Top 9 Digital Grand Pianos - REVIEW | Lower Prices - June 2023

🎹 UPDATED REVIEW - June 1, 2023 - TOP 9 DIGITAL GRAND PIANOS - Digital Mini Grand Pianos is a relatively small category in the world of digital pianos. There are only 3 major digital piano companies that make these instruments with 4 of the mini grands coming from Yamaha, 3 from Roland, and 1 from Kawai. The next piano company under those 3 companies that has them is Samick which offers 2 models. There are also a few "off brands" out there like Suzuki, Artesia, Williams, Kurzweil, and a couple of others which produce digital grand pianos, but we don't recommend them due to a noticeably artificial piano playing experience.

Yamaha has 4 digital grand models which include (priced in polished ebony) the Clavinova CLP-765GP ($5999), CLP-795GP ($8199), CVP-809GP ($17,499), and N3X Hybrid digital grand piano (approx $17,799). The CLP-765GP is the smallest in the line measuring 45" deep, the upgraded CLP-795GP measures 48" deep, the CVP-809GP measures 48" deep, and also the Yamaha N3X also measures 48" deep . All models come in either polished ebony or polished white which has a much higher cost, with the exception of the N3X Hybrid which only comes in polished ebony. 

I have played all 4 Yamaha models and they are really great instruments with the most popular being either the CLP-765GP or CLP-795GP in polished ebony. They have the latest piano key action, piano sound, and piano pedaling technology for digital grand pianos under $10,000. The CVP-809GP has literally thousands of bells & whistles compared to the other 3 models so if you are into having an interactive one-man-band, large interactive color touch screen, and all the music possibilities that you can possibly handle, then the CVP-809GP would be the one to get...assuming you could put out the large price tag for it.

The CLP-765GP and CLP-795GP do have a number of "bells & whistles" but those models are focused squarely on the piano playing experience and not as much as all the other features...even though you can do some cool things on them in terms of having some other instrument sounds, 16-track recording and playback, some basic interactive accompaniment styles, and a touch screen to make accessing the functions more intuitive. Go to the following link to read my review of the Yamaha CLP-765GP: Yamaha CLP-765GP Review

The Yamaha N3X Hybrid is called hybrid" because it has an actual full grand piano key action that comes from the Yamaha acoustic grand piano line and that key action feels and plays like an actual acoustic grand piano. That's the "hybrid" part of it and to get a key action like that costs thousands of dollars. It also has a custom mini 4' deep grand piano cabinet with a proprietary Yamaha internal sound system which is very impressive. 

With regard to functionality, the N3X is pretty basic and there is little you can actually do on the piano except for playing piano and a few other instrument sounds. So it is squarely focused on the best piano playing experience in a grand piano shaped instrument that you can get. However, one interesting piece of technology in the N3X is its ability to make the wooden keys "vibrate." 

In other words, when you play the keys there is a feature that can make the keys have a vibration in them which is how a real grand piano key action would feel because of the natural acoustic sound waves that can permeate those keys when the strings are vibrating in the piano. You actually feel a slight vibration coming through the keys and into your finger tips when playing the piano. This is called a "haptic vibration" in the N3X.

The amount of that "vibration" is controllable as well to be very subtle of more pronounced. It's a cool feature and if you have played on acoustic pianos before then this "feeling" you get from the vibration in the keys may be familiar to you. So in the N3X model Yamaha has done just about everything they can do to make the piano playing experience as real as possible and yet give you a digital grand piano that does not go out of tune, can be played privately with headphones, can let you interface with external devices through USB connection, and the cabinet looks great as well. It's about $17,800 selling price, but hey, "you can't take it with you" as the old saying goes, so might as well spend it now. Go to the following link to read our review on the Yamaha Avantgrand N3X: Yamaha N3X Review

The Kawai piano company used to have one very large digital grand piano with lots of bells and whistles, and it was a lot of money too, well over $12,000. However, they discontinued that model and recently came out with a small mini digital piano called the DG30 which sells at Kawai piano stores for $6099 discount price. It's just 34' deep and has a wood interior so it looks cute but yet very elegant in my opinion. It has one of the best key actions I have ever played in its price range and it sound great with a very capable internal sound system putting out beautiful stereo grand piano sound. 

When comparing Kawai to Yamaha digital grand pianos, you definitely cannot go wrong with the Kawai. This is especially true if you need a smaller size cabinet but a high quality piano playing experience along with some useful fun and educational features.  

This new DG30 model has some piano songs from popular lesson books for play-along while you are learning to play piano as well as a 16-track MIDI recorder & player for composition and arranging music if you are a slightly more advanced player. There are hundreds of instrument sounds on this model and it can play General MIDI files of thousands of popular MIDI file songs available on the internet.

At $6099 price I believe this model can handle most everything someone would want in a new digital grand piano and it is small enough to fit in small spaces, and that smaller size is what helps make it so popular. My best guess is you'll have a difficult time trying to find this model in stock because it seems to be in very high demand right now as it is meant for any level of playing whether you are a beginner or more advanced player. 

If you didn't know already, Kawai is a well known and respected acoustic grand & upright piano company having produced these acoustic pianos in their factories for many, many decades. They are played and used all over the world on stage by experienced pianists. So if you own a Kawai grand piano, you know doubt have a good one! If you want more info on the new Kawai DG30 then click on my review link to read more about it. Kawai DG30 Review

Roland digital piano company has offered 2 models of digital grands for many years that are recently discontinued with new models replacing them. Those models were the GP607 37" deep piano being closed out at $4999 and the GP609 (5' deep piano) being closed out at  $8999 in Roland piano stores and on-line. Of the top manufacturers who make digital grand pianos, Roland has been very popular along with Yamaha with regard to key action authenticity as well as piano sound realism. Roland is a very good digital piano and keyboard company and they produce reliable product. The discontinued models are still be available on-line in small quantities while they last. However, the new models just coming out are more realistic in piano sound and key action touch. But they are more money so it depends on what you need.

We are happy to report that Roland just announced a new line of 4 digital grand pianos coming out now which are called GP-3, GP-6, GP9, and GP9M. They start at $3999 for the GP-3 micro-grand size at just 27" deep and they go up to their full size 5' deep GP9 which is priced at $11,999. These 4 new models replace the 2 previous models. I will soon have a detailed review of the new pianos.  

The recently discontinued 3' deep GP607 had a very nice cabinet but the interior was dark and did not look quite as realistic  as the more natural wood you would find in the Kawai DG30 or the larger Roland GP609.. Unlike the Yamaha and Kawai pianos, the GP607 is an older model, as I already mentioned, and had not changed in all that time. With the new GP6 having just replaced it, the upgrades in the GP6 are a new cabinet with new interior appearance, new pianos sounds, new panel layout and interface, an upgraded internal sound system, and a few other features.

The now discontinued GP609 had the largest digital grand piano cabinet of the 3 brands coming in at 5' deep, so it definitely looked more authentic like a real baby grand piano for size and design. The GP609 model is identical to the GP607 as far as functions and features go including the same key action and the same piano sound engine. That's certainly not a bad thing but that GP609 model key action is one step down from a real grand piano because the GP609 has shorter keys with a different balance and fulcrum point. But the piano is still very enjoyable to play and the key action moves in a responsive way. If you want the "look" of a larger digital grand piano, then this 5'  deep model is a very good choice. The GP609 is the only digital grand piano out of all the brands to have this type of larger cabinet, internal speaker system, cabinet design, and operation. 

As far as other digital piano brands that offer digital grand cabinet models, there are some out there which sell at Costco, Guitar Center, on-line, and other places. These other brands I normally refer to as "off-brands" because they do not come close to the name brands in reproducing a great piano playing experience based on my playing experience with them, and they have limited distribution. They are not models or brands that you would normally see in actual piano stores because they really cannot keep up with the name brands as far as piano playing realism. 

Some of those piano names include Kurzweil, Artesia, Williams, Suzuki, Pearl River, and a few others. My advice with regard to those brands is to "stay away" if you are looking for a more authentic piano playing experience. There is a reason those "off-brands" sell for a lot less money than the name brands. The off brands do have some nice looking cabinets along with a number of "bells & whistles."

But when it comes to coming close to duplicating an actual piano playing experience, I have never played even one of those models that comes anywhere close to the name brand digital pianos or any acoustic piano with regard to key action, piano sound, dynamics & expression, and pedaling response. If you want a good and enjoyable piano playing experience then I recommend you stay away from those "off-brands" and stick to the name brands and invest your money wisely into something that you can enjoy for years to come.

Those off-brands do have lots of bells & whistles, they do have attractive cabinets, and you can definitely play them. Their biggest attraction on those pianos are their much lower prices for a "digital piano mini grand cabinet" and having many interactive functions. But you just do not get "something for nothing" as the old saying goes when it comes to a natural and realistic piano playing experience. 

There is a good reason why the name brands such as Yamaha, Roland, Kawai, and Samick cost a lot more money...and it is not because of "bells & whistles" features. It's because of the vastly more advanced piano playing technology including key action, piano sound, pedaling, and other important ingredients. If you are mainly wanting to have the grand piano type cabinet and don't have a lot of money, then you can do that with those off-brands. 

But if you also want a great piano playing experience in 2023 and trying to get close to playing and sounding like a real acoustic grand piano, then based on all my playing experience, that won't happen on the "off-brands."Stick to the name brands of Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland and invest your hard earned money for the future. Digital grand pianos of any size can look beautiful in your space, but do it right the first time...you'll be glad you did.