Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai ES920 VS Yamaha P515

So, how much better is the new ES920 than P515?

like 90000x legit better

What are your priorities in a slab piano?

1.786 (920/515) times better.

lol
In all seriousness though, when it comes to the piano sound and action, both are decent for the price and it comes down to personal preference. There may be some features that push you in one direction or the other, but those will vary from person to person.

I was waiting for this thread to come! Let the battle begin .

For the record, I just bought a P-515 after comparing the ES-8 and P-515 and deciding that they are roughly equally good, while the ES-920 on paper seems to have only minor updates. But eventually the only way to know is to try yourself once the ES-920 appears in stores.

No point in any further discussion till enough people have tried out the ES920 along side the P515.

All the spec chat won't help anyone appreciate the differences between these instruments.

I am waiting for clp 735 or p515 i dont know what do

Regarding the "piano" sounds, if you use mainly headphones or external speakers, I think there is no need to wait for the ES920 to get an idea of how it sounds at default. You can just consider the dozens of video reviews of the ES8. Or even better you can consider the reviews of recent Kawai DP with the HI-XL engine (for example, the CA59 should have the same "improved" samples) to get an even more accurate idea. What I can say is that from the official demos, with headphones, the ES920 sounds like the usual SK-EX digital sound we are used to.

But if you like to fiddle with parameters, then the ES920 could be surprising: the added "Cabinet Resonance", "Hammer Noise" and "Low Volume Balance" options, together with the variations you can do in real-time with the 4-band EQ, can make your customized piano sound very different from what you can achieve on the ES8. And there is an AMP simulaton too, but probably that's less interesting for piano sounds.

Anyway, the P515 is a very good instrument and it continues to be strong even compared with the new ES920 which looks to me just a minor upgrade of the successfull ES8.

IMHO there is no real winner here, because you could find the NWX action better than the RHIII or the other way around. The same thing for the main piano sounds. It's all very subjective. They are both good DPs. Personally I would buy the Yamaha, just because I already have a Kawai DP, so I could add the Yamaha sound timbre to my tools.
For the same reason I would buy a Roland and a Casio too. Unfortunately I don't have enough space in my room (and money in my pocket)...

Hello i am waiting clp 735 for the action, many people say that the acction of p515 is very heavy, but that i am waiting, but if action 735 is worst i will buy p515 , talk something about p515?
I discard kawai for the quality of construction

By all accounts (Yamahas) the 735 has the lighter action of a (yamaha) Baby Grand. Lighter than that of the more expensive models which employ a different action akin to Concert Grands and with a sound system that'd blow your head off.
I made up that last bit.
I also read somewhere that it's lighter than that on the P515, which is light to me. I've had mine almost a year and I'm liking the action more, as it loosens. It's very lively.
Looking at the stuff on the 735, I'd probably go for that but I haven't tried it yet.

By all accounts (Yamahas) the 735 has the lighter action of a (yamaha) Baby Grand. Lighter than that of the more expensive models which employ a different action akin to Concert Grands and with a sound system that'd blow your head off.
I made up that last bit.
I also read somewhere that it's lighter than that on the P515, which is light to me. I've had mine almost a year and I'm liking the action more, as it loosens. It's very lively.
Looking at the stuff on the 735, I'd probably go for that but I haven't tried it yet.

I don't think you can go wrong, here. try the toss of a dice, the flip of a coin approach. Do it several times until you get a clear winner . . .

thanks for answering peter. The seller sent me to ask for the p515, but I told him that when the 735 comes I would like to try it and the one I like the most to take it to me. I get $ 200 more nothing else. For the 745 I have no money!

When the models are available, test them.

Myself, I'm not a fan of the cheap amplification on the lower grade CLP models (or lower /medium priced cabinets in general). Unless you require a cabinet for aesthetic reasons, I'd go for a nicer stage or portable piano with studio monitors if needed.

The cabinet itself is a challenge for designers to overcome in the optimisation of the sound. The cheaper cabinet pianos have low power non bespoke systems, and a portable piano is likely to sound better.

I guess you are right, but I think the 735 has a better action, right? According to many people it is heavier, although I tried the same action on a csp and it was heavy like a boserdonfer there, but heavier than a yamaha upright piano

I think 2 things:

1) whatever cabinet-style DP you buy from the usual main manufacturers, it's very likely it has an action good enough for learning piano and to transition in a future to an acoustic model to get more nuances in your playing;
2) if you have concerns about the heaviness/lightness of an action, then it's better to go to a store and try yourself, instead of asking here;

I listened to some videos of the CLP-735 and I don't know if it's the same engine/samples of the P515 but that CFX sounds very good to me: bright and clean when you press hard on the keys, smooth and nice when you play pianissimo. And the Bosendorfer is lovely. I feel the quality of the new Yamaha samples is much better than that of the old PHI engine Kawai continues to put in their middle-range offerings (ES520/CN29/CN39/etc.). But it's true that currently a Yamaha CLP-735 is much more expensive than a Kawai CN39 (current top "middle-range" cabinet-style DP from Kawai), so it's like the 2 manufacturers (Yamaha and Kawai) don't want to compete too much in the same price-range.

In my country i get clp 735 about 2000$ and p515 1700$, i like 735 but a try it

Here in Europe the P515 is €1444. The CLP735 about €2049, but its price should get lower in the next 6 months (I think something like €1600-1700). IMHO the price of the P515 cannot go lower than that.
If you like cabinet-style DPs more, IMHO the CLP735 is a very good choice, but I think now the prices are too high. With the P515 you cannot go wrong. The ES920 is a good choice too, if you like more that warm sound character of Kawai digital pianos. About the actions, you should try them. Between NWX and RHIII actions I don't know if there is a clear winner...

i get clp 735 1700€ i live in canary island i dont
Buy vat.. if the action turns out to be good buy 735

Has anyone even played the ES920 yet?