Casio WK220 vs WK6500 for novice

[Tomas]

OK, I just bought a WK220 for $160us (with an ac adapter and light duty stand) to get me back into some sort of music discipline which I have been away from for about 20yrs back in the college days. (I think the 220 is pretty similar to the 200 and 225 from the specs I have seen). But I have not opened it yet and am considering returning it to upgrade to the WK6500 which I can get for about $320us with about the same setup new online including shipping. Part of my considerations for the upgrade are these:
1) Better speakers and amp (6w vs 2.5w)
2) External outputs for an amp vs using the headphone jack
3) SD card slot for input and recording
4) More features & options for sounds / recording etc.

But I'm not sure if it has better samplings, keyboard feel, lcd screen, switches and dials and circuity to actually sound and play better, or are those mostly bells and whistles which are not the heart of the reason for the purchase. I really do like the totally black look better than the black and white of the WK220 - it looks more professional - but that is pretty subjective and only a slight preference if other factors are minimal as far as improvement. Another consideration is that I think if the 6500 gives me a lot more to grow into I would not likely upgrade as quickly if at all, so that is also a thought if it is something I would like to keep for awhile and get more interested in the full range of these range of units can do. I also looked at the WK7500 which is better again but the price jump over the 6500 is more than I care to invest at this time. Before this purchase I had considered the Yam YPG235 which is available for around $250 locally with a stand and power supply, but I think it is not much better than the WK220 (for less) and lacks the upgraded features of the WK6500.

Any advice would be appreciated on any or all of the above.

Thank you. Tomas

 

[The Y_man]

I probably wouldn't bother.

The specs are very similar - just more backing styles and tones plus an arp.

Same sound "engine" (Casio AHL_ so there'll be no difference from that respect, and as for the on board speakers - even the
top of range" WK-7500 leaves a bit wanting - so you might as well connect the headphone output to an external amp.

Another thing - do you really need 76 keys? Otherwise, you could look at say a Yamaha PSR series or Casio CTK series?

The Y-man

 

[Tomas]

Y-man, yea that's what I thought regarding the differences between the WK-220 and WK6500 from what the specs indicate. One of the issues was the key's and if the 6500 has less clicking sound and better feel, I might prefer that but my guess is that the two are the same in that regard which you can't tell from the specs. I'll probably keep the 220 and play around with the sound output when I get the time. I do want the 76 keys as I think I would prefer at least that much range over the 61.

Thanks for the feedback.