparison Chart [Price Range $1000-$1500]
	Pros	Cons
Yamaha YDP-142 ($1099)	Affordable Price Brand Reliability;Yamaha also manufactures acoustic pianos and speakers Bench Included	Weak Control Panel
Casio PX-860($1099)	Affordable Price 256 Polyphony Ivory Key Top	Bench Not Included No Regular Size Pedals
Roland F-130R($1299)	Most Realistic Representation of Acoustic Piano Touch Best reputation for digital musical instruments Sleek Design; Modern Looking	Bench Not Included No Regular Size Pedals
Kawai KDP90($1149)	Best Sound System Bench Included 88 Tones & Versatile Control Panel	Only 1 color available (Rosewood)

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