🎹 Top 25 models of new digital pianos under $2000 for 2020. Learn about how the latest models from Yamaha, Kawai, Roland, Casio, and Korg stack up against each other and why one might be better for you. Get new digital pianos for LESS MONEY than Amazon or internet prices incl free shipping, no tax, brand new.
🎹 UPDATED REVIEW | BEST Digital Pianos under $2000 down to $1000 | Kawai, Korg, Casio, Yamaha, Roland, Samick, and more.There are many new digital pianos under $2000 these days and all them have something different to offer and there are definitely some of them that are much better than others. But how do you get through all of the "marketing hype" out there from all the manufacturers and the Amazon affiliate web and review sites so that you can actually get "real, organic, unbiased reviews" that will help you make good buying decisions on which piano would be best for your musical needs and budget? Well...that's where we come in! My name is Tim Praskins and I am a internationally recognized expert when it comes to playing, teaching on, and knowing about digital pianos. I have been working with all the brands and models for over 40 years playing them professionally, teaching lessons on them to thousands of students for many years, and advising people all over the world on what would instrument be best for their musical needs. I give free, personal piano buying advice and can also help you purchase new digital pianos for less money than internet price, Amazon price, store price, and used/demo model price if you are in the USA. Some of these models have recently gone up in price (or about to go up) due to increased production costs and the international tariffs that have been put into place so if you are interested in one of these pianos please let me know right away so I can help you avoid the new higher prices and still be able to help you get the lower 2020 price as long as you don't wait. Playing the piano can be a beautiful experience for both the player and the listener and to bring music into your life and/or the lives of your family is incredibly rewarding as it has been for our families.
There are many new model digital pianos being offered by the top piano manufacturers these days and sometimes it can be very confusing as to what the best digital piano is for a particular price range. I have written this blog article (and others) to help out people looking for goodcabinet model digital pianos between $1000 - $2000. I also have done a review comparison of new digital pianos under $1000 which you can also read about on my blog at the following link:Digital Pianos under $1000. I consider the top digital piano manufacturers in this price range to include Kawai, Casio, Yamaha, Korg, and Roland. In the $1000-$2000 price range, the Korg digital piano company makes 2 cabinet pianos called the C1 Air and G1 Air which are very impressive for the money and I talk about them later because they offer special digital technology features no other brand has in this price range such as Bluetooth audio and special bass reflex internal sound systems that deliver a more powerful, higher quality sound than found in many digital pianos over $2000.
Almost all other brands of digital pianos (with a couple of exceptions) that may be available in some piano stores, on-line web sites, or consumer store web sites (like Costco in the US) are what I consider to be off brands. I would definitely not recommend these brands (at least not in the models they have out now) by such names as Artesia, Suzuki, Williams, Adams, Adagio, and a few others that I have seen and played. Stay away from them regardless of how inexpensive the price may be or how attractive the piano may look if you want a good piano playing experience, especially in these mini/micro digital baby grands that are out there. Many of them are just plain bad when it comes to key action response, dynamics, key action noise, durability, etc. I have written reviews on many of these brands and models so if you want more info, take a look at some of my other blog reviews. In this blog article I will be referring only to furniture cabinet style models (including portable pianos with nice furniture stands & pedals) and only those that have an internet or regular store discount price for $1000-$2000 which is where most consumers want to be when shopping for a new digital piano 
Before I talk about my "recommended" brands below, there is another company that most people have not heard of before which produces just one digital piano model and it has an internet selling price of $1299. This digital piano is put out by a company called Wanaka and their digital piano is called "The ONE Smart Piano." Basically this model is a furniture cabinet style digital piano that has just 1 sound in it...piano, and also has a digital metronome in it for timing. Another more interesting feature of this model is that it has little LED lights above the keys which show you what keys to play as songs are playing back. The way you get songs to play back through this piano and what makes this model unique, is that it relies on a special App to be used with an iPad or Android so that you connect The ONE Smart Piano to an iPad or Android tablet using the Smart Piano App, and then everything is done through the App (Application/program). I have played and examined this digital piano and in my opinion it is definitely overpriced for what you get. But I think it's worth mentioning, so you can read more about it at the following link: The ONE Smart Piano REVIEWOne more thing that I want to share with my readers before you read more about the digital pianos under between $1000 to $2000 below. I recently did a full review of the TOP 3 new digital pianos for 2020 in every price category. Take a look at that review at the following link because it will help you narrow down the many digital piano options out there and focus on what is the 3 best and most popular digital pianos in every price range including $500 to $1000, $1000 to $1500, $1500 to $2000, $2000 to $2500, and so on. Top 3 Digital Pianos of 2020
ROLANDdigital pianos are fine instruments and that brand traditionally offers most of their digital piano models for well above $2000 and are thought of as a "higher end" company. However, Roland does have 3 newer model furniture cabinet digital pianos and one new self-contained portable model (furniture stand & pedals optional) which sell between $1000-$2000 and they're called the F140R ($1299 internet price), the RP501R ($1599 internet price), the new FP90 ($1949 internet price) self-contained portable piano (furniture stand & pedals optional). The RP501 is the identical piano as the previous RP401R with the exception that Roland replaced the WiFi technology with Bluetooth (but not Bluetooth audio streaming), and Roland changed the shape of the speakers in the RP501 and the piano is made in a different Roland factory. The RP501R and F140R are identical models in different cabinets and have upgrades over previous Roland pianos in this price range in past years. Roland is a very good value for the money and and are quite popular throughout the world. Roland has a newer portable model called the FP60 ($1499 internet discount price) which has a lot of similarities to the RP501R using the same key action and piano sound technology but having upgraded abilities, features, and polyphony. So when it comes to a higher quality portable digital piano, the FP60 would be a good option although for me personally, the piano sounds are still too brassy and bright overall and similar to the FP30 $699 internet price) in that way. Of all the Roland models under $2000 the more advanced FP90 is one of the more popular models given the features that it offers in this price range ($1949 internet price) although the piano sound can be a bit artificial in piano sound at times which for some people could be a problem. I have done a review of the FP90 so look for it under my "search reviews tab." Although all of these models have some unique and useful digital features, it's really the piano sound, key action, and pedaling authenticity that many people are looking for in this price range. I have played Roland home and stage pianos professionally for many years (along with other brands) and have enjoyed playing them. Roland is not as well known outside of the electronic music business because they do not produce regular acoustic pianos like Yamaha or Kawai and don't build many non-musical consumer products like Casio does. Roland concentrates on producing digital pianos and keyboards for musicians as well as recreational (and beginner) students & players who want higher quality technology in a musical instrument that is generally easy to use and in a reasonable price range. But it's not about how big you are as a company but it's about how good you are. I have detailed blog reviews on all of these new Roland models here on this blogsite if you want to read more about them.  |
YAMAHA offers 5 current model furniture cabinet digital pianos between $1000 and $2000 starting at $1099 and going to just over $2000 and they're called the YDP-144 ($1099 internet price YDP-164 ($1499 internet price), YDP-S54 compact model ($1349US internet price) and the YDP-184 ($2199 price). The Yamaha Arius YDP-164 piano has been one of the more popular Yamaha Arius pianos under $2000 and sells at a US internet discount price for $1499. This piano is carried in many music stores and on-line internet dealers throughout the country and the piano key action is good but not as realistic in my opinion as the new Casio AP-470 or Korg G1 Air. When it comes to comparing any digital piano including Yamaha to real pianos, acoustic pianos are organic instruments made mostly of wood parts so that's why many acoustic piano shoppers will try out two or three of the same model acoustic piano in a store as each one can be slightly different in feel or tone. The feel and tone is different from one acoustic piano brand to the next, so "true piano tone" is relative. The YDP-164 does have a good piano tone although its a bit mid-rangy in my opinion because of the speaker system design (the sound is better through a good pair of headphones). It also has a 2-track MIDI recorder for separate right and left hand recording and playback which is great. As far as looks, it might be slightly better looking than the Roland as far as furniture cabinet and is offered in the simulated dark rosewood finish and matte black. Yamaha pianos are quite good but in my opinion don't compete with what Casio or Kawai have to offer under $2000 at this point, especially in the key action movement and tonal dynamic range. The Yamaha Arius key actions are a bit too stiff/resistant when you press down the keys from a resting position (static touch weight), especially when playing lightly or softly. The Casio, & Kawai pianos are noticeably better at that movement, lighter, and move more easily in that way. But overall the Yamaha pianos are very nice, are durable, and made well. To learn more about the latest Yamaha Arius digital pianos go to the following review: Yamaha YDP-144, YDP-164, YDP-S54 Review
CASIO has 3 cabinet pianos right now between $1000-$2000 including the new lowest priced CelvianoAP-270 ($1049US internet price), the new Celviano AP-470 ($1499US internet price - left pic), and finally the Celviano AP-650 ($1899 internet price) thatis my pick for "best bang for the buck" in this price range under $2000 for a cabinet model digital piano . I have played all 3 models many times, but with regard to the Celviano AP-650, in my opinion the keyboard touch, response, and key movement is surprisingly good and provides a fairly realistic acoustic piano playing experience along with the keytops having a Casio proprietary synthetic ivory & ebony material for smoother finger movement and control. There are 250 instrument sounds utilizing 256 notes of polyphony for advanced piano sound reproduction, along with a wav file audio recorder and playback feature which you can save and load to a USB flashdrive. The pedal movement and sustain/decay time is good in this price range and the piano even has damper & string resonance which 
produces the natural echo and sympathetic vibrations found in a real acoustic piano when pressing down on the damper pedal or playing the notes and hearing the strings vibrate. Other features include duet four-hand play, layering, splitting, transpose, and many other cool things. The control buttons are across the front of the piano so it's user friendly and intuitive to use. Casio has also included some advanced tech features like USB CoreMIDI connectivity (very nice for plug & play connection to iPad and computer) as well as having audio outputs. The AP-650 audio speaker system is surprisingly powerful at this price and includes four speakers going through 60 watts of stereo power with a lid opening feature which allows the sound to project more in an acoustic piano fashion. The AP-650 gives you the sense you're sitting in front of a real piano and it looks attractive in its furniture compact cabinet with sliding key cover and front designer legs. So for its $1899 internet discount price, this piano is a very impressive package and a great "bang for the buck" as far as I am concerned. Go to the following link to read my Casio AP-650 review: Casio AP-650 Review. Go to the following link to read my review of the new Casio AP-470: Casio AP-470 Review. Go the to following link to read my review of the new AP-270: Casio AP-270 Review. |
| Korg G1 Air |
***Please make note that in reality all of these top models I have mentioned here are somewhat interchangeable in their rating order because they are all very good in their own ways.So for some people, what I call #1 on my list could be #4, and what I call #4 could be #1, it really just depends on your musical goals, abilities, uses for the piano, and your budget. As I said, it really is difficult to objectively rate digital pianos because their prices and features are so diverse and that's why I believe the top 5 models can be switched around in order depending on your needs and budget. The Kawai ES920 key action is more authentic than the Casio AP-650 in my opinion as well as their acoustic piano sound, but for most people they may have a difficult time discerning those differences so could likely be happy on any of them depending what kind of cabinet and features they prefer...but the fact is, there definitely are differences. The Kawai KDP110 ($1199 internet price) in the lower price range is also a good choice as is the Yamaha YDP-164 ($1499 internet price for satin finishes). Even though the Yamaha YDP-164 is a good choice, the Kawai, Casio, and Korg pianos do offer more bang for the buck in our opinion based on what you get for the price paid in terms of a more realistic piano playing experience. There are really no bad digital pianos out there in the top name brands as long as you get a good reputable brand such as the ones I've mentioned. Also, price obviously has some bearing on the order in which I rated these pianos, so depending on what can afford, if you can spend more money then in many cases you will get more for that extra money. Even though I rated the Kawai ES920 as my #1 pick under $2000, the Kawai CA49, Casio AP-650, Korg G1 Air, and Casio AP-470 can be somewhat interchangeable in ranking position depending on what you actually want in terms of a piano, the way it looks (design, cabinet color, size, etc), your musical goals, and your budget. They all offer a lot of quality and piano playing realism but it just depends on what YOU like and how much YOU can afford to pay. 
*Just so you know, there is no precise or totally impartial digital piano rating system (like stars, check marks, numbers, etc) as some people on the internet would have you believe...and that's why I don't do it. There are just too many variables in piano touch, tone, pedaling, features, and looks. In fact there are some so-called "reviewers" out there who have no idea of what they are talking about, they say things that are just not true at all, they rate cheap keyboards along side of digital pianos which is ridiculous (keyboards are not digital pianos), and what they report is only so they can link you to an Amazon site to make THEM money if you buy something. If you see something like that (Amazon selling links from Fake Piano Reviewers...and there are many), then I recommend you run away from those people as they are not there to help you, regardless of what they say otherwise. In fact, I have noticed that many of these "fake review sites" steal my content and then post a version of it on their web sites. I know this because they would NEVER have been able to test out the pianos that I have played and come up with the conclusions they talk about in their reviews. This is because they have never played those digital pianos and in fact may not even know how to play a piano at all. It is true that imitation or coping is the sincerest form of flattery so people stealing (coping and reusing) my blog content does not bother me...much. Unfortunately on those sites it is done solely to make money off of you and they really don't care what piano you buy, as long as it is through them. I always recommend that you do your homework before you buy because as I said, any of these pianos I recommend may be a good choice for you. However there are definitely some models that offer different things for the money, depending on the price range. If you would like my help in making your best purchase decision, please contact me as I do not charge for my advice and I do this as a labor of love:)