OK first off, I can't play a single note on a piano.
I purchased this for my girlfriend for her birthday.
Lemme tell you about her. She's been playing piano since she was five, has played at least 2 recitals in college every semester, regularly practices on baby and full Steinway grands in school, hates mp3s cause she thinks they sound sucky(yes even 128kbit encoded ones).

This girl knows her pianos and she's not exactly tone deaf. Since graduation though, she hasn't had access to a piano.
Baby grand's don't fit in my budget and they definitely won't fit in our nyc apt.

So I decided to surprise her with a keyboard purchase.

Problem: all the "keyboards" she's ever played never sounded or felt right.
If they can make a fake chicken, I was pretty sure a fake piano was out there somewhere that sounded and felt like a piano.(and still tastes like chicken)

Off to the internet I go.. Man are there allot of keyboard sites.

My(our) criteria - midi controller aspect unimportant. I(she) wanted the most realistic sounding and feeling, digital piano for the money.

here are the contenders. Please excuse the generalizations here, I'm no keyboard expert.

Yamaha p80. The first one I read about, everyone raves about the sound and the realistic piano feel. A few people claim it doesn't sound good enough. everyone seems to be in consensus about the "piano feel". Graduated hammer effect- not only are the keys weighted to mechanical linkages to simulate a piano key, they vary in weight as the notes get deeper. 4 zones of variance I believe. Only 37lbs..
~$999 net price.

Yamaha p200. A jacked up p80. Same sound samples as the 80, supposedly less compressed due to a bigger memory on board. Some believed it sounds better than the 80, others actually claim it sounds worse?? Built in speakers. Same keyboard action, but more granular graduated feel.
Only 72lbs, ha!
~$1800

Roland md 150- upgrade from the md 100. Supposedly an "answer" to the Yamaha p80. Hammer effect keyboard, not graduated. Just seemed to have less features than the Yamaha. Some seemed to prefer their sound though. Much lighter feel. weight.. uhh heavier than the p80, ~50lbs I think.
~$999

Roland fp3 - Graduated effect keyboard. Jacked up md150, supposedly much better sounds as well.
~1400

I’m used to doing my research online for an item and getting a pretty clear picture of the products on the market. Esp. items I never deal with, washer and dryer for my mom, baby stroller for my sister, satellite dish for my brother in law etc.
From all the reviews online, I can usually pick out the "killer" one. The breakthru product that gives you the most bang for you buck. I’ve got to admit, I’ve been pretty much right on in picking most items. (Except for that car seat, thank god he threw up all over that cheap piece of crap.. I digress)

Most of the reviews and feedback pointed to the p80 as the "One".(Yes Neo)

The more I read though, the more I heard, "you should try them all and figure out what you like best". Even worse there were lots of posts contradicting each other left and right. P200 definitely sounds better, no way the P80 does, nuh ahh the Roland is the best etc etc.

A consultation with my sister's boyfriend, a professional sound engineer, convinced me that I had to drag her as$ to Sam Ash, our neighborhood instrument dealer.. that also happens to be one of the largest dealers in the country. Thank god, they had all the players on display ready to play.

Here's the lowdown,

P80 - The first one she tried. Surprised by how nicely it played, "Feels like a real piano." She's taken aback by the sound quality. "It sounds real!" (All listening done on their kurzeil headphones)

Roland md150 - Up next, the challenger, released only a few months ago, seemed to the be the staff favorite at Sam Ash. Hated It!! She said the feel was too light. Didn't like the sound at all.

Yamaha p200 - "So big" she said. (I’ve never heard her say that). "Sounds like the other one"(p80). "Its how much?"

Roland fp3 - "Its nice, but I can't figure out the buttons." "$1400?"

Kawai mp9000 - Didn't read ahead about this one. It was pretty prominently displayed so she gave it a shot. "It feels nice." She wasn't overwhelmed by the sound. Seemed to be on sale there.

So it broke down like this, I was leaning toward the p80 from the get go. From the online posts, it had all the markings of being the "One". I wanted her to try the Roland’s cause my friend, the sound engineer is enamored by them. She hated the Roland md150, for both its feel and sound and didn't like the fp3 cause for her it was too hard to use.

I think that was the big kicker too. The p80 seemed the easiest to use. She kept returning to that one and playing with the various features it offered while she was only getting frustrated at "all the buttons" on the other models.

Needless to say that the P80 was the "One". We brought it home, at a considerable discount by the way. Our salesman was able to actually beat the best price I had online (919). I only wound up paying tax which sucked, but it was worth it to be able to go there and just bring it home.

I’m really in to the surprise factor when it comes to giving gifts, but I’m glad we went to try all the contenders. I was fully expecting her to get the Roland even though the Yamaha was the winner on paper. I wanted to just order the p80 online, but I was afraid that she would find some mysterious connection with the Roland’s and hate me later. Ultimately, she made the decision and that was very important.

The p80 is on a iq2000 "ultimate" stand and that too is extremely well built. As a side note, it took approximately 20minutes to hook up everything to the living room stereo, a jvc "executive" mini system. We looked at the manual a grand total of zero times when setting it up! Even though a big factor was the price of the p80, I’m glad we got that one cause for our needs, the more expensive models, fp3 p200, would have been overkill. The p80's simplicity and ease of use was a joy. She really hates my remote for our home theater. "Which one turns on hbo high def??"

Like I said before, in most markets, there exists that breakthru product. The "One" that brings it all together, price, performance, ergonomics.

If your needs are close to ours, real sounds, real feel, real cheap, than the p80 should definitely be the one to get.

Of all the gifts I’ve ever given, none has matched the level of satisfaction from this one purchase. She's playing as I write this and it is so wonderful to have such lovely music in my humble little apartment.

K Kim

here are some other sources of reviews
http://www.harmony-central.com/Synth/Data/Yamaha/P80-01.html


Recommended: Yes