YAMAHA PSR-SX920 vs PSR-SX720

[@heroknaderi]

For my needs I will take the 720 now that at that price point I will get every voice from the previous high model sx 900. I had a psr s770 tyat I sold a few months ago so I’m basically transitioning from s770 to sx720 wich will be a big upgrade.

[@johnt334]

What do you think will be a better choice sx900 or sx720 since they're going for a similar price range in my state

[@conortkeane51]

Good man Woody. Great review as always .

[@Noriuslephotographe]

I have bought the sx920 because of you :-)

[@brianmarsden2187]

Hi Woody. I did have a SX900 a few years ago. Somehow, I didn't 'gel' with it. I have recently acquired the SX700 and found it to be a delightful and beautiful keyboard to play. The 2 X 15watt speakers and amplifiers, give it a more gentle 'sound' than the SX900. Whilst I will not be part exchanging my SX700 for a SX720, out of the two new SX Series keyboards, I would still opt for the less expensive of the two, the SX720. Thank You!

[@WoodyPianoShack]

great opinions, thanks for sharing

[@bestrickie2]

Sounds excellent you play so perfectly well. I’m sure your audience including myself would LOVE to hear the new improved vocoder/vocal harmoniser.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

it is not improved in any way afaik, but thanks for the suggestion

[@RobinPalmerTV]

I think if I was only playing in a domestic setting, I'd go for the 720 and spend the difference on half decent wine to enjoy when playing. The 920 is clearly the all singing all dancing instrument that you'd need if playing as a pro/semi-pro.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

yes robin, that was on my mind too, with sweden prices you save over $1000 which you can spend on something else.

[@RobinPalmerTV]

@@WoodyPianoShack that’s quite the saving good gosh!

[@antunkatona5674]

@@WoodyPianoShack For someone like me, piano lessons come to mind!!

[@dannymormone]

Hey Woody, just opinion but I would still go for the SX 920, say for example, you wanted to play styles from the previous keyboards (and lets be honest, we all love great sounding styles!), I would say the SX 920 would likely play all of the Genos1 styles without any issues and most of the Genos2 styles with some minor tweaks, whereas on the SX 720, especially with SA2 sounds missing, the tweaking will be a bit more extensive. I think the 125 odd style differences between the two models are likely to be the best of the SX 920 styles that have the SA2 sounds in them. So overall I think the SX920 is more future proof especially with compatibility. Of course all this is just my opinion.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

very good point about the G1 compatibility, thanks for raising that.

[@Donnycr]

Thanks for another excellent review/comparison. Yes I now realise the SX920 to be "slightly superior" to the 720 and would love it to be my choice but given my available time, $$$ and ability I think the SX720 will be my choice. Sometime common sense has to rule

[@x2mars]

Chord looper on the 720 , that’s cool

[@WoodyPianoShack]

yeah, great to see that at last on the 7 series

[@aszandek]

Hi, My choice is PSR-SX720, it is far from sx600 for some additional bucks... By the way, we could get a new sx620 in the next year probably in the lower price range with excelent sounds. Thx. Best for all!

[@PhilW222]

Thanks for this - I’d still err towards the 720 as better bang for the buck and it includes all the playing features that I’d be interested in. And you can expand the sounds and styles on both anyway.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

very good point on the style expansion.

[@antunkatona5674]

Hi Woody! I think you should review the SX920 and here's why: you've already reviewd the SX720, sort of! I've looked through the specs of the SX720 and let me tell you, they are nearly identical to the previous top PSR model, the SX900, which you have already reviewed. The number of voices (252 SA + 54 Mega voices), 1GB of RAM for samples, equally powerful DSP with the same number of effects - almost identical! The SX720 does not have the excellent HIFI speaker arrangement, vocal harmony or additional stereo output of the SX900 but it does have some less obvious and potentially useful features, like the ability to have a different tempo for each style variation. But to keep things simple, for those who could not previously afford the SX900, the SX720 might be ideal, providing they don't need vocal harmony. The bottom line is that there is too much similarity between SX900 and SX720 and it might seem like you are reviewing the same instrument twice. I want to be transparent and say that I own the SX900, thanks largely to your excellent videos, but that I am not really interested in upgrading to the SX920. The SA2 voices are nice but that is about the only thing that is worth stepping up to in my view. If I met the limits of what the SX900 can do, then maybe, but I have not and the SX900 still delights me and I am absolutely in love with it. I'd also like to comment the prices. I realise that most of your viewers are from the US - Americans tend to watch YT a lot more, I think, but when comparing prices, I think it's important to find the right balance. Please keep in mind that mostly everything, including instruments, cost more in Europe, even when European brands are in question! IMHO, a good indication of the price is the German Thomann website. The SX920 is 2600 Euro whilst the SX720 is 1600 Euro. Quite shocking, if you ask me, because just two years ago, I bought the SX900 at full retail for 1900 Euro, right here in Eastern Europe where we do not get the nice discounts as they do in Western Europe. Still, that's 700 Euro difference compared to the new SX920! In other words, almost 40% more! On the other hand, and this is just my theory, if Yamaha had to increase the price by 40% to improve upon the SX900, then that says something about just how good the SX900 really is. As always, I want to express my appreciation for maintaining a high standard of your reviews! Very much appreciated and I am really happy to see you are doing well with your channel!! All the best! P.S. Sorry for the always-long comments but I try to write something useful and meaningful and that can't be said in one sentence. :)

[@WoodyPianoShack]

brilliant post, you make some great points and very interesting to ready your insights on the price. i think i agree with you also on the 920 for the loan keyboard.

[@vito_keys]

It is a normal Yamaha tradition to have the 7-series being similar to the 9-series of previous generation. All of Yamaha PSR-S7 /SX7 series were like that since the very first generation PSR-S700 (2007) = PSR-3000 (top model of 2004) PSR-S710 (2009) = PSR-S900 ( 2007) PSR-S750 (2011) = PSR-S910 (2009) with expansion pack support PSR-S770/775 (2015-17) = PSR-S950 (2011) PSR-SX700 (2019) = PSR-S970/975 (2015-17) And now, PSR-SX720 (2024) = PSR-SX900 (2019) The defining characteristic of 7-series are the following: -Lack of Vocal Harmony function -Lower-quality speakers and using regular tweeters, as opposed to dome tweeters -Lack of Audio Styles feature

[@antunkatona5674]

@@vito_keys Superb reply, thanks! What's interesting is that the SX900/700 seem to have been in production for longer than the previous models (2019-2024), in some cases a lot longer. Very interesting indeed!

[@antunkatona5674]

@@WoodyPianoShack Thanks Woody! Hope to talk to you again soon! Till you get the SX920, I imagine we'll see (and hear) more of the gorgeous 'Snow White' (i.e. DGX-670)! Cheers!

[@korshm]

I'm the owner of SX600 model, and I was waiting for SX900 upgrade to get the new features from SX600 in it. It didn't happen, no audio interface, no unison/accent. 920 looks like software update + more RAM installed in 900. I'm a bit disappointed and my upgrade plans are unclear now.

[@cinepost]

It’s a shame to leave Out the audio interface…

[@cinepost]

@@korshm what does the sx920 have that you would use and enjoy?

[@korshm]

@@cinepost The most important to me is the lack of audio interface

[@poppyspets9579]

Hi Woody, for me persnally it would be the 720, more than enough, wouldnt pay the big difference for the 920. Thanks again

[@briansture4353]

When I buy something expensive and have a choice of purchasing a 720 or a 920 I would price it on a daily price over 10 years. If you enjoy playing, those few extra cents per day for the 920 could easily sway your decision. This could mean an extra few cents a day will give a greater sense of playing pleasure.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

that is an excellent way to look at it. maybe 5 years though, in case you want to upgrade faster. Even then, it's only about a dollar a day in total. amazing, thanks for the idea.

[@caleidoscopioliterario9851]

I think that new piano p225 with psr ew425 76 keys wou'ld be perfect for a minor price.

[@b.g.theprinceofrp.3906]

🤝👍

[@serg472]

I went with SX700 which is like 90% the value for 60% the price and don't regret it. I would be really interested in seeing Genos1 vs SX920 comparison if you could pull it off, though I fear Genos1 used prices might jump after that :) Currently used Genos1 looks like the best value for the money to me and that's what I would pick for the next upgrade from SX700, I bet Genos1 is better in every way than SX920.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

personally i would jump on a used g1, ***except*** for the portability and built-in speakers of the sx which is very desirable for me.

[@mudi2000a]

@@WoodyPianoShack some reviewers were saying SX920 is the better deal because it has apparently some features the G1 doesn't have, but I didn't check what it was exactly.

[@Noriuslephotographe]

I had the sx700 and now the sx920 the sx920 the sounds ( musical instruments )are so so so much better, the styles sound so much better, I am so happy with my Choice. I am in canada 🇨🇦 and paid 2999.00 I don’t understand the candian money is 35% less than USA .. so with the exchange rate I was suposed to pay 4049.00+ 15% tax that would equal to 4695.00 ( ball park) so I think yamaha is giving us a break :-)

[@WysteriaGuitar]

I have a SX-900. Is it worth upgrading to the SX920?

[@ChristopherBudiSantoso]

yes it's worth for sx920

[@WoodyPianoShack]

better sounds and styles from g1 and g2, i think that is pretty much it though, just a few new features added. it did sound incredible though, in a way perhaps that the sx900 didn't quite manage...

[@WysteriaGuitar]

@@WoodyPianoShack Thanks Woody sounds (pun intended) that I do not really need to upgrade, I'll wait for the SX1000 LOL

[@diujay]

🎉wait for sx950 😊

[@WysteriaGuitar]

@@diujay sx1000

[@camilleotrakji]

Last time I decided to act mature … got the SX700, instead of the SX900. Not sure this was the smart choice though. The SX920 is only $600 USD more than the SX720 … and when you sell it 2 years later, you’ll get a comparable depreciation to the SX720 … so why not enjoy the better sounds on the SX920? But are they? … you seem to believe the differences are minimal Do you have a subwoofer that you can try to connect to the Sx920? … with the 50 watt internal speakers plus a good sub one might not need to add pro speakers

[@WoodyPianoShack]

yeah, i agree in US it is 700 to upgrade to 920. but here in europe, it is more like 1100, making me wonder if worth it... at least for us.

[@camilleotrakji]

@@WoodyPianoShack they claim the sx920 has Genos2 sounds whereas the SX720 has Genos 1 sounds …. Not sure if these are mostly Yamaha marketing constructs.

[@antunkatona5674]

Well, that depends on where you live. If you live in the US, then 600 USD might not seem like a lot. If you live in Europe and have to pay a whole 1000 Euro more, then suddenly it's a different story. Now, Woody is a serious bloke and I'm sure he balances things out to make the review as realistic as possible. Just about the only feature on the SX920 that seems like a nice addition to the SX900 is the ability to have a different tempo between the style variations. The S.Art.2 tech is nice too but you are only getting a dozen or so of these voices. The disappointments with the SX920 are the lack of HDMI and the slightly tilted screen which wouldn't have cost anything. I was also hoping for the integrated USB Audio interface. Also, IMHO, the all-black SX900 is so much nicer looking than the SX920 dark grey! Cheers!

[@fraserhardmetal7143]

I have the SX700 which is a great instrument - being software driven there are some conflicts on sounds particularly in the lower registers , a poor arpeggiator and some questionable multi pad effects , strings aren't great and why can't I assign rotary speaker to a footswitch ? Apart from that it's a solid Yamaha keyboard - better with a sub woofer. My two pennorth - keep your money and wait until you can afford a Genos 2 , or maybe Genos 4 when you've accumulated the cash. These are basically software upgrades to an existing keyboard - cost to Yamaha - not much. Keep your money and upgrade to a better platform.

[@antunkatona5674]

@@fraserhardmetal7143 Very good comment! Yamaha, unlike it’s competitors, is an industrial giant that can draw on its many resources to make pretty much whatever they want. In this specific case, the keyboard’s system board (the board that holds all the components)! While other manufacturers have to rely on third-party suppliers and sometimes use off-the-shelf solutions like Raspberry Pi, circuits in Yamaha boards are Yamaha through and through, including a large number of the actual microchips! This has multiple advantages - independent, speedy and low-cost production, higher quality control and optimised hardware-software integration. The thing they also do is use the same system board across multiple products, enabling and disabling features in software which further decreases costs (you have to make one type of a system board instead of several). Because they also plan ahead, they can use the same system board across multiple generations of the same product. I wouldn’t be surprised if they used the same system board in both SX900 and SX700 as well as the new SX range. I am oversimplifying things a bit but this is the advantage of an actual ‘industry’ as opposed to an ‘assembler’. No disrespect to any manufacturer out there but this is how all industries operate. To cut a long story short, if your SX700 has 400 MB of RAM for extra samples, it’s possible that the actual amount of RAM onboard is higher but that the instrument can ‘see’ only 400 MB because its firmware has been written in such a manner. BTW, I think 400 MB is plenty. Synths of the past have done away with far less and some amazing music was still made on them. Cheers!

[@ultrium2000]

I think you should treat yourself with the PSR-SX920. You are worth it.

[@followyourpassion8378]

Currently, my buying preferences new/po look like this. Based on a combination of price, sounds & features (like keybed, audio interface, ...). Read from left to right as what is better in terms of value/price ratio: Genos 1 po> Tyros 5 po > SX900 po> SX920 new> Tyros 4 po> SX720 new> SX600 (bc of ai) po/new> SX700 po

[@AlmightyGhostFang]

Hi Woody, I am doing the grade 6 of electronic keyboard and I need to buy a keyboard for this grade. I am considering 920 as it has bluetooth which spiked a interest in me for playing other songs. Please tell me which one would be better?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i don't know anything about that grade, or keyboard requirements, sorry

[@joelsunil3238]

Does the sx720 support chord loop function

[@timoseeberger9637]

Yes it does. The 700 did not.

[@tperelli4271]

I just hope they improve the keyboard. Both my PSR-SX900 and MODX Plus have black keys the rattle, a bummer to play because it's noisy at a low volume. I'd move up to the 920 just to fix that.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

yes, i experienced some similar problems, but mine was a very early model... i am hoping they have sorted that out now. i will keep you posted.

[@alfredkingsly]

You can always download the styles of the 920 and play them on the 720. So 145 extra styles is no big deal there !

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i am sure you cannot, since 720 does not have the voices and effects that the 920 styles use

[@alfredkingsly]

@@WoodyPianoShack I was able to tweak the SX900 styles and get them to sound reasonably well on the SX700. I'm sure it's possible on the SX920 to SX720 as well.

[@johnt334]

What do you think will be a better choice sx900 or sx720 since they're going for a similar price range

[@alfredkingsly]

@@johnt334 That's a tough one to decide. I'd surely go with the SX720 since it's a new upgraded hardware and hence downward compatible with SX900 and other lower models - which means I can load the extra styles of SX900 that are not found on the SX720 without any issues. SX720 has more voices than the SX900 and in addition offers articulation+ styles with 2 art buttons which give more articulation control on the voices over the SX900. The only single advantage I see on the SX900 is the Vocal Harmonizer - apart from that, the SX720 has slighlty better features

[@johnt334]

@@alfredkingsly ohhh is it so? Also besides the styles can i add the extra sx900 voices on the sx720?? Also how does all this work? Do i need to download the previous sx900 styles from the yamaha website?

[@hvxcolors396]

Prices in Euro on Thomann are roughly 1500 and 2500 (same price as a used Genos 1).

[@WoodyPianoShack]

interesting that the price gap is much bigger in europe, vs usa. in kronor, 18k vs 30k is ridiculous.

[@antunkatona5674]

@@WoodyPianoShack Woody, the Yamaha FC-7 expression pedal is 40 bucks in the 'States and 100 Euro in Europe! A friggin' pedal!! What can you say?

[@UFO-Ark]

Any rumours of the upcoming MODX+ update ??

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i had not even heard that rumout.

[@DELTAOMEGA12]

Thank you so much for your great information in your review. Does sx-920 support audio styles in drum or bass or accord accompaniments like ketron event cuz its game changer feathures ? And if it doesn’t support Can you please share this feature with yamaha developer to add in new updates in that sx-920?cuz we can have real bass or real accord or real drum in our custom rhythm.😊❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@WoodyPianoShack]

nothing like that, everything is midi, but agree it would be a nice step up! biab has been doing it quite successfully for years, albeit not in realtime.

[@park171]

Please when you form that Genos 1 prices are as low as 2000. I’m not seeing those kind of prices. Tyros 1 & 2 are still priced at $1300-1600 and other care almost 22 years old. At $1300 I would rather buy the new PSR?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i saw dozens of used G1s for 2000 gbp at music stores in UK. ok, that is a bit more than usd. but that is from a retailer with guarantee, you will get even better deals buying privately. nothing depreciates more than a previous model arranger... :D

[@victorespina]

What brand / model is the piano behind you ?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

yamaha dgx

[@vito_keys]

DGX-670

[@livinggodjesusministry7454]

720 and 920 which is best keyboard ?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

920 is best keyboard, but they both have the same keybed if that is what you mean!

[@guidodeciccio3853]

Is the 720 and 920 more advanced than Genos 2 Or does Yamaha still regard genos as flag ship

[@lordchive8944]

Genos 2 is the top of the tree, sx middle, but still workstation level, alot of genos 1 and some genos 2 features have trickled down to sx920, and some to sx720

[@WoodyPianoShack]

the yamaha crew told us that 920 is mostly based on G1, with some styles sprinkled in from G2.

[@brunoweber3540]

@@WoodyPianoShack hi, for sure I ll have to test Thema both. Yet I am a bit confused by a comment that the 920 is more based on Genos 2 whereas the 720 got more genes from G1. Playing mostly at home. Rgds Bruno from Switzerland

[@doctorcosta]

I think an used genos is a better deal.

[@avikchaks]

Guys Im trading my sx600 in a local store but the guy said none of these top end models have ability to sound out via bluetooth , how do i connect a bluetooth speaker..any ideas?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

will never work, since bt has too much latency so you cannot play and listen in real time

[@vito_keys]

Voice difference is now less. Unlike the PSR-SX700, which have 351 voices missing from the SX900, now the SX720 only have 210 less than SX920. The SX720 now has all the Revo-Drums from Genos, whereas the previous SX700 only have the traditional PSR drumkits.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

yep, good catch, thanks!

[@knmyak]

Cant live without Bluetooth.

[@Ptf74]

Thanks. Let's be honest, they throw hundreds upon hundreds of sounds into these keyboards but sound "quality" is king, but also everyone's hearing is a bit different. Is yamahas arranger keyboards better sounding or worse than korg, £ for £ would people say?

[@WoodyPianoShack]

impossible to say which brand is best, so many types of sounds, Yamaha might have better acoustic guitar, but better synth pads on the Korg etc etc

[@RobinPalmerTV]

@@WoodyPianoShack the Korg’s “backing tracks” sound like they’ve been to the mastering studio. Not so much with Yamaha to my ears.

[@antunkatona5674]

In my experience, Yamaha arrangers have always sounded better than their Korg counterparts. The sound was always more polished, more realistic and more nuanced. That being said, Korg arrangers have always been better at operability because you could do everything with them. That has changed somewhat with the PSR-SX range but generally, Korg has had the 'chord looper' feature for years and even their cheaper models have a video output. The more expensive Korg arrangers have always had built-in samplers where you could edit, in precise detail, your own custom samples of instruments. Yamaha will happily play the samples but you cannot edit the actual waveforms like you can on a Korg.

[@RobinPalmerTV]

@@antunkatona5674 What about playing the actual thing? I've always felt Yamaha have kind of set the standard for key bed action across their range. I really don't like playing some of the Korgs. I thought the Triton in the 90's felt terrible to play unless you had the weighted one.

[@antunkatona5674]

@@RobinPalmerTV Yes, but the question was about sound quality, not the keyboard action.

[@Panos-Veria]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@sonic2000gr]

The 1000 euro price difference in Europe seems a bit extreme to be hones.

[@WoodyPianoShack]

yeah, really bummed out about that... the 720 compares quite close to US prices if you just do currency convert, but not the 920.

[@Denvermorgan2000]

Her in Norway the 920 is 32000kr…

[@MrIcelander]

I don't quite get this comparison choice - Why act like the _900 MODEL_ has just ceased to exist?! 🤨

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i am comparing the latest two models, which replace the 900 and 700, as in they will cease to exist

[@MrIcelander]

@@WoodyPianoShack Not to those who already have them - ceasing to exist and 'discontinued' is _not_ the same thing! Case in point, there are already people asking on this very comment section wether upgrading from their current 900 to this new 920 (to me the _logical_ comparison) is worth considering.

[@ReneBierlein-v5d]

Zboncak Turnpike

[@ChristopherBudiSantoso]

where is my comment? 😁

[@WoodyPianoShack]

i see it