Sound Comparison Roland FP-90X vs Yamaha P-515 vs Kawai ES-920 | Digitalpiano.com

[@rolexmarcelo3218]

The FP90x is built like a tank! That's my forever piano, so lovely and reliable.

[@takeiteasy1133]

The best for real

[@MaxRiley]

and plasticky fake piano sound

[@winterheat]

the comparison between the 3 flagships, that's great

[@musicotensai]

All sound good with each having their own character.

[@diddydooffurz5973]

i went to the store and tested the roland and the yamaha. I have been playing all my life and play at a very high level. I can not emphasize enough that you should go to a store to compare. If I had just seen this, I would not have bought the yamaha. The store people told me that you cannot change sensitivity of keys on the roland which i found out is not true. Even considering this, I find the keys of the yamaha much better than the rolands. They are more like from a real piano. I play very fast pieces at a high level (rachmaninov moment musicaux, flight of the bumble bee, fantasie impromptu, schubert op 90. no 2, revolutionary etude for example) and found that digital pianos can never imitate the sound of a real concert piano or even a real piano, but they can for sure imitate the feeling. When you play staccato (very short notes), it just does not sound the same on no digital piano. If you look inside a real piano, there are strings there, which are touched by hammers. The best would be a concert piano which nobody can afford and nobody has the place for and I have only played it in university and during performances. Just feels *chef´s kiss* But I must say, the yamaha p-515 feels pretty much like almost a concert piano, not quite, but almost. I also tried the higher priced non stage pianos which are digital pianos which cannot be moved so easily in the price range from 4000 to 5000 euros and must say that I could not hear too much sound difference any more, though the higher priced ones had weighted keys which imitated the feeling of a real concert piano. But still it´s not the same as a real one, although really, really. really good. Digital pianos can replicate the feeling of the keys, but not the sound. A digital piano will never sound like a real piano. You can put much more emotion into a real piano. But I feel that I can also put quite the emotion into the yamaha p-515. The roland fp-90x, I played it too at the shop and I did not like it too much, because the sound of the piano is not so good as with the yamaha. You cannot really hear this on any youtube video, but I heard it immediately in the store. Yamaha sounds way better for me. Also the kawaii, it is good, but the yamaha has really good samples of exquisite concert pianos. For solely playing piano, it is way better imo. The roland i did not like, the feeling of the keys was meh, i wonder what it would have been with lower key strongness settings. But even if I put maximum key strongness, the piano sound was not as good. I could not compare staccato either on the roland, but i remember quite vividly that the roland did not perform as good as the yamaha. Go to the store. You cannot hear this in a youtube video. You need to hear it in the room. I was blown away by the yamaha. I instantly loved it. I am a bit sad though that the roland has this mic input and all this nice additional features, because i do music in a daw too. would have been nice to record voice and piano directly in the piano and listen to it. But you cannot have everything. Yamaha sounded better so i took it. roland has more features, more virtual instruments, but does not sound as good and does not feel as good, is newer, from 2021, and yamaha already from 2018 i think. But as a pianist, I love the yamaha. I would have liked the features of the roland, but I have to go with what the pianist inside of me wants.

[@amynguyen3874]

I really appreciate your opinions!!

[@waleedsoliman887]

If a Yamaha dealer was pimping for his product he would not have done a better job 😅

[@alixg6288]

Hey, loved this comparison, also loved the music you played. Could you share Schubert’s 2 hand sheet music please?

[@n-9249]

3:45 os Roland FP90, and not Kawaii Es as it says on the screen. Thank you.

[@HrWisch]

I love the Kawai Shigeru sound. The Onkyo speakers are also interesting. But the bouncy RH3 action and the plastic case (which seems to have resonance issues) really keep me from buying it. So it's probably gonna be the FP90x for me soon. The only thing that could change my mind would be a Kawai MP11SE successor. While I would miss the internal speakers, the Grand Feel (4?) action combined with the lovely Kawai sounds would be hard to beat.

[@paulk1240]

You labeled the last appearance of the Roland as the Kawai

[@leaningless]

1:15 Roland bass notes fade suddenly, as if the sound had been cut

[@SKNNYS8N]

pedal

[@giuseppepaparo8977]

Can I ask how the audio was recorded?

[@joer7616]

Could u please tell me the last sound

[@southpark5555]

Could you please mention which piano sound is being used at the beginning of the clip? Are they the default sounds? Eg. for the P-515, are you using the default CFX sound?

[@charleslascari7191]

I really like the melodies you played.

[@Philobach]

C'est vrai qu elles étaient belles, émotionnelles. j ai remarqué.

[@linkLoverAG]

I want to physically test them before I decide on one I like, but I can't for the life of me find somewhere nearby that stocks any of these.

[@betrion7]

This video has no sense without describing your recording setup and calibration 🤷‍♂️

[@matiaserp]

Since there are no background noises most likely they were all simply recorded through their line outs and level matched.

[@revelationsoundstudio]

The Yamaha is showing its age. A little lifeless. Kawai sounds good and has a warmer sound, a little laid back. Roland is more upfront but the updated sounds over the FP 90 is clear. With that being said, the Roland PHA-50 keys feel more like a real piano than the other two which cannot be overlooked.

[@bandar7891]

What's the name of the piece at 01:20

[@Philobach]

je pense que c'est un morceau de Schubert, mais je ne sais pas lequel , mais l'air est connu .

[@Quassar18]

The problem of this video is that sound was recorded dry from the output and lacking any room. The actual sound you hear will be very different in real life.

[@Digitalpianocom]

This is true!

[@Philobach]

Mais si on l achète pour faire des enregistrements ça va alors ?

[@analog9439]

I’m always fascinated by the fact that people keep forgetting that these are electric instruments and could be EQed to one’s liking either through hardware or software. They even have numerous piano configuration and ambient presets built in let alone custom adjustments of different parameters on board. I mean possibilities are endless. If you’re still nitpicking about ridiculous stuff after that, then it means you’re just a snob.

[@msxmax2422]

About keybed would you prefere?

[@revelationsoundstudio]

The Roland is my favorite. Kawai was too light for my taste.

[@davidcudlip6587]

The Yamaha Grand sounded a little "Pingy". You might like that sound but I liked the Kawai best with the Roland very close 2nd. They all sounded nice and you wouldn't go wrong with any of them.

[@HienPham-tl5zh]

Which of these 3 has the rougher ivory like surface?

[@malayaliobservant8915]

Roland

[@groovedan6889]

joyful to listen to

[@haomingyang3245]

Just my opinion: For sound: kawai > roland > yamaha. For action: yamaha > roland > kawai. I went with P515 eventually.

[@rafaelgomez1989]

Yes, for me ACTION is very important. do not like SOFT action ...

[@avantmusique]

I own all 3. Kawai’s action is the lightest and cheapest feeling action, Yamaha P-515 is a very heavy but responsive action and my fingers tend to get fatigued after an hour or two of playing, and then the Roland FP-90X is a medium action and my favorite of the three, I feel I get the best control with it.

[@alexgoriatchenkov]

The best is Roland FP-60X, not in this list. Why. ? Twice + cheaper, same sounds, and... I have it

[@alexgoriatchenkov]

Update: in three weeks returned Roland FP-60X and got Yamaha P515. Man even close could not sounds compare. Really happy now.

[@alexgoriatchenkov]

Another update. Returned P515, damaged numerous keys sound. Ordered ES920. Tired. (P515 was sounds incredible to my taste).

[@Gustavo-x8f3q]

@@alexgoriatchenkovfunny. I have a kawai GL40 Grand I just bought. But I own two digitals. The Roland FP60x and the Yamaha P515. Looking to sell both and the get either the Kawai ES920 or an Kawai MP11SE

[@mupbelchen010701]

Hallo und ein wunderschönes neues, zufriedenes und gesundes Jahr 2022 wünsche ich euch👍🍾🥂 Der Akustik Piano Klang im Kawai klingt für mich um Welten besser als im Roland aber auch besser als im Yamaha! Die Elektro Pianos gefallen mir im Yamaha besser!

[@yongli4304]

Roland has the best action, and they all sound good, but different. I suspect once you pick one, you will get used to it very quickly. The 90x certainly has a better sound than 90, and es-920 sound is better than es8 in my opinion.

[@shaolin95]

Roland has the better action? Now THAT is funny

[@APPLE2557XD]

@@shaolin95 what dpiano brand/model do you think has the best action?

[@waleedsoliman887]

​@@APPLE2557XDi believe the NV5S from Kawai and CASIO GP-510

[@Persun_McPersonson]

@@shaolin95 A lot of people think so, in this price range atleast…

[@Leles_]

Eu achei o som do kawai maravilhoso

[@andreytishenko5639]

It can depend on the particularities of recordings and current tunings of the instruments. In other videos the instruments sound the way different. Earlier I liked Yamaha,and now Roland. Acoustic pianos and grands as well sound differently.

[@stephenmarien3495]

Yes, the Kawai sounds like mud. Yamaha sounds like breaking glass. Roland sounds the best of the 3 to my ears at least.

[@Digitalpianocom]

Wow. Tough crowd 🥳

[@leaningless]

Do you think it’s normal that the Roland bass notes fade suddenly, as if the sound had been cut?

[@alexeykulikov2739]

If it were possible to marry Roland’s PHA-50 action with Nord’s sounds…

[@Digitalpianocom]

I know the feeling… 👍🏻☺️🎹

[@waleedsoliman887]

Roland's sound is Harsh and in your Ear drums, Yamaha's sound is Distorted and muddy Kawai Has the best sound but the best Action goes to Roland FP90X

[@Digitalpianocom]

Thank you for the comment and sharing your thoghts!

[@vadergrd]

kawai for piano , roland for the other sounds!

[@Philobach]

Connaissez vous le CN 301 ? ou CN201? sont il bien pour produire un beau son piano ? et avec un bon toucher ? Ils sont moins chers que d'autres Kawaii tout en semblant bien... Les Kawai ont , parait il, un toucher plus léger , je sais pas si c'est un inconvénient ou un avantage...

[@reacionario2026]

Roland by far. You need a touch to play it and sound well.

[@rustic35]

I was set on the roland until I went in-store. The yamaha had wooden white keys and the yamaha grand piano sounded much better than the roland.

[@reacionario2026]

@@rustic35 I've migrated from Yamaha to an RD800. It has both V-Paino and legacy RD700 stuff. You need a refined piano touch to make Roland sound good. On Yamaha it's out of the box. I'm in live with the Rd800

[@rustic35]

@@reacionario2026 my daughter and I spent a few hours playing them both today and she preferred the yamaha. When we go back to purchase, I'll make a final decision but, considering the yamaha is nearly $1000 cheaper, we can just that money to buy some studio monitors, mixer etc.

[@reacionario2026]

@@rustic35 They are all top instruments. Even a Casia Privia is a good instrument for studying. The CP, RD and others are for Stage. I also love the Yamaha. If I could I would have 3 or 4 different brands. ,♥️

[@dominikanawara3481]

@@rustic35 i

[@techguy9023]

They all sound like a digital piano-not much like an acoustic

[@EP-77o]

Sounds like three very average and synthetic sounding digital piano sounds with completely different EQ settings

[@punpck]

yamaha still sounds like c**p^^ I have a cp33 and I hate the sound 😂 VST for the rescue 😇

[@Philobach]

LOL pour le VST qui sauve.

[@MaxRiley]

Yamaha hands down, on all levels.

[@maconmaple8900]

Wow, the Kawai ES-920 sounds terrible. Definitely not on the same level as the Yamaha and Roland.

[@HrWisch]

Personal taste. I actually adore that Kawai Shigeru Grand sample. It's still gonna be a FP90x for me soon. But I'll keep an eye on Kawai for an MP11SE successor.

[@claudioriodejaneiro4270]

ROLAND PF 90x ganha a disputa

[@guinhomusico9504]

Para quem gosta de som 'digital'. Mas não para quem quer algo parecido com o original.

[@ruiqueiros792]

Isso tem haver com o gosto da pessoa. Eu por acaso tenho um roland, mas também já tive yamaha. Não se trata se é mais ou menos digital ….Trata se de gosto pessoal. O Roland é um piano com mais presença ( mais corpo digamos assim )… e yamaha por norma é um piano com mais brilho, mas cristalino… para mim, yamaha e Roland são as melhores marcas no que toca a pianos digitais, mas cada um com os seus pontos fortes e menos fortes

[@IvanEDaza]

@@guinhomusico9504 Yamaha sounds like a muffled piano toy, Kawai and Roland are the real sounding ones here, not to mention the Roland wins far easy since you can edit the sound to your entire liking, it’s not just EQ trickery, but even choosing the soundboard type, the resonance, the strings lenght, and many other fully editable parameters that sampled digital pianos can just dream of having.

[@محمدالخلفي-ط1ل]

@@IvanEDaza Reality Yamaha better by far 😎