Digital Pianos Under $1500 | REVIEW | Oct 2020 | Learn Here

🎹 There are good Digital Pianos under $1500 and there are also bad digital pianos under $1500, so it's important to learn which ones to stay away from. The name we give to the bad digital pianos is "PSO" (aka: Piano Shaped Object). Stay away from the PSO's because they have very poor key action, piano sound, and pedal response. Find out what they are in this detailed review.  

🎹 Digital Pianos under $1500 | UPDATED REVIEW | October 2020 | If you are looking for a good new furniture cabinet digital piano under $1500 internet selling price then you need to consider the following digital pianos: Korg C1 Air, Korg LP-380, Casio AP-470, Casio AP-270, Casio PX-870, Casio PX-780, Casio PX-770, Yamaha YDP-164, Yamaha YDP-S54 - Yamaha YDP-144, Yamaha YDP-S34, Yamaha YDP-103, Kawai KDP110, Kawai KDP70, and Roland RP501R, Roland F140R, Roland RP-102. I have personally played and examined all of these digital pianos so I know how they actually play, how they sound, and what they do. There are also portable digital pianos that are available without the furniture stand and triple pedal unit, but in this review I will be focusing on furniture cabinet digital pianos that automatically come with a furniture stand, triple pedal unit built into that stand, and also a built-in key cover that closes over the keys which some other digital pianos do not have. I will also be primarily focusing on the price range from approx $1000 - $1500 in this review because I have already done a detailed review of digital pianos under $1000 here at the following link: Digital Pianos Under $1000. 

In this price range for new digital pianos under $1500 down to $700, there are a total of 16 models of furniture cabinet digital pianos among the 5 major brands. The Casio PX770 at $749 internet price is the lowest priced furniture cabinet digital piano of the major brands. Some of these cabinets are more traditional in style and some are more contemporary so it depends on what you really want as to which one would be the best for you. Besides cabinet differences, there are obviously big differences in functions and features among all these models. However, what almost everyone is looking for when shopping for a new digital piano is natural quality piano sound and natural piano "feel" when playing the music. This is also true when people are shopping for real acoustic pianos but it's no different when shopping for a new digital piano. So when it comes to a big, beautiful sound and a satisfying key action in a digital piano under $1500, I like a variety of models but am personally impressed with the Korg line of digital pianos, a brand that some people may not be familiar with. In this review I will mainly be focusing

Korg Kronos Pro Stage Piano

Korg is a company that is well known among professional musicians, recording studios, and teachers, among others, but Korg is not as well known in the mainstream world of families, churches, and schools. This is because Korg does not make acoustic pianos like Yamaha and Kawai do and they don't make consumer products like watches, calculators, and other consumer products. Also, Korg does not produce band instruments such as flutes, violins, guitars, and other similar instruments like Yamaha does. Korg only does one thing...they design and produce higher end music products in many categories directed towards people who appreciate more advanced and realistic digital technology in their musical instruments. Korg builds top rated keyboard and digital piano key actions along with impressive digital piano sound technology and they have been in business building music and percussion technology products for over 50 years.

Korg home digital pianos are not normally available at the more well known US consumer stores such as Costco, Guitar Center, Sam Ash, etc. This is because the Korg Home Digital Pianos are considered "special order products" and are normally equated with higher price ranges when it comes to how they are rated by users, both professionals and beginners. Korg home digital pianos can sometimes be found on-line in a variety of on-line music stores as well as some local piano stores so it is possible to find them and play them, but the other mainstream brands such as Yamaha, Kawai, and Casio are generally easier to find. However, we do recommend that you seriously consider all of the Korg home digital pianos from $500 to $2000 because they are super impressive and have new digital piano technology that the other brands do not have, especially in this lower price range.

I have personally and professionally played on a variety of Korg music products over the years including their pro keyboards and digital pianos that are up in the $5000 price range along with having used their pro stage organs, digital piano workstations, drum machines, recording devices, and other technology products. So I know this company quite well and have always been impressed with what they put out there in terms of very cool stuff. I also like the fact that their digital pianos are designed and made in Japan unlike most of the other brands that may design their products in Japan but have them built in China, Indonesia, or Malaysia.


The size, power, and quality of an internal speaker system in any digital piano has a lot to do with the quality of piano sound that you hear. Starting off with Yamaha in this $1500 and under price range, the Yamaha YDP-164 digital piano sells for $1499US and it has 40 watts of power going into 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers, and the speakers are mounted inside the piano pointing down to the floor. The lower priced Yamaha YDP-144 at $1099US internet price has just 16 watts of total power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers pointing down towards the floor. The piano sound on the YDP-144 is good but unfortunately and bit thin and tinny because of the smaller amplifiers in that model. The Roland RP501R and F140R digital pianos has just 24 watts of power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers with the speakers mounted inside the piano pointing down to the floor. Like the Yamaha, the Kawai KDP110 digital piano has 40 watts of power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers mounted inside the piano pointing down to the floor. If it were a choice between the 40 watt Kawai KDP110 or the 40 watt Yamaha YDP-164, I would take the Kawai over that Yamaha, especially considering the Kawai is $300 less than the Yamaha and sounds somewhat better to me. Even the newer Casio AP-470 digital piano at $1499 internet price with 40 watts of power going through 2 amplifiers and 4 speakers mounted inside the piano sounds better to me than the Yamaha model. This is because the Casio AP-470 has a top lid speaker projection system that helps the higher sounds come out towards the player. So when it comes to digital pianos priced at $1499, I like the Casio AP-470 better than the Roland RP501R or Yamaha YDP-164

Korg C1 Air

But when it comes to Korg home digital pianos, the most surprising and impressive piano in terms of piano sound under $1500 comes from the Korg C1 Air digital piano which has a discount internet price at $1449US. The C1 Air has 50 watts of power going through 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers so it has a bit more power than the Casio and Yamaha I mentioned, and twice as much power as the Roland RP501R and Roland F140R. However, the Korg speaker system is a newly developed sound that replicates a full, bass response grand piano sound as opposed to a smaller more treble small upright piano sound that is found on most other digital pianos under $1500. The Korg C1 Air achieves this big beautiful sound by offering specially designed speaker system components mounted into a sealed rectangular speaker box which is mounted under the piano. The speaker box is also uniquely electronically "tuned'  permanently within the speaker box and the speakers are pointing towards the player rather than down to the floor away from the player like most other digital pianos. The sound coming out of this model is produced in such a way that you "feel" the piano sound (like on a real grand piano) as well as hear it, which the other digital pianos cannot do. Even playing at lower volumes on the C1 Air still gives you the sense that it's a grand piano you are hearing instead of a smaller, more metallic sound that you would normally get out of other digital pianos such as the Roland digital pianos.

Korg C1 Air control panel

The key action of the Korg C1 Air as compared to the Roland and Yamaha is much more expressive and moves a bit easier than the more noticeably firm key actions of the Roland pianos and Yamaha YDP-164. In fact the Korg key action in the C1 Air called the RH3 key action, is the same key action that is used in their lower priced LP-380 at $1099 and same key action used in their higher priced Grandstage digital stage piano which sells for $2199. So the Korg C1 Air and LP-380 key action is a higher quality, higher end key action unlike some of the other digital pianos out there who use entry level key actions in this price range under $1500 that really do not feel like pianos. Another thing I like about the C1 Air is that it is easy to operate, has some very cool features along with offering Bluetooth audio wireless connectivity, and can close up flat when the key-cover is put down over the keys.

Casio AP-470

There are certainly other good choices under $1500 for a furniture cabinet digital piano including the new Casio AP-470 ($1499) which I like very much as some impressive features along with the Casio AP-270 ($1049) and Korg LP-380 ($1099) that I already mentioned. Finally, Korg makes a higher price model called the G1 Air which is priced at $1799 internet price. The G1 Air but the piano sounds are upgraded even further with more advanced piano reproduction technology and all of that going through an 80 watt sound system which goes through 4 discrete amplifiers directed through 4 speakers. The 2 main bass speaker system is in a separate speaker box like the C1 Air but the 2 additional G1 Air speakers are mounted inside the piano near the top and pointing upwards to spread out the higher frequency sounds. The result of that system is incredibly impressive but it is higher priced than the Yamaha YDP-164 ($1499 price) and the Roland RP501R ($1599 price). The cabinet on the Korg G1 Air is also upgraded with the ability to hold twice as much sheet music along the top than any other digital piano in its class.

I do like other digital pianos under $1500 and as I mentioned earlier, I have a separate review of the digital pianos that are under $1000 at the following link: Digital Pianos under $1000. But for digital pianos, let's say from $1000 to $1500, in this specific price range then I would choose the Korg C1 Air at $1449 and then the Casio AP-470 at $1499. The Casio AP-470 has the much more traditional furniture cabinet design as compared with the Korg digital pianos and it comes with a nice height adjustable bench whereas the Korg pianos do not come with a bench. So if you want the best looking "traditional" furniture cabinet digital piano under $1500 that has a very satisfying piano playing experience, then I would recommend the Casio. However, if you want the bigger, better piano sound in a more contemporary but yet elegant compact style cabinet, then I would recommend the Korg pianos. If  a person could get closer to $2000US then I would recommend the  Casio AP-650 furniture cabinet digital piano which I have reviewed and like very much. Factory warranties on both Korg and Casio are 5 years parts & 5 years labor against factory defects, which is a huge warranty. Warranty on the Yamaha and Kawai pianos under $1500 range are 3 years parts & labor, and warranty on Roland is 5 year parts and 2 years labor.

STAY AWAY FROM A "PSO." Something I think everyone should be aware of is that there are a few (off) brands out there that I do not recommend, because very simply put...I do not like them.Those brands would includeWilliams, Kurzweil, Gewa, many Suzuki models, Artesia, and Adams. There are also a few brands not carried in the US that are not very good either,  but I am only focusing on models sold in the US. The (off) brands, as I call them, generally look good on the outside, but really are just PSO's..."Piano Shaped Objects." I have played many of these piano shaped objects, both under and over the $1500 price range and I've generally been very disappointed with them, especially with their key actions, piano sound and dynamic tonal expression, and pedaling. Some of those pianos do have a bunch of "bells & whistles" but even those bells and whistle features sound like toys. Just because something is a cheap price and looks OK on the outside does not make it good on the inside. Beware of the "off brands" when shopping for a digital piano.

Casio PX-770 digital piano

Actually, I don't think you can go wrong with any of the digital pianos I mentioned here between $1000 - $1500US. When it comes to furniture cabinet  and even portable digital pianos under $1000, as I mentioned earlier, I already have reviewed those portable and cabinet pianos under $1000 and there are some good ones there too, especially the Casio PX-870 and Casio PX-770. But in the $1000 to $1500 price in furniture cabinet pianos, the differences between the pianos that are priced under $1000 compared to the digital pianos that are priced at more than $1000 can be pretty significant. So when considering how much money you should spend on a digital piano to get a good piano playing experience that can last you for many years, I always recommend that if you can stretch your budget, you will reap a longer term benefit in having an instrument that you can grow into rather than owning something that you could more easily grow out of. Also, please make note that I can help anyone get these digital pianos for less money than internet and Amazon price. So don't buy anything from anyone until you contact me first. More reviews at the links below:

- Review of electric 88-key digital pianos under $1000
- Digital Piano Reviews Under $1000

If you want more info on these pianos and lower prices than internet, Amazon, bundles, or store discounts in the USA including helping you with credit and no interest if paid in full in 6 months on purchases over $100, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864