Casio Privia PX-400R vs. PX-555R (vs Yamaha P70)

[Joseph]

Just got my Casio Privia PX-400R set up. Sweeeet! :-)

BTW, the accompanying manual is titled PX-400R / PX-555R. I looked through
it and did not see a single feature marked as being for only one of those
models. So I'm pretty confident that, from a user's perspective, aside from
the purely cosmetic change in the color of the console, these two models are
EXACTLY identical. There's certainly no reason to pay a premium for one
model over the other. Go with whichever fits your decor. :-)

My main reason for going with the Privia as opposed to the comparable Yamaha
(looked at P70) is the feel of the Privia keys, which felt marginally more
similar to the Steinway I am taking lessons on. To tell you the truth, the
difference was really marginal, I'm not sure that would have swayed me from
my bias toward Yamaha to begin with. However, in addition to this, the
Privia console has the Yamaha console beat by a mile in terms of features,
bells and whistles. The P90 has a similar console, but much pricier.

BTW, I have a sustain pedal which I purchased for my Yamaha keyboard
(DGX-205). The Privia comes with one pedal, but with two pedal jacks, one
for Damper, and one for Soft/Sostenuto. I'm assuming that these pedals or
work the same, but I'm not 100% sure. Any way to tell whether my Yamaha
pedal is compatible with my Privia?

Oh, BTW, one more thing to love. The output jack on the side, rather than on
the back. Much more convenient for plugging / unplugging my headphones.

:-)

- Joseph

[Joseph]

Couple of follow-up questions for anyone familiar with this model.

1. What's the difference between the headphone jacks on the side, and the
line-out jacks on the back? I notice that when inserting my headphone jack
into the side jacks, there's an audible 'click' from behind the console
which evidently has something to do with re-routing output from the on-board
speakers, to the headphones. When inserting my headphones into line-out in
the back, there's no such click, and I don't hear anything over the
headphones, rather sound keeps coming from the on-board speakers. I realize
that line-out is intended for power amplifiers, but shouldn't I hear
something from a headphone if I connect it to line-out?

2. The one complaint I have so far (and perhaps it's not a problem with the
piano itself, but rather an incompatibility) is that my Sennheiser wireless
headphones don't seem to work well with this piano. Notes sound fine for a
single or double key combination, but when pressing multiple keys
simultaneously (e.g. B, middle C, D and E) I get a little shiver of static
which is really disconcerting. I never noticed this with my Yamaha DGX-205.
However, I can't tie this into a defect in the piano itself, since if I
substitute a cheap Walkman type headphone, the sound is perfect. Evidently,
there's some interference which is generated by the Casio which conflicts
with the Sennheiser. This is unfortunate. If you have any advice for how I
might correct this problem, I'll be most grateful for your suggestions.

Thanks for your advice!

- Joseph

Post by Joseph
Just got my Casio Privia PX-400R set up. Sweeeet! :-)
BTW, the accompanying manual is titled PX-400R / PX-555R. I looked through
it and did not see a single feature marked as being for only one of those
models. So I'm pretty confident that, from a user's perspective, aside
from the purely cosmetic change in the color of the console, these two
models are EXACTLY identical. There's certainly no reason to pay a premium
for one model over the other. Go with whichever fits your decor. :-)
My main reason for going with the Privia as opposed to the comparable
Yamaha (looked at P70) is the feel of the Privia keys, which felt
marginally more similar to the Steinway I am taking lessons on. To tell
you the truth, the difference was really marginal, I'm not sure that would
have swayed me from my bias toward Yamaha to begin with. However, in
addition to this, the Privia console has the Yamaha console beat by a mile
in terms of features, bells and whistles. The P90 has a similar console,
but much pricier.
BTW, I have a sustain pedal which I purchased for my Yamaha keyboard
(DGX-205). The Privia comes with one pedal, but with two pedal jacks, one
for Damper, and one for Soft/Sostenuto. I'm assuming that these pedals or
work the same, but I'm not 100% sure. Any way to tell whether my Yamaha
pedal is compatible with my Privia?
Oh, BTW, one more thing to love. The output jack on the side, rather than
on the back. Much more convenient for plugging / unplugging my headphones.
:-)
- Joseph

[Malcolm Thomas]

In article <YHsPf.486$***@fe10.lga>, Joseph <***@nospam.com>
writes

Post by Joseph
Just got my Casio Privia PX-400R set up. Sweeeet! :-)

Good. Hope you enjoy it. I've only just started learning so a DGX is OK
(well, sort of) for me, but the change is so weird when I try to play on
a real piano!

Post by Joseph
BTW, I have a sustain pedal which I purchased for my Yamaha keyboard
(DGX-205). The Privia comes with one pedal, but with two pedal jacks, one
for Damper, and one for Soft/Sostenuto. I'm assuming that these pedals or
work the same, but I'm not 100% sure. Any way to tell whether my Yamaha
pedal is compatible with my Privia?

Plug it in, try it and see. The sustain pedal which goes with the Privia
may be progressive / semi-damping but the DGX is just an on/off device
so the old DGX pedal may do fine as a SS pedal.

Post by Joseph
Oh, BTW, one more thing to love. The output jack on the side, rather than on
the back. Much more convenient for plugging / unplugging my headphones.

I route mine through a graphic equaliser/amp as the sound system on the
DGX is so naff; it's now permanently connected to external speakers
which do a lot for the sound, so the headphone socket I use is on my amp
by the side of the keyboard, but I understand your delight at having a
more accessible socket. When I first got mine I didn't have a sustain
pedal, plugged the phones in the wrong socket and shocked the
neighbourhood :-)

Anyway, I use headphones most of the time - just occasionally (when I
know the neighbours are out) I pull the plug and use the external
speakers to enjoy playing in the real world. Otherwise I have to wait
until all the kids at the school where I teach have gone home and I
sneak in to the hall to play on the piano there.

Have fun.

[Joseph]

Hi Malcolm,

Post by Malcolm Thomas
Good. Hope you enjoy it. I've only just started learning so a DGX is OK
(well, sort of) for me, but the change is so weird when I try to play on
a real piano!

Yes, this is why I upgraded. Several weeks ago, at my first lesson, I was
surprised when I pressed the first key on my instructor's Steinway. Then I
remembered, 'yeah, that's what a piano feels like'. No relationship to the
feel of a keyboard.

Post by Malcolm Thomas
Plug it in, try it and see. The sustain pedal which goes with the Privia
may be progressive / semi-damping but the DGX is just an on/off device
so the old DGX pedal may do fine as a SS pedal.

The Yamaha sustain pedal seems to be oppositely polarized from what the
Casio expects. (Probably on purpose :-\ ) I find that when I plug it in,
keys are sustained unless I step on the pedal. I don't see that the Casio
provides a configuration for this, so it doesn't seem like they are
compatible. Hey, I can wait, I'm not even up to one pedal yet, let alone
two!

Post by Malcolm Thomas
Have fun.

Thanks, you too!

- Joseph

Post by Malcolm Thomas
writes

Post by Joseph
Just got my Casio Privia PX-400R set up. Sweeeet! :-)

Good. Hope you enjoy it. I've only just started learning so a DGX is OK
(well, sort of) for me, but the change is so weird when I try to play on
a real piano!

Post by Joseph
BTW, I have a sustain pedal which I purchased for my Yamaha keyboard
(DGX-205). The Privia comes with one pedal, but with two pedal jacks, one
for Damper, and one for Soft/Sostenuto. I'm assuming that these pedals or
work the same, but I'm not 100% sure. Any way to tell whether my Yamaha
pedal is compatible with my Privia?

Plug it in, try it and see. The sustain pedal which goes with the Privia
may be progressive / semi-damping but the DGX is just an on/off device
so the old DGX pedal may do fine as a SS pedal.

Post by Joseph
Oh, BTW, one more thing to love. The output jack on the side, rather than on
the back. Much more convenient for plugging / unplugging my headphones.

I route mine through a graphic equaliser/amp as the sound system on the
DGX is so naff; it's now permanently connected to external speakers
which do a lot for the sound, so the headphone socket I use is on my amp
by the side of the keyboard, but I understand your delight at having a
more accessible socket. When I first got mine I didn't have a sustain
pedal, plugged the phones in the wrong socket and shocked the
neighbourhood :-)
Anyway, I use headphones most of the time - just occasionally (when I
know the neighbours are out) I pull the plug and use the external
speakers to enjoy playing in the real world. Otherwise I have to wait
until all the kids at the school where I teach have gone home and I
sneak in to the hall to play on the piano there.
Have fun.
--
Malcolm

[Jonathan ;o}]

Post by Joseph
Hi Malcolm,
The Yamaha sustain pedal seems to be oppositely polarized from what the Casio
expects. (Probably on purpose :-\ ) I find that when I plug it in, keys are
sustained unless I step on the pedal. I don't see that the Casio provides a
configuration for this, so it doesn't seem like they are compatible.

This often happens. Pedals made by third party manufacturers normally have a
switch on the back to swap the polarity.

And half-pedalling pedals don't always work with on-off pedal units and vice
versa. The pedal from the P80 is no use in the P90.

Jonathan ;o}