REVIEW - Yamaha YDP-C71PE Digital Piano - Very Attractive Cabinet but otherwise same model as older YDP161

The 2012 polished ebony Yamaha YDPC71PE is very attractive but somewhat overpriced in my opinion, considering it is otherwise the same piano as the older YDP161. I really like the Yamaha brand and own a couple of their pianos myself. I have also played many of their digital pianos and keyboards for years and I always look forward to seeing new Yamaha digital pianos. Yamaha has been producing their current line of Arius pianos for about 2 years now (with the exception of their new low priced YDP135R) and I was hoping to see new electronic and/or feature improvements in their 2012 models, but unfortunately there were none, and that was a bit disappointing to me considering all the new technology out there.

The only thing that Yamaha came up with this year was a new and attractive polished ebony cabinet finish for their YDP161, which they call the YDP-C71PE at $1899 internet price (upper left pic). The C71PE is otherwise the identical digital piano to the Arius YDP161 ($1499 internet price) which has a very nice piano tone and fairly nice and solid upright piano key action (GH). However, this model is somewhat basic in most every other way when it comes to many things including its control panel (no LED or LCD display screen at all), there is no easy access to additional features, limited instrument tones & educational technology, and no USB output or USB flashdrive input unlike other digital pianos in this price range which have some of these upgraded features and functions. In other words, for $1899, other than getting it in the polished ebony finish which I admit costs more money to produce and is very nice to look upon, there are better new digital piano choices out there that are far more advanced including piano sound & key action realism. In fact going up just a bit to the Yamaha Clavinova CLP430 would be a much better choice as a musical instrument goes, in my opinion, and for not much more money.

OK, I know I am being a bit harsh in my evaluation of the C71PE, but for $1899, you should be getting a lot more piano for that price in my opinion. As I mentioned above, the C71PE has the specs as the YDP161 including 10 total instrument tones (the piano tones sounds real nice but the others are just OK), 128-notes of polyphony (which is good), a 2-track 1 song MIDI recorder, 40 watts of stereo audio power (good), and all of it in a very basic cabinet aside from the attractive polished ebony finish.

I would recommend you also consider the new 2012 model Roland RP301 ($1699 internet price in satin black (left pic) or rosewood) which is quite competitive with the Yamaha C71 specs and has (in my opinion) a slightly better key action and piano reproduction, although the Roland speaker audio power is only 24 watts total (a bit weak) as compared to Yamaha at 40 watts (good). The Roland RP301 does have better access to the control panel with dedicated front panel buttons, a duet 4-hands play mode, a better looking cabinet design in my opinion, and a mini-jack input for running an external audio device such as an iPod through the Roland speaker system. The Roland RP301 also has 30 instrument tones as opposed to 10 on the Yamaha.

However, a new 2012 digital piano that has really received my attention lately (and is just coming out very early in Feb) 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 (the other pianos mentioned use all plastic). The CE220 also has 192-notes of polyphony (it's the sound chip from their $3000 digital piano) with high definition sound sampling that gives this piano more fire-power in reproducing an even better acoustic piano sound which makes you believe that you're really hearing a grand piano (I played this model recently and have experienced this for myself). The wood key action and grand piano sound reproduction alone I think is worth the "price of admission:)." On top of that, the Kawai has 100 realistic drum player patterns to help with rhythm & timing which is great for music education, 4-hand duet play, it can layer and split any two of its 22 impressive instrument sounds with relative volume balance, it has USB output to computer and USB flashdrive input for downloading music into the CE220 as well as saving your recordings off the piano into the flashdrive. Beyond that, it has stereo audio 1/4" outputs & inputs for great audio connectivity and an upgraded front control panel with direct access buttons and intuitive features. I also like its cabinet design, color, panel layout, and sturdiness. I have done a review of this model so take a look at it and see what you think? Kawai CE220 Review

It really doesn't matter which piano you get because you'll be able to make great music and have a nice piano that should last you many years. But for my money and considering I would want the biggest bang for the buck in this higher price range (nearer $2000), I would choose the Kawai CE220 over the other two models here.

For a bit less money, Casio makes a very popular furniture cabinet digital piano called the AP620 ($1399 internet price in satin black, left pic). If you want a piano that has been extremely popular throughout the US and continues to remain that way, you should also consider this model as it has a very realistic piano key action & upright piano sound with ivory feel keys, dedicated front control buttons with upgraded LCD user interface display, lots of very cool features (many more than the other pianos) in an attractive satin black cabinet with a built-in 60 watt stereo speaker system. I have done a review on this model here:  Casio AP620 Review

With regard to the Yamaha Arius model C71PE, the up side 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 $1899 to get it), then this piano may be just perfect for you.

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.