REVIEW - Roland DP90 & DP90S Digital Pianos - RECOMMENDED - Attractive compact furniture cabinet with higher quality piano key action & realistic piano sound

Roland V-Grand Piano

REVIEW - Roland DP90 & DP90S - Recommended - These pianos are for people looking for high quality piano sound and key action in a compact cabinet. The Roland company is a worldwide digital music and audio products company and produces a large variety of home digital piano models...approx 13 models in all (including a couple of impressive digital grand pianos), which is a lot! They have starter models, intermediate models, advanced models, educational models, and compact furniture models. When you add up all the cabinet finish colors in every model then you get approx 24 choices in all different price ranges. If you can't find something you like in the Roland line of digital pianos then you just aren't looking hard enough:). In additional to the home cabinet models, Roland has two new compact portable digital pianos called the FP50 & FP80 which can be used by professionals on the road or are for families at home, especially if you get an optional small furniture stand with them.

DP90 Satin Cherry & bench

With regard to the two models in this review, the Roland DP90 (internet discount price is $2499 - left pic) comes in two satin finish colors & the DP90S (internet discount price in polished ebony is $3399) comes in two high polish finishes and both models are actually compact furniture cabinet versions of the more traditional Roland cabinet HP piano series. The HP series consists of the HP503, HP505, & HP507 and the differences among these HP furniture cabinet pianos is mostly concerning the key action, internal speaker system, cabinet design & colors, and a couple of digital features. But otherwise they all have the same piano sound chip (called SuperNATURAL piano), same instrument sounds (347 total instrument sounds), same educational, recording and playback functions, same connectivity, and same LCD display screen found in the HP503/505. Attractive matching benches are also included.

DP990 satin black

The DP90 & DP90S also have the same speaker system that's in the HP503 which is 24 watts and 2 speakers. However, the big difference between the DP90 & DP90S is that the DP90S has the HP505/HP507 top of the line PHAIII key action whereas the DP90 has the lower level "S" keyboard action found in the HP503, which is not as advanced in key movement and feel as is the PHAIII key action. The PHAIII key action is also used in the top of the line Roland V-Piano 5' Grand (approx $20,000 selling price), so getting that key action is the best that Roland offers (it feels/moves more like an acoustic  grand) although the Roland "S" key action (in the DP90) is overall pretty good but responds more like an upright acoustic piano and is physically a bit noisier and less precise. Both key actions do have the "escapement/letoff" mechanism which helps to duplicate the feeling of playing a grand piano. Yamaha Clavinovas and Casio pianos do not have this feature although Kawai digital pianos do have it (which is quite nice).

DP90S polished white

So really when you boil it down to the basics, the difference between the Roland DP90 & DP90S is cabinet finish and key action. The DP90 comes in the high polished ebony and polished white whereas the DP90 comes in the natural satin cherry wood and satin black. Although the DP90S colors are attractive, the DP90S polished black or white cost a lot more money to produce (white is $200 more than black which puts it at $3599 internet price) and when you add in the upgraded key PHAIII keyaction, then the $900-$1100 difference in price between the 90 & 90S makes sense.

DP90 Cherry with top down

The DP pianos are unique in that the other top brands (Yamaha, Kawai, Casio) do not offer this kind of compact furniture cabinet or configuration especially with the slow closing flat key cover that folds down and turns the piano into a table top when closed up...kind of cool:). So if you like this piano and don't have a problem being in this price range then this may be the perfect piano for you. Kawai & Yamaha (not Casio) do definitely have some nice pianos to offer in this price range but they are in the more traditional cabinets like the Roland HP home series. But if you like the style, design, and finish colors of this DP piano series then there is really is nothing else competing with it and then I would say that you should consider getting one because I do like them for the way they look, sound, feel, respond, and the digital features offered. They can connect wirelessly to an iPad or computer, can take a USB flashdrive to play General MIDI song files, and can import audio wav files including vocal tracks for play-along, so they do have some very cool features.

If you want to know more about the DP series by Roland, then you should read my detailed blog review on the Roland HP503 & HP505 because as I mentioned earlier, the digital features are the same on those pianos as well as the key actions and I explain those details in my HP reviews. Go to the following link to read my HP503/505/507 review: Roland HP503/505 Review and Roland HP505 Review

Finally, if you want to turn the DP series pianos into a full sized 9' concert grand sound, then all you have to do is connect a good external stereo sound system (or stereo powered monitors) to the piano and then the piano sound will also come through that external system. I have done this many times before and the result is amazing! It would be like adding an good external sound system to your home TV, stereo system, iPod, or other audio device that has smaller built in speakers and people do that all the time and it does not cost much money to do. So connecting the DP90S to a good external stereo speaker system (doesn't have to cost a lot or be big) can make a world of difference and can fill up a huge living area, church, school, outdoor area, or whatever you can imagine. It would be literally like hearing the powerful sound of a huge 9' grand piano.

DP90S polished ebony

The bottom line is...Roland produces great musical instruments including professional digital drums, digital accordions, digital guitar products, digital pro keyboards, digital pro audio, digital pro pianos, and digital home pianos. They are a worldwide company and respected & used by musicians, music teachers, schools, churches, and families. When it comes to the DP series, my favorite is the DP90S in polished ebony. It looks classy, plays great with an organic key feel and rich stereo piano sound (the sound is actually taken/sampled from a large Steinway acoustic grand piano) that really allows you to have a personal connection with your music and has the features that will keep you entertained and impressed with what comes out of it. It does that for me when I play these pianos and I believe it will do that for you.  Which ever one you would choose (including the traditional HP series) you will enjoy the musical results and that's what really counts. Playing music is all about experiencing beautiful sound and responsive key action and also having a great feeling when you are playing the right piano for you. With that in mind, you certainly can't go wrong with the Roland DP series of pianos.

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.