Casio CDP-220R (or good alternatives)

[andreas1974]

Is there anyone with a Casio CDP-220R out there?

Yamahas "equvalent" keyboard (in the same price range) is said to be the DGX-640.

I would be very interested in opinions about these two. I tried to find a comparison, but no success.

A related question: If you wouldn't care for the weighted hammer action, are there other keyboards with even better sound for the same price? (6000-7000 Swedish krona which is around 1000 USD).

More interested in good sound from "analogue" instruments such as grand piano, organ, flutes etc, than from "synthetic sounding" ones.

 

[DickR]

Is there anyone with a Casio CDP-220R out there?

Yamahas "equvalent" keyboard (in the same price range) is said to be the DGX-640.

I would be very interested in opinions about these two. I tried to find a comparison, but no success.

A related question: If you wouldn't care for the weighted hammer action, are there other keyboards with even better sound for the same price? (6000-7000 Swedish krona which is around 1000 USD).

More interested in good sound from "analogue" instruments such as grand piano, organ, flutes etc, than from "synthetic sounding" ones.

Taste is very personal of course but have a look at the Casio WK7500. It is less than the price you mention. It has great piano's, saxophones, flutes and organsounds, classical as well as 'hammond' types. Don't judge it on the onboards speakers, they sound a bit thin, but use good headphones or a amplified speakersystem.
For the rest it is a great arranger keyboard with many features you wouldn't find on most keyboards it this pricerange.

Dick

 

[andreas1974]

Actually we did look at the WK7500 a couple of weeks ago.
I've also got a detailed personal description of it, from one of the other forum members here. There are some good things, and some less good. The sound quality might be great for home use - I have found no other opinions on that. The demo we had in a store the other day of this WK 7500 was with its built-in speakers and coming from the Yamaha corner of the shop, I was not impressed. But the speakers always seem to be a weak link, so we should probably get a pair of external speakers whatever brand or model we choose.

I've also just realized that with a computer (laptop) connected to any keyboard with midi support, you can extend the number of voices (sounds) "indefinitely" using so called software synthesizers. Using that approach, the plethora of sounds in the Casio WK7500, and the Yamaha DGX-640 and other ones like them, might not be relevant, and we might rather want to get a few really good built-in sounds, and the possibility to connect a computer by USB, for playing around with "any sound in the world".
I'll have to take this into account as well, before we decide what to buy.

 

[dmoewenn]

Good Machine

I've owned the Casio CDP 220R for about a month now, which is about how long it has been released in the US market. I was initially considering a Privia PX 330, and I had a chance to demo both. I also tried the Yamaha P95, and a few other entry level units in the showroom, and I just really liked the Casio sound. As far as the sound between the CDP and the more expensive Privia, I could not hear any discernable difference, although the Privia supposedly has a more advanced sound source and keyboard. They both have stereo Grand Piano samples and although nothing can compare to the sound of an acoustic instrument, they were both very pleasant to hear and play.

As far as bells and whistles are concerned, I think Casio outdid themselves in the 220R. The tones are really incredible, and I honestly didn't think it mattered before I bought it. The Lesson mode is very useful if you have some basic music knowledge, and I learned to play Moonlight Sonata in less than two days using the program. I like how the screen also shows on Staff what note you are playing, which helps beginners learn to read music. The layer feature is great, too, and layering the Grand Piano with Strings gives it a very big quasi-orchestral sound. You also have the ability to split the keyboard, which I really don't have any use for, but it's there if you need it.

As far as the bad- there are a few: First, 48 note polyphony. I really don't think it would have cost too much more to add a higher polyphony capability for this keyboard, but I guess you can't get more with what you pay for it. 48 notes may sound like more than most people will play at once, but remember that when you use the stereo GP, each key counts as two, bringing that number down to 24. When you layer the sound, again, it counts against the total polyphony sound as well, so you're basically down to 12 note polyphony. Also, Unlike the Privia, which have jacks to allow for all three pedals, you only have one jack for Sustain. The speakers are also pretty weak, and are not adaquate for most medium sized rooms unless you are practicing by yourself, so I have it hooked up to an amp through the 1/4 inch output. The pitch bend wheel is useless, the metronome can't be turned down if you want to use it, and some of the functions are kind of hard to access without using the instruction manual everytime.

However, I still consider this digital piano best in its class. It sounds and feels great, it has a ton of features that you will not find in anything remotely close to this price range, and it is a beauty to look at.

 

[andreas1974]

I just had the opportunity to try the Casio CDP 220R and the Yamaha DGX 640, side by side in a store nearby. That was just what I needed.

It's a bit hard to rate them, and to compare them, since the most prominent thing was that the sounds from them were so "different" from each other. "Different" would be the best way to describe it, but not enough for other people to understand what I mean... I'll try in a few sentences below to describe what I mean:

Talking primarily about the "grand piano" sounds: The Casio CDP 220R has a very clear, and natural sound. The Yamaha however, I felt had a "richer" sound. One part in this difference might be the speakers, since I only used the built-in ones, on both keyboards. I would say that there is more bass in the Yamaha, which easily would make an impression. But I believe that more than half of the explanation in my subjective feeling, of more richness in sound in the Yamaha, lies in different samples - not necessarily quality-wise, but rather different instruments (brands of instruments sampled), different sampling techniques and different after-processing of the samples.

The keys of the Casio might be quite similar to a new upright piano... not sure. The Yamaha felt more like the old early 20th century one that I've got at home, easy to play and a natural touch, not "worn out", but easier. This is good for me, since I tend to have a light touch on the keys, and I often didn't quite get the full sound out of the Casio, just playing as usual.
I had a slight feeling that there was somewhat more click sound from the Casio, especially on brighter keys (at the far right of the keyboard), but to be perfectly honest I didn't even listen for those sounds testing and listening to another guy playing the Yamaha DGX-640.

I really liked what I was shown regarding the learning functionality of the Casio CDP-220R, and how it showed the keys pressed on its screen. The screen was very informative and looked good.
I also find it a very entertaining feature, the possibility to sample any sound (from a mic or likewise), and play with those sounds in the Casio (if I remember correctly you can sample up to 5 sounds, 10 seconds each, max). You can also attach a microphone directly to the Casio CDP 220R and get the sound out in the speaker along with the sound from the keyboard. I don't think the Yamaha could do that.

Altogether the thing that's made me decide (99% certain now) was the sound from the Yamaha (the somewhat lighter keys were also good for me). The feeling of a "fuller" sound from the Yamaha might very well be due to more bass in its speakers, but since the keyboard will most likely be used with the built-in speakers only, that's an important issue in my decision as well... I'm however convinced that the Casio CDP 220 R is a very good keyboard, and I would have liked to listen to a set up as the one mentioned by dmoewenn (above), since I can easily imagine that would make a big difference.

(I hope my English is understandable... just trying to describe my current thoughts about these two good keyboards.)