Digital Pianos Under $2500 - REVIEW | Dec 2023 | Top Picks

The ES920 is fairly easy to operate and has enough cool features for making music in ways that will enhance your overall playing and music enjoyment experience. So if you want a more compact digital piano with good looks, excellent key action, piano sound, and pedaling along with some useful digital technology to help your playing and make it more fun, no matter what type of music you prefer to play, the Kawai ES920 would be my personal favorite under $2500 for a portable digital piano. 

If you decide you want to purchase a new piano, reserved orders are being taken and this model will be very hard to get for the next few months so you would need to act now if you want one because they may be all sold out if you wait. If you have more questions on this model please let me know as I can help you get one and for even less money! Click on this link to read my review of this new model: Kawai ES920 Review

Kawai also makes a pro stage piano called the MP7SE at $2199 price which can also play back General MIDI song arrangements. This feature also allow the player to mute out specific instruments so that you can play those parts along with the song for full accompaniment enjoyment. The MP7SE is mainly built for superior grand piano tone and a quick realistic key action touch along with some very impressive instrument sounds including vintage electric pianos, symphonic strings, B3 jazz organs with digital drawbars, guitars, brass, flutes, synths, and more realistic instrument tones. And I am very particular when it comes to some of these sounds and the Kawai MP7SE certainly passes my test with flying colors. 

If you are an experienced piano player, advanced student, very particular in wanting an impressive piano tone & key action touch, or are a beginner and just want what the MP7SE has to offer (and don't care about cabinet and built-in speakers), in my opinion this could be the perfect digital piano in that "under $2500 price range" if you don't mind an instrument with no internal speakers and you would need to connect to external monitors for external sound. Below is a link to my review on the MP7SE with more details on this impressive piano: Kawai MP7SE Review 

The Casio Privia AP-470 digital cabinet piano (left pic) is also a great choice in a lower price range and is pretty amazing for its low internet price of $1699 because the piano has most of the features of the more expensive pianos have like 40 watts of stereo audio power, ivory feel keys, USB direct output, realistic hammer weight & graduated key action touch, and more. It also has features that many of the higher priced pianos do not have such as 256-note polyphony piano sound chip, four internal speakers instead of two, USB flash drive audio wav file recording and playback, a lift top lid for sound expansion, and other cool features. Considering all of the possibilities out there right now for a great digital piano buy in a compact furniture cabinet, I would highly recommend this new Casio AP-470. 

Go to my review to read more about this impressive piano: Casio AP-470 Review. Casio also has a model called the PX-870 in the lower price range of $1199 internet discount price which is one of the most popular digital pianos in the digital piano business. It's definitely worth looking at and has some very cool features and I would recommend you read my review of that model at the following link: Casio PX-870 Review.

Last but definitely not least are the 3 brand new Casio portable models called the PX-S5000 at $1199 price, PX-S6000 at $1799 price, and PX-S7000 at $2499 price that were just introduced. These new Privia models have a brand new pro quality responsive hybrid key action that goes far beyond anything key action that Casio has ever had in their portable digital pianos at any price range. Coupled with convincing stereo acoustic piano sounds and some very cool features including designer retro appearance, we highly recommend these 3 models. Check out our recent review of these 3 new digital pianos at the following link: Casio PX-S5000, 6000, and 7000 Review

Korg G1 Air - brown

Korg of Japan which is famous for making top quality professional digital pianos & keyboards for many years has 2 specific  models of impressive home digital pianos called the LP-38U and G1 Air. Both piano are designed in  slim, contemporary cabinets that can fit into smaller spaces and yet still look attractive, Available in 3 attractive matte cabinet colors, both the Korg LP-380U and especially G1 Air offer a noticeably natural piano key action, stereo piano sound, responsive pedaling, and a list of digital features that are useful and also fun. But both models focus especially on the "piano playing experience" and the G1 Air especially offers some of the most authentic reproduction of an acoustic piano in its price range. The Korg LP-380U sells at discount price on the internet at $99 (after factory $350 instant rebate) and the G1 Air sells at $1799 discount price (after $200 factory instant rebate). The most impressive thing about both of these Korg pianos is how big and full the piano sound is coming out of their respective speaker systems. 

I have heard these in person and compared to Roland, Yamaha, and all the "off-brands,"  in this price range, in my opinion the G1 Air could easily take 1st place when it comes to what you are hearing, whether you are playing it yourself or listening to it from a distance...pretty amazing actually. Please read my detailed review of the G1 Air at the following link to learn more: Korg G1 Air Review 

The Kawai piano company has an impressive furniture cabinet digital piano under $2500 called the CN201. It comes in 3 satin finishes including satin brown-rosewood, satin black and satin white all at $2299 internet price. The CN201 has the same key action that is in the portable pro ES920 (which I like very much) and also has a very realistic sounding acoustic piano tone using 192-notes of polyphony along with having many useful educational features in an attractive cabinet. 

This newer piano surpasses anything that Yamaha has under $2500 in piano playing authenticity in my opinion. The CN201 also has very intuitive user controls for the main functions of the piano and also has a proprietary app for phones & tablets to control the piano as well as using built-in Bluetooth wireless connectivity. When not using the app then the piano itself has an easy-to-read OLED display screen to see what's going on when you press a button. 

With 2-speakers, 40 watts of power using advanced Kawai audio components, and a beautiful cabinet design with front support legs and sliding key-cover, it's easy to see why people really like the CN201 for what it does and how it plays in its price range. Go to the following link to read my review of this newer Kawai CN201: Kawai CN201 Review
 

Yamaha YDP-165

The  Yamaha Arius YDP-165 at $1799 internet discount price is a new model between $1500 and $2500. It's a good piano overall with an improved and more expressive piano sound and has many features including 192 note polyphony, ivory feel keys, 40 watts of power going through 2 internal speakers, layer & duo, an more. However, it has a noticeably heavy key action to the touch which can be fatiguing to play after a while. The piano comes in a more traditional cabinet which looks fairly attractive. The YDP-165 does have a few "bells & whistles" including a controller app for iPad. But overall it is for people who want to mainly play piano. Yamaha makes a complete series of the Arius models up to the YDP-184 at $2399 which should also be a consideration because it has an upgraded piano sound chip as compared to the YDP-165 and a better internal speaker system. However, it does have the same heavy key action in it so you may want to consider another option if you don't like heavy key action movement. Click on the following link to read my review of the top-of-the-line Arius YDP-184 in this under $2500 price range. Yamaha YDP-184 Review. 

When it comes to digital pianos under $2500 in our opinion the new Yamaha Clavinova CLP-725 is the way way to go for a traditional furniture cabinet model because it offers the best piano sound samples along with a new and improved key action for 2022 called the Grand Touch-S that is far superior to the key actions in the Yamaha Arius line. The Clavinova CLP-725 sells for $1999 discount price which is $400 less than the YDP-184 and its a better piano too. If you can stretch your budget above the $2500 price range then the CLP-735 is definitely worth consideration and. If you need to be under $2500 and want a Yamaha digital piano then we do recommend the new CLP-725. Go to the following link to read my review of this impressive digital piano. Yamaha CLP-725 Review

The Roland company is well known for making some impressive home & professional digital pianos over the years and they have a few new models called theF701 ($1599 internet price and RP701 ($1749 internet price), that has a nice 3-part key key sensing system and smooth acoustic piano style key action along with continuous detection pedaling sustain and some very useful technology features. I think these models are good in many ways for their compact size however they do not rival the Kawai KDP120, Casio AP-470, or Korg G1B Air under $2500 with regard to a more authentic piano playing experience in our opinion.

A person can spend a somewhat more than $2500 and have some other good piano choices such as the newer Roland HP704, Yamaha CLP-745, Casio-Bechstein GP-310, Kawai CA501, and others all of which are in or around the $3500 to $4500 price range. So there are plenty of very nice digital pianos for even more money, way up to $17,000 for Digital Grand Pianos. But most families I speak with want to be near or under $3000, and any of these pianos mentioned here would be enjoyable to own. Based on my experience both past & present, I generally do not recommend off-brand names like Williams which is a Guitar Center house brand and is only sold by the Guitar Center company and it's subsidiaries. Also, I do not recommend digital pianos from Suzuki or Artesia sold primarily in the US by Guitar Center & Costco. They have some nice "bells & whistles and their cabinets look attractive, especially the mini grand pianos, but as for their piano playing authenticity, the top name brands are far superior in my opinion including Kawai, Casio, Yamaha, Korg, and Roland and just sound and play a lot more like real pianos.

If you want a certain type of cabinet and are on a restricted budget, then you may enjoy a couple of the off-brands but you will not get a piano playing experience anywhere close to the name brands. Depending on your piano playing experience this could be an issue for you...so be careful with your money, especially if the cabinet is looking really good to you because you should not necessarily judge a book by its cover..

It's really all about having realistic key touch action, proper tonal dynamics, smooth key volume response, realistic piano tone up and down the entire 88-keys, no unreasonable key noise, and proper pedal response. There are basic minimum standards that pianos need to have and these off-brand pianos usually fall very short, although there are a few exceptions that you can ask me about.

I know it's difficult for most people to judge these various brands and models on their own when they don't have the experience & expertise. It can also get even more confusing when different piano and music instrument stores or websites tell you different things depending on the brands they're selling. I am happy to help people figure it out and I will answer your questions about what might be best for you based on the actual facts about what these pianos can actually do and what you budget and musical goals are. Even though the choices I have talked about here for my top digital piano picks are good ones, there may be other options for YOU depending on your particular price range and specific needs & wants. I am committed to helping people get good digital pianos, playing good music, having good piano instruction, and enjoying the entire experience. 

I don't work for piano manufacturers nor do I have a favorite brand or model. There are some I like and some I don't like for different reasons. I also do not link you to Amazon to purchase a piano just so I can make an affiliate commission off of your sale like so many others do. I do this because this is my passion and I care about your (and your family's) musical well being like I do for my own family. Go to the link below to see what music involvement should be like in the lives of children and why you should should get your children and/or yourself involved in music.
Why Kids Should Play Piano!

If you want more info on these and other pianos and lower prices than internet, Amazon, Bundles, or store discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.comor call direct at 602-571-1864