Yamaha ARIUS Digital Pianos – REVIEW 2024 | 6 Models under $2500

Yamaha ARIUS Digital Pianos – REVIEW 2024 | 6 Models under $2500

Yamaha Arius piano review 2024
Yamaha Arius Digital Pianos | $1000 to $2500 | for 2024

Yamaha Arius Digital Pianos – REVIEW | 6 models Under $2500 | for 2024 | LOWER PRICES HERE

The Yamaha Arius digital pianos consist of 6 models which include the YDP-105, YDP-S35, YDP-145, YDP-S55, YDP-165, and YDP-184. The Yamaha Arius pianos have been produced for well over 20 years and are considered the mid and lower priced “furniture cabinet” Yamaha digital pianos.

The current Arius models start at $1099 and go up to $2399 discount internet price and they come in different cabinet styles and colors. No other digital piano brand has as many models of furniture cabinet digital pianos in this specific price range available on the internet as Yamaha does.The newest Arius digital pianos are the YDP-105, YDP-S35, YDP-145, YDP-S55, and YDP-165, all of which are just coming out as of June 2022.

Having 6 furniture cabinet models in this price range does not necessarily mean that Yamaha has the best digital piano in every one of these price points as compared to their competition. But what it does mean is that they dominate this range with more cabinet models than anyone else and there is no doubt that Yamaha makes a very good product with regard to design, technology, and durability.

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Yamaha YDP-105 piano

Yamaha Arius YDP-105

Yamaha Arius YDP-105 Review

$1099 price

The YDP-105 is Yamaha’s entry level Arius model and just recently came out and replaced the prior YDP-103. The new model comes in a traditional furniture style cabinet and is available only in a dark rosewood color. The YDP-105 is overall very basic in functions and features with just one function button located on the left side of the keyboard and to access features within the piano you would need to look in the owners manual at a chart for the features which are then accessed by pressing the one function button on the piano and then simultaneously pressing a specific white or black key to trigger that feature.

These features would include instrument sounds, key change, effect, or whatever it is you are looking to access or change within the piano. This model has an 88-key weighted key action which is Yamaha’s entry level key movement called GHS which overall is good for a digital piano, although it does not feel like a real piano. But it is certainly a big step up over any of the less expensive “off-brands” out there including Artesia, Williams, Suzuki, and others.

The YDP105 uses a newer technology piano sound chip as far as the piano sound goes, but it is still only 64-note piano polyphony power  whereas most digital pianos have at least 120-note polyphony. The internal speaker system is also fairly weak with just 12 watts of total power going through 2 smaller main speakers which makes the piano sound quite weak and somewhat tinny compared to other digital pianos in this price range, although to some piano shoppers out there it may still be acceptable.

There is a master volume control but you’ll need to turn it up almost all the way to get a reasonable volume out of it. A 12-watt speaker system is very low power and more artificial in piano sound in my opinion and way behind some of the other digital pianos out there including the newer Casio PX-870. For just $100 more the Casio PX-870 has 40 watts of power going into 4 speakers and the piano polyphony power is 256-note polyphonic vs 64 notes in the Yamaha YDP-105.

To put this all in perspective, the lower priced Yamaha P-225 portable 88 key digital piano at just $749 has a much better 192-note polyphony piano sound chip with more natural dynamic tonal range and expression, along with slightly more powerful internal amplifiers going through 4 speakers instead of just two speakers.

Although you would still need to add an optional stand, triple pedal unit, and bench to that P-225 to get it to look and operate a bit more like a real piano, the price then would be less than the YDP-105.

The YDP-105 has just 10 instrument sounds accessed by the function button, a digital metronome, transpose function, a USB output to external device, and 2 headphone jacks for private practice, digital touch sensitivity control, and a few other features. However, this model has no recording features to use for recording your practice sessions and playing it back so you can hear what you are doing and being able to better understand improvements you might need to make in playing a particular song.

The cabinet is attractive and has a sliding key cover, brass color triple pedal unit, and a traditional music rack to hold your music.

It’s a nice piano but in this general price range we think there are definitely much better options in other top name brands (and the other Yamaha Arius models) with more advanced piano sound, more powerful internal speakers system and better connectivity as well.

Yamaha YDP-S34 piano

Yamaha Arius YDP-S35

Yamaha Arius YDP-S35 – Review

$1199 price

The YDP-S35 is the next model up in the Arius line of digital pianos in a more compact contemporary form with a number of different improvements over the YDP-105 and the previous YDP-S34 mainly because it’s a newer model with newer improved piano sound technology.

This would include a newer, better piano sound chip called “CFX” sampling with Virtual Resonance Modeling “Lite” which offers more organic content to the piano sound, more dynamic tonal range, more expression, and includes 3 times the polyphony power of the YDP103 at 192-notes of maximum polyphony. This is helpful for better sound, longer and more natural pedal sustain tone, and  overall a noticeably better piano sound.

The internal speaker system is also a bit more powerful than the YDP-105 with 16 watts of total power going into 2 speakers, although the speaker size is the same as the YDP-105 which unfortunately still makes the piano sound more tinny and smaller than it should be in this price range. The control panel on the left side of the keyboard has more direct access buttons for easier control of the main piano features including a 2-track MIDI recorder for recording your music.

This recorder/playback feature can record the left and right hand separately and then you can play them back simultaneously to hear how you are doing with your music and is especially useful for your song practice sessions. The only downside to the recorder is that it can only save one song in the piano so if you want to record another song you need to record over the existing song.

There are 10 instrument sounds in this model along with 3 of them being acoustic piano sounds and the ability to layer/mix two sounds at a time such as piano & strings, harpsichord & organ, etc. The YDP-S35 also has reverb effects for a more natural piano sound, key transpose function, digital metronome, 2 headphone jacks for private practice, a USB output to external devices, and a few other interesting functions.

This new model also is the first Arius in the line that takes advantage of the Yamaha proprietary app called “Smart Pianist” which allows you to control the functions & features of the S35 from the color touch screen of an iPad. This is a very cool way to interface with this Arius model and also adds extra features not already on the S35 such as wav file audio recording, digital music notation for built-in songs, importing of iTunes into the Smart Pianist app so you can play along and also get instant chord charts from the audio track.

We rdo like the YDP-S35 and what it does for its price, but we wish the piano had a better key action and better internal speaker system for more realistic piano sound reproduction.

The modern cabinet looks quite nice in either matte black or matte white color with a fold down key cover which folds flat over the keyboard, a built-in music holder in the key cover, and chrome plated triple pedal unit. The YDP-S35 came out a couple years ago but it should be a current model for a few more years.

Yamaha YDP-144 piano

Yamaha Arius YDP-145

Yamaha Arius YDP-145 – Review

$1299 price

This Arius model is essentially a YDP-S35 but in a more traditional cabinet with slide-out key cover, brass plated triple pedal unit and traditional music rack, along with matching bench. This model comes in 2 colors which are matte black or matte rosewood. So if you like what the YDP-S35 offers then the YDP-145 is the same piano in every way except that it has the traditional cabinet and is available in the rosewood color whereas the S35 does not have a rosewood color option. The YDP-145 is the new replacement for the prior YDP-144 which had most of the functions and features of this new YDP-145.

The GHS key action, piano sound chip, internal speaker system, pedaling, functions, features, and Smart Pianist app are all the same as in the lower priced YDP-S35. It’s one hundred dollars more than the YDP-S35 because of the cabinet differences and added bench. The sound output on this model is the smaller 16 watt, 2 speaker system which in our opinion gives out a somewhat tinnier sound than we would like to hear along with needing to have the master volume control turned up so that we can get some reasonable quality of piano sound out of this model. The YDP-145 is a new model for 2023 and should be out for many years.

Yamaha YDP-S54 piano

Yamaha Arius YDP-S55

Yamaha Arius YDP-S55 – Review

$1599 price

This next Arius model is the 1st Arius in this line up to address the issues I have with the lack of power/fullness in the speaker system and the less realistic key action in the lower priced models. The YDP-S55 (aka:S55) has 2 x 20 watt amplifiers for a total of 40 watts going into 2 speakers so it definitely has more noticeable volume and fullness to the sound than the Arius models below it and this is a very good thing.

In reality it really does not cost that much more to put in more powerful power amps in these pianos and Yamaha could have done it in their lower priced Arius models for just slightly more money but you’ll need to spend $300 more going up to this YDP-S55 model to get that although we would have preferred to see 4 speakers instead of continuing with just 2 speakers, or perhaps providing 2 “larger” speakers for more bass response.

Beyond the improved speaker system power is their upgraded key action called GH3 with heavier weighted keys, a quieter key movement, 3 electronic key sensors per key instead of the 2 key sensors per key in the models below this one, and the addition of proprietary synthetic ivory & ebony feel key tops. However, I do feel the key action is much too firm and heavy especially when playing with a lighter, softer touch.

In fact, this particular key action has by far the heaviest key movement I have played on any top brand digital piano under $3000. This is definitely NOT a good thing because a heavy key action can cause fatigue in the hands, wrists, finger, and forearms. Most people want a comfortable playing experience when playing piano and this key action won’t do that in my experienced opinion. In fact, the touch-weight (aka: down-weight) of the keys when slowly pressing the key down on middle C is approx 90 grams based on my measurements.

The optimum down-weight measurement on middle C of a good piano should be approx 50 to 60 grams and up to as high as approx 75 grams of force that it takes to push down the key. A key touch of about 90 grams is just way to stiff and just not comfortable to play at all, especially when playing softer and quieter passages in your music. The physical key action is sturdy and relatively quiet, but it’s just much too heavy. For that reason alone I do not recommend this YDP-S55 model.

With regard to the synthetic ivory and ebony key-tops, decades ago in real acoustic pianos, those keys were made with real ivory & ebony placed on the key tops to give those surfaces those organic materials to help absorb sweat from the fingers along with have a natural grain or texture on those keys offering a better grip on the keys for the fingers. The YDP-165 keys now offer a similar tactile playing experience with this synthetic material.

The digital functions and features of this model is identical to the lower priced YDP-145 and YDP-S35 including the 10 instrument sounds, MIDI recording, and connectivity including interfacing with the Smart Pianist app. Just like the YDP-S35, this model comes in the compact contemporary cabinet available in either matte black or matte white with folding key cover, built-in music rest, and chrome plated triple pedal unit.  This model came out in 2022 and continues on for 2024 and should out on the market for a few more years.

Yamaha YDP-164 piano

Yamaha Arius YDP-165

Yamaha Arius YDP-165 – Review

$1799 price

The YDP-165 is the traditional cabinet version of the YDP-S55. The YDP-165 has the same key action (heavier), same 40 watt audio power, same speakers, and same digital features and user interface including being able to connect with the Smart Pianist app. The new piano sound is also the same as in the YDP-S55 with the new Virtual Resonance Modeling (Lite) technology for better piano natural resonances for both legato and staccato notes. The cabinet for this model has the more traditional piano design and is available in matte black or matte rosewood and comes with a matching bench whereas the YDP-S55 has the contemporary cabinet and is available in matte black or matte white.

The YDP-165 has full pedals, sliding key cover, and full size traditional music rack with built-in music holder clips. The YDP-165 also comes with a matching bench. So if you like what the YDP-S55 has to offer (I don’t care for its key action movement) but you prefer the more traditional appearance of the YDP165, then it’s just another $200 more to get it which makes the YDP-165 a good value. The YDP-165 was just introduced in the market for 2022 and should likely be available through 2024 and beyond. The improvements in the newer model YDP-165 as compared to the older model have mainly been about the piano sound along with sound projection slots in the back of the piano.

But just like the YDP-S55, the key action in the YDP-165 is identical. It has by far the heaviest key movement of any top brand digital piano under $2500 that I have played. This certainly not a good thing because a stiff or heavy key action can cause fatigue in the hands, wrists, fingers, and forearms. The majority of people want a comfortable playing experience when playing digital or acoustic piano and this key action does not offer that in my opinion. The touch-weight (aka: down-weight) of the keys when pressing the key down on middle C is approx 90 grams, and this is based on my measurements.

The normal touch-weight measurement on middle C in a top name piano should be about 50 to 60 grams and as high as approx 75 grams of force that it takes to push down the key on middle C. A measurement of approx 90 grams is just way to stiff and it’s not comfortable to play, especially when playing softer and quieter passages in your music. The YDP-165 physical key action is sturdy and relatively quiet, but it’s just much too stiff/heavy for most people to have a comfortable playing experience. For that reason alone I just don’t recommend this Yamaha YDP-165 digital piano.

Yamaha YDP-184 piano

Yamaha Arius YDP-184

Yamaha Arius YDP-184 – Review

$2399 price

The is the top-of-the-line Arius model and it has a number of newer, upgraded features beyond the YDP-165 which is why it has a much higher price tag. The key action in this model is identical to the YDP-165/YDP-S55 but that is pretty much where the major similarities end.

The piano sound chip on this model is also called “CFX” but that piano sound chip is much more advanced in terms of providing a more realistic, more natural acoustic piano sound with new resonance modeling technology and a bigger 256-note polyphony piano sound chip. The speaker system in this model is also more powerful at 60 watts of total power with 2 larger speakers which really helps the piano sound in being fuller and richer than the YDP-165.

There are many more functions and features in this model including a 16-part MIDI recorder/player which allows you to recording up to 16 different instrument sounds one at a time and then play them all back simultaneously and save your song creation on a USB flashdrive for storage so you can keep that song for future use and playback. This feature gives you the ability to do a full arrangement of a song and learn how to layer instruments together which is a very cool feature.

There are 24 instrument sounds in the YDP-184 instead of only 10 in the other models and all of those additional instrument sounds are very good and you can layer any 2 of them together like the other Arius models or you can “split” any 2 sounds with one on the left hand and another one for the right hand and this is the only Arius piano which has this feature.

The YDP-184 also has a 250 song music library in it so that you can play along with these educational practice songs and also fully arranged popular classical and other types of music and you can also access the sheet music notation digitally through the Smart Pianist app. To add to the musical fun is 20 drum rhythm patterns such as rock, jazz, Latin, country, swing, waltz, etc, which helps you with rhythm & timing instead of just relying on the digital metronome, and it’s more fun to play along with drum rhythms.

To access all of these functions & features is a built-in LCD digital display and interface control panel which is on the left side of the keyboard. This is the first and only full digital display screen and user-friendly interface in any of the Arius models. It’s fairly easy to use, intuitive and allows you to access all features without the need of an iPad and an app.

Another exclusive feature on this model not found in other Arius pianos is a feature called “Piano Room.” You can access this function directly from the control panel and it allows you to “customize” the acoustic pianos sounds in the YDP-184 so that you can easily control the reverb effects, brilliance/brightness, touch sensitivity, chorus effects, master effects, etc which makes playing the piano sounds more enjoyable.

Connectivity is really good in the 184 with stereo audio input, audio outputs to external speakers systems, USB output, USB flashdrive input, MIDI output & input, and 2 stereo headphone jacks so you can expand what you can do with this piano in those different connectivity ways. It’s obvious that the appearance on the YDP-184 is different and better in that it has 2 front support legs for better stability and the piano is taller and looks more like a real piano in these ways.

It has a nice sliding key cover and nicely positioned music rack along with brass plated pedals and matching bench. So in terms of the “Arius” series of digital pianos, the YDP-184 would be considered the “Lexus” and the others are the more basic cars.

There are even more functions and features on this model that I have not mentioned but those things are relatively minor and secondary but can be useful for the right person playing the right kind of music to take advantage of those functions. Overall the YDP-184 is a very nice piano although the GH3 key action on this model as well as the YDP-165/YDP-S55 can be a bit heavy for some people because it does require more force to press down the keys than some people might like.

The only obvious visual downside to this model is that it’s only available in the dark rosewood and not matte black or white. So if you want or need a different color than matte rosewood then this would not be the piano for you and instead you may want to look at the Yamaha Clavinova line and their lowest priced models called CLP-725 at $1999 and the CLP-735 at $2899 which is available in multiple cabinet colors and finishes.

The Yamaha Clavinova CLP-735 has all of the features and functions of the YDP-184 but with a better, and noticeably less heavy key action with faster response plus many more things you can do with the piano. The Clavinova CLP-735 also has the addition of a beautiful European Bosendorfer grand piano sound not available in the Arius pianos, and comes with a much longer warranty.

So it were me and I wanted to get one of these Yamaha Arius digital pianos, I would get either the YDP-165 at $1799 or skip the YDP-184 at $2399 (which is an older model) and go up to the newer and better Yamaha Clavinova CLP-735 at $2899 which is $500 more than the YDP-184.

It would be better to spend the extra money for a much better key action and the Bosendorfer piano sound along with more features and a much better factory warranty of 5 years as compared to Arius 3 year warranty.

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