Who wants to buy a digital piano, is facing a huge selection. With ever new models, the manufacturers are trying to get closer and closer to perfect piano replacement. New keyboards, sounds and speaker systems are advertised with flowery marketing terms – but what is really behind it? Add to this the right design: Most manufacturers offer not only large, stationary Heimpianos but also compact, portable instruments. To help you decide on the right digital piano, we have summarized all our digital piano tests in this test marathon. The options for the karaoke bananza are much perfect in this case.
The Basic Opportunities in This Case
Basically, the requirements for a digital piano are quickly defined: it is meant to replace a piano where an acoustic piano is too heavy and too big, too loud or too expensive. So it’s all about authentic “piano feel” – unlike, say, a keyboard, a digital piano is often not expected to be overly large in terms of functionality, as long as it masters its core mission convincingly. That’s why there are three key factors in our reviews: the keyboard, the speaker system and, of course, the piano sound itself. These points are key to the instrument’s ability to convincingly replace an acoustic piano and make it enjoyable for a long time.
- Digital Yamaha Aria YDP-163 digital piano marathon test marathon
- Heimpianos are the classic piano replacement for the home (pictured: Yamaha Arius YDP-163, photo: Yamaha)
- Digital Yamaha Aria YDP-163 digital piano marathon test marathon Digital Piano Roland F-140R Digital Piano Test Marathon Digital Pianos Kawai ES110 Digital Piano Test Marathon
Basically, you can differentiate between two different types of digital pianos. The classic digital piano is a “Heimpiano” with a traditional, “piano-like” design and a fixed base frame with integrated pedals. These “music furniture” are quite large and heavy and intended for stationary use as a piano substitute in the home four walls or, for example, in music schools.
The Specificity of Digital Pianos
In addition, there are digital pianos with compact dimensions, which are not firmly connected to a base and therefore easy to transport. They can be used mobile and often put on a standard keyboard stand. For these pianos, manufacturers usually offer optional stands and pedal units that can be used to upgrade them to compact headers. A small subgroup in this category is ultra-light digital pianos with no weighted hammer-action keyboard, such as the Yamaha Piaggeroseries. They are less a substitute for an acoustic piano, but rather a transport-friendly alternative for traveling pianists.
In the lists below the instruments are sorted into these categories. In this test marathon, we did not consider the so-called “stage pianos”, because these are designed primarily for professional use on stage and in their purest form have no integrated speakers, which is why they are not well suited for practicing at home.