Yamaha Clavinova Digital Pianos – REVIEW | 15 Models Comparison

Yamaha Clavinova Digital Pianos – REVIEW | 15 Models Comparison

Yamaha Clavinova Digital Pianos 2024

Yamaha Clavinova – REVIEW | Yamaha Digital Pianos $2000 up to $17,500 | 15 models – Comparison Review for 2024 | LOWER PRICE HERE | The 2024 Clavinova piano lineup consists of 3 series of Clavinova models.

These 3 series include the Yamaha CLP-725, CLP-735, CLP-745, CLP-775, CLP-785, CLP-765GP, CLP-795GP, CSP-255, CSP-275, CSP-295, CSP-295GP, CVP-701, CVP-905, CVP-909, and CVP-909GP. In addition to these 15 models are the recently discontinued CVP-805, CVP-809, and CVP-809GP which are still available in some places…and at a lower discount close-out price!

The Yamaha Piano Company has been producing the “Clavinova” line of digital pianos continuously for over 35 years with their CSP models only coming out within the last few years. Yamaha Clavinova’s start at a price of $1999 and go up from there to well over $15,000 depending on the model. They are all in attractive, full furniture cabinets.

There are 7 models of Clavinova CLP digital pianos available in the US which are called CLP-725, CLP-735, CLP-745, CLP-775, CLP-785, and 2 digital mini grand pianos called CLP-765GP and CLP-795GP. They are known as the more “traditional” Clavinova’s because they focus more on the “piano playing experience” with fewer “bells & whistles” than the CSP or CVP series.

So if you mainly want to “play piano” but still have a significant amount of some cool digital features like extra instrument sounds, recording & playback features, and even Bluetooth connectivity, then the CLP pianos may be the better choice depending on your budget.

There are 4 brand new Clavinova CSP models for Yamaha and they just recently came out with their new line-up. They are called the CSP-255, CSP-275, CSP-295, and CSP295GP and they are unique among all other digital pianos.

This is because they not only have a huge amount of features and functions, but nearly all of the piano features are controlled by a proprietary app designed by Yamaha & Apple called Smart Pianist. This app currently works exclusively on iPad so that you can control the entire piano and all the features intuitively and easily from the color touch screen of your iPad tablet.

If you don’t have an iPad then the CSP pianos would be a great excuse to get one! These CSP Clavinova pianos are for people who love technology and would like to primarily use a tablet device with color touch screen to control and utilize the the content.

There are hundreds (and even thousands) of very useful and enjoyable functions in the piano, and you want a huge array of impressive instrument sounds, accompaniments, along other digital features intuitively controlled by their iPad.

These pianos may be the perfect choice for you if you like to “have it all” including some useful educational features along with a very satisfying piano playing experience, especially on the CSP-275 and CSP-295.

There are currently 4 models in the Clavinova CVP series and the Clavinova CVP series has been produced for many years with the latest models being the CVP-701, CVP-905, CVP-909, and CVP-909GP.The CVP-701 has been out for awhile but the CVP-900 models are brand new.

The CVP’s are the “top-of-the-line” models in the Clavinova series with an easy to use large built-in color touch screen control panel that has many proprietary buttons and controls,  along with literally thousands of very cool functions and features.

All CVP models (like the CSP) are very interactive in their approach to making music and not only do they have everything the CSP models do, they can do even more things than that with on-board button and touch screen control so your “music making” abilities are almost limitless on these instruments.

When you add it all up there are 15 different Clavinova models right now advertised in the US. With 15 models in the Clavinova line this year for 2024, there are more than enough choices for a digital piano shopper to find one that’s right for them within the Yamaha brand.

All Yamaha Clavinova’s come with a nice matching padded bench and a 5-year factory in-home factory warranty. Check out our comparison reviews of these models below for more details.

Lower Prices 2024

Yamaha CLP banner

Yamaha CLP-725 Rosewood

Yamaha CLP-725 Digital Piano

$1999 internet price for matte black or matte rosewood | $2399 for polished ebony

The Yamaha CLP-725 is the entry-level model of the Clavinova line. It has a basic 40 watt 2-speaker internal speaker system in a minimalistic but attractive cabinet with no LCD user display and very few control panel buttons on the left side of the keyboard.

This CLP-725 piano is designed for people on a “budget” when it comes to the Clavinova models and the CLP-725 is primarily focused on the piano playing experience with very few overall “bells & whistles” as compared to the next model up CLP-735. However, the piano sound “engine” and key action along with piano pedaling is identical to the higher priced CLP-735. So in that way you’ll get a very good piano playing experience.

The real differences are the internal sound system being very basic on the CLP-725, the control panel being not as user friendly, the headphone listening experience being better on the CLP-735, and the many more usable music features of the CLP-735 not being available on the CLP-725. The CLP-725 has definitely been improved over the previous model with regard to a better piano sound engine and its redesigned and more playable key action.

The CLP-725 has 10 instrument sounds which include the acoustic piano tones along with the basic strings, choir, organs, harpsichord, etc, a 2-track (left & right hand) MIDI recorder/player.

However the CLP-725 can only save and hold 2 songs at any given time so it’s very limited in that way as compared to the higher priced CLP-735 which can save and play an infinite amount of songs and those songs can also sound more realistic including additional orchestral parts as well.

In our opinion the reason to purchase this piano is because you prefer something more basic, a bit smaller, but still want a good (more realistic) piano playing experience for around $2000. If that’s what you’re looking for then this might be the perfect piano for you.

Plus, it does come in the higher price and very attractive high gloss polished ebony finish for another $400 which does add a touch of “class” to the piano and your decor.

There are no other major brands of digital pianos in this price range under $2500 that offers a polished ebony finish, so that might be something that could make a big impact on your decision making on what digital piano to get.

Yamaha CLP-735 polished ebony

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-735

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-735 Review | $2899 internet price for matte black, matte rosewood, and matte dark walnut | $3399 internet price for polished ebony

This Clavinova model is the first one that has pretty much all of the main Clavinova digital features that are included in the rest of the Clavinova line above this model with the exceptions of the top-of-the-line CLP-775 and also the CLP-785/CLP-795GP which have quite a few more instrument sounds and other features including different user interface display screens.

The features on the CLP-735 include 38 instrument sounds, 9 of which are different acoustic pianos, one old time honky-tonk piano, and 2 new “historical piano samples” that recreate the historical acoustic pianos that Mozart and Chopin would have played on which are very unique sounding pianos for those people who would enjoy playing classical music and have it sound like it did in the very “old days.”

The remainder of the instruments include a number or organs, strings, choirs, electric pianos, harpsichord, and bass tones which sound very nice and allow for more musical enjoyment. You can layer/mix any of those instruments, split any 2 of them with one on the left hand and one on the right hand, and you can record them on the 16-track (part) digital MIDI recorder.

You can do that kind of multi-track recording so that you can create a 16 part arrangement using up to 16 different instrument sounds recorded one at a time and then play them back simultaneously. If you know what you’re doing when it comes to recording many instrument tracks the result of that can sound really great.

Yamaha Clavinova CLP bass line function

Rather than just having a basic digital metronome to help with timing and rhythm (which is a good thing to have), Yamaha also included 20 different preset drum rhythm pattern styles in this model such as rock, Latin, jazz, waltz, etc and this feature is fun to have so that you can play along rhythmically to a drummer to make your piano playing more exciting and therefore more enjoyable.

Yamaha has also added a new feature called interactive “bass player” where you will hear a bass player playing along with the drummer based on you playing chords on your left hand. The bass player picks up on the chord you are playing and inserts the correct bass line based on that chord…it’s very intuitive and makes you sound better than you are…and that’s always a good thing! You can control the tempo of the drummer along with volume and can also record that playing session as well.

Speaking of recording, the CLP-735 also has 1-track audio wav file recording in it so that you can get CD quality recording and then save that on a USB flash drive to off-load it to your computer or other device and then play your recorded song on those external devices which definitely is a cool way to hear your music. You can also convert any 16-track MIDI recording you did on the CLP-735 and convert it all to a 1-track wav file audio recording.

Yamaha CLP-735/745 control panel interface

The key action in the CLP-735 is called GrandTouch-S and it’s a new upgraded key action over previous models. Although it’s still made of 100% plastic (but is durable and built well), the balance and fulcrum point in the key action has been redesigned to make it play noticeably faster and also to be lighter to the touch than on previous models.

The previous CLP-635, which is now long discontinued, had a very heavy key action which I did not recommend. But the new CLP-735 is solid, reliable, and it does a good job with regard to playing piano music and having great dynamic range of expression and piano tone.

This CLP-735 model also has what is known as the “Piano Room feature” which is accessed by a single button on the control panel. This feature allows you to customize the piano sound that you’ve chosen and adjust (edit) different elements of that “piano sound environment” such as reverb effects, key transpose, brightness, Grand Piano “lid” position, VRM adjustments, and more.

“VRM” technology in this model is actually known as Virtual Resonance Modeling which means that Yamaha took their original piano recorded samples from a real Yamaha Concert Grand piano and a real European Bosendorfer Concert Grand Piano and then added extra organic elements “resonances” of those pianos to the recorded samples to come up with more accurate acoustic pianos sounds in the CLP-735.

There are string resonances, damper resonances, and body resonances that naturally occur within the real strings, real dampers, and real wooden body of actual acoustic pianos and those resonances are more difficult to get when using a sampling recording technology. With that in mind, Yamaha took this newer Physical Modeling technology to recreate or “model” those organic resonance tones from a real piano so that they would be heard in the digital piano as well. The result is simply a more natural acoustic piano sound in the Clavinova pianos from the CLP-735 on up.

Smart Pianist app sheet music display

The speaker system within the CLP-735 is good with 60 watts of total power going through two larger 6″ speakers, although I would have preferred the internal sound system having more power, more amplifiers, and more speakers. However, for many people this speaker system will probably be sufficient. Fortunately the next model up, the CLP-745, has that more powerful speaker system and it makes a lot of difference in what you hear.

The control panel in the CLP-735 is functional, overall easy to use, and minimalist in placement and design within the cabinet. To help with accessing functions and features even further, Yamaha (along with Apple company) designed a proprietary app called “Smart Pianist” for iOS which allows you to quickly and intuitively control all of the features and functions within the CLP-735 from your iPhone or iPad and this app also works with the entire Yamaha Clavinova line of pianos.

We have used the Smart Pianist app many times and using the color touch display screen of an iPad to control the functions of the CLP-735 is very cool because of how great the graphics are in the iPad for this app and how easy it is to “get around” the piano as opposed to using the user interface and display screen within the piano.

Yamaha did a great job of designing this app and the Smart Pianist also adds new features to the piano playing experience that are not directly accessible in the CLP-735. In other words, it’s like getting extra cool features in the piano (that it doesn’t already have) such as digital music notation and learning features because you have the app. This model has lots of useful connectivity including audio outputs, audio input, MIDI connectors, USB flash-drive input, and dual stereo headphone jacks.

The CLP-735 does not have any built-in Bluetooth wireless connectivity but the other Clavinova models up from this one do have the audio Bluetooth music streaming function along with Bluetooth MIDI for wireless connectivity with external devices in being able to control apps and programs.

With its attractive cabinet styling which has all new redesigned legs and new curve elements not in previous models, intuitive user interface to access features & functions, beautiful piano sound, redesigned and competent key action, and those extra “bells & whistles” which definitely make it more enjoyable to play, in its price range the CLP-735 is an impressive piano in the Yamaha Clavinova series.

Yamaha CLP-745 digital piano

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-745 Review

$3799 internet price for matte black, matte rosewood, matte dark walnut | $4299 internet price for polished ebony

This next model up is nearly identical to the CLP-735, except for a few very important differences.

The CLP-745 has the same size cabinet measurements and design although it’s 9 lbs heavier, same cabinet color options, same user interface control panel, same functions and features such as 36 instrument sounds, “Piano Room,” drum rhythms, etc, and same connectivity.

But the differences are that the CLP-745 has a more advanced “wooden key” key action (white keys only) called the GrandTouch-S, the speaker system has been upgraded to 4 speakers and 200 watts with 4 amplifiers, along with Bluetooth audio wireless connectivity and Bluetooth MIDI connectivity.

So for $800 more than the price of the CLP-735 you get a better key action, a better internal sound system, and more connectivity. The question is…is it worth the difference in price? I would argue that it is because it plays better having an upgraded key action that is more refined with the white keys being all wood and the key movement having a lighter “feel” when pressing down the keys as compared to the CLP-735, which is definitely a benefit and one I recommend.

The more powerful internal speaker system gives the piano not only more power but also better bass response, clearer high frequencies, more “headroom” meaning you can play the piano at quieter volumes while maintaining a quality sound rather than straining the speaker system to get more volume which happens at times with the CLP-735.

Yamaha CLP-745 user interface panel

Yamaha CLP735/745/765GP User interface control panel

These are 2 very important things in any digital piano…high quality, more responsive key action and a fuller, richer piano sound, both of which the CLP-745 does well. The 3rd difference is the Bluetooth wireless audio streaming that I just mentioned. This means you can play music from your external device music library (such as iPad, Android) and have it come out of the internal speaker system of the CLP-745 without connect any cables.

This allows for your piano to act as a separate “stereo sound system” in your home, etc so that you can hear music coming through it and control it from your external device even if you are not in the same room or a distance away from the piano.

There are many applications for this feature which can be very useful and enjoyable and music sounds great coming through the internal CLP-745 sound system plus you can play along with it live on the piano and hear it all coming out of the piano or even going through stereo headphones when wanting to play privately without anyone else hearing the music.

The headphone feature in this new piano has an all new positional technology which makes it sound as if you are hearing the piano without having headphones on, only you do have headphones on…it is that natural and organic and it can fool you completely.

When shopping for a new digital piano, especially in a higher price range over $2000, our advice is…do it right the first time, get the piano you really want assuming you can afford the purchase price because you will likely be keeping it for many years and you don’t want to say later on “I wish we had spent the extra money to get what we really wanted” because that way you won’t “grow out of the piano” and instead you’ll grow into the piano.” The Yamaha CLP-745 is a great choice and definitely one of our favorite digital pianos for the Yamaha brand.

Yamaha CLP-775 digital piano

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-775 Review

$4999 internet price for matte black, matte rosewood, matte dark walnut, $5599 internet price for polished ebony

The new CLP-775 will be available soon in the US even though it is available in other countries awhile now. The previous CLP-675 was not a big “seller” in this country (primarily due to its extra heavy key action) but since Yamaha has improved the key action in this new model in some important ways, we think the new CLP-775 will sell much better for them.

The CLP-775 has a few other differences notable differences over the lower price CLP-745 which includes a more piano-like cabinet design with a slightly taller and deeper cabinet by approx 1.5″ tall and .5″ more in depth, and also the cabinet weighs 20 lbs more. As far as many of the digital features such as piano sounds, pedaling, functions, connectivity, etc, they are identical to the CLP-745 model.

The major “upgrades” in the new CLP-775 would be a brand new touch sensitive control panel interface (very nice change!), a different key action which Yamaha calls a longer key “GrandTouch” movement, and a more powerful internal speaker system with positional sound dispersion.

Given that this model is $1200 more than the CLP-745, you might think these upgrades would be a very big thing and in our opinion they are worth it, especially over the previous CLP-675 which we did not like very much mainly because of the extremely heavy and noisy key action (as I mentioned) which is now been redesigned in this new model.

Yamaha touch sensitive control panel interface

Yamaha CLP-775|785|795GP touch control panel interface

The key action in the CLP-775 provides a more balanced key movement from the front to the back of each key (more like a grand piano in that way).  Although this is a redesigned key action from the last model, it is still somewhat heavy and still takes more effort to press down the keys from resting position than on other digital piano in this price range. 

Nevertheless, the CLP-775 key action can really hold up under intense playing and some people will definitely like it given it’s better front to back key balance and more precise “key to key” weight change with individual linear key weight. But when it comes to “playing comfort” and trying to avoid hand, wrist, forearm, and finger fatigue, the lower priced CLP-745 or higher price CLP-785 would be a better choice.

As far as the internal speaker system goes, it has been improved with 6 amplifiers with a total of 284 watts of power going through 6 speakers and 2 transducers to provide a richer, more vibrant, and more positionally correct piano sound for the player than ever before.

This built-in upgraded speaker system definitely puts out a bigger, bolder piano sound and we definitely like that feature in the CLP-775…it sounds great. With the new, elegant, and more intuitive touch sensitive control panel interface and all the other upgraded features, we think Yamaha did a good job (with the exception of the overly firm/heavy key action) and at this point for $4999 (matte finish) and $5599 (polished ebony finish), it may be the best Clavinova choice for you in this price range.

Yamaha CLP-785 black

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-785 Review

$6399 internet price for matte black, $7199 internet price for polished ebony | $8199 price for polished white

The CLP-785 is definitely (and fortunately) not the same piano as the previous CLP-685. It has a different (and upgraded) key action, sound system, cabinet design, upgraded digital features and functions, and also comes in a “polished white” which none of the other models offer.

The width of this model is 57.5,” depth from the wall is 18.75″ which is almost .5″ deeper than the CLP-775, and the height on the CLP-785 is 40.5″ which is about 2.5″ taller than the CLP-775 and the CLP-785 weighs in at 183 lbs for the matte finish models and 196 lbs for the polished ebony and polished white models.

This makes the CLP-785 weight 30 lbs more than the CLP-775. So the CLP-785 is definitely the largest and heaviest of all CLP Clavinova models.  We like this model because although it still has the extra long GrandTouch wooden keys (white keys only), the keys have been upgraded to include “counter-weights” embedded in each key so that the keys can move somewhat more quickly, more precisely than in the CLP-775.

This is a nice upgrade and improvement in this key action and in our opinion this it should also have been included with the CLP-775 because it can be confusing to shoppers.

Yamaha GrandTouch sign

Most people don’t know much about digital pianos and can see the Yamaha specs on their web site and in marketing materials indicate that both the CLP-775 and CLP-785 have the “GrandTouch” key action which is definitely upgraded in a few ways over the GrandTouch-S key action in the CLP745, but yet the GrandTouch action in the CLP-785 and CLP-775 are different from each other.

This is because of the “counter-weights” embedded into the CLP-785 keys. Confused yet?? Overall the CLP-785 has a more precise, quicker and lighter key action than the CLP-775.

The pedaling mechanism in the CLP-785 as well as in the CLP-775 is called the “GP” triple pedal. The GP means “Grand Piano” and what Yamaha did is add a feeling of physical resistance when you press down on the pedals like a person would feel pressing on grand piano pedals.

This extra pedal resistance simulates allows for a more precise control over the pedal movement including damper/sustain with half-damper pedaling. GP pedal response is not included with the CLP-745, 735, or 725.

With regard to the internal speakers system in the CLP-785, it includes a total 300 watts of power going through 6 speakers and 6 amplifiers along with 2 new transducer mics so there is even more power and more natural clarity than in the previous model and as compared to the CLP-775.

In the CLP-785 there is an additional main speaker made partially from “spruce-wood” pulp” for the part of the speaker that vibrates using this ‘organic wood” that is supposed to resonate in a way that gives off a more natural piano-like tone to the main speaker as opposed to a synthetic speaker cone that is otherwise part of the other speakers.

Real acoustic pianos have a real spruce-wood soundboard in them to amplify the natural vibrations in the piano. So the organic spruce-wood “pulp” within the speaker cone in the CLP-785 helps to more naturally amplify the piano sound coming through the speakers.

So basically what you get by way of this new completely redesigned speaker system is a more natural, omni-directional acoustic piano sound that really seems as if the CLP-785 was not a digital piano but instead more of a natural acoustic piano with more high end transients and better sound dispersion to allow that new sampled grand piano sound to come out at you in a more authentic way. So is it worth the “price of admission for that?…I think it does.

Yamaha CLP-785 white

Beyond the piano playing experience itself, the CLP-785 has even more feature upgrades in this model over the CLP-775 such as 49 more proprietary instruments along with 14 drumkits/special effects and a whopping 480 Yamaha “XG” instrument sounds including just about every instrument sound you can think of like brass, woodwinds, guitars, reeds, synths, accordions, harps, etc.

These extra sounds also make it possible for the CLP-785 to be a General MIDI recording & playback device compatible with all digital pianos brands for GM/GS files.

This is a very cool feature for downloading multi-track MIDI songs from the internet, saving them to a USB flashdrive, and being able to play them back on the CLP-785 so that you can learn new songs and play along with them using the “live” piano sounds in the CLP-785.

Also, being able to slow down the GM song and even transpose it to a different key to be able to modulate the song into a better key range for singing/vocals and just playing in a different key but playing the same notes as written.

Having all these additional sounds and recording/playback options makes playing music more fun and enjoyable on the CLP-785 and for some people they will use these added features and for others they may not use them.

But we do like the fact that Yamaha gave this CLP-785 piano the features we thought should really be in the CLP-775 but were not. The CLP-785 also has an additional connectivity input to connect an “auxiliary pedal” to the piano so that you can have variable volume control over other sounds like organs (organs have foot volume control), strings, brass, synth, swells, attacks, etc.

The pedal can also be assigned to control other functions within the piano such as “start/stop” for drum rhythms, glide, and other functions. So why would someone want to invest their money in this higher price range for a new CLP-785?

Simple…a really impressive piano playing experience, huge, resonate piano sound along with a beautiful furniture cabinet, a large amount of useful digital features including the Yamaha Smart Pianist app, Bluetooth audio and MIDI wireless connectivity, and great reliability over time.

Yamaha equipment stands the test of time based on my years of owning Yamaha acoustic and digital pianos, and of course the Yamaha name is famous for many some great musical instruments overall. Are their other impressive digital pianos from other brand out there? Yes there is…but competing with Yamaha is not an easy task now that they have these new Clavinova CLP models.

Yamaha CLP grand piano banner

Yamaha clp-765gp

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-765GP Review

$5999 internet price for polished ebony | $6799 internet price for polished white

This model is a mini-grand digital piano and has a depth measurement from front to back of 3’9″ and weighs 227 lbs so it is a good size and can fit into many spaces.

It looks great, sounds beautiful, and plays very nicely, especially with its new and improved key action over the former CLP665GP. Essentially, this newer CLP-765GP is a CLP-735 in a mini grand cabinet with a couple added features and a much better internal grand speaker system.

All of the digital features, interface, connectivity, key action, etc is identical to the CLP-735 with the exception of the internal speaker system being a huge 184 watts of total power with 4 amplifiers and 4 speakers as opposed to the 60 watts of power with 2 amplifiers and 2 speakers in the CLP-735.The sound through this new internal speaker system is amazing and gives it a huge concert grand piano volume if you want it.

Also, this CLP-765GP does have Bluetooth audio & MIDI wireless  connectivity whereas the CLP-735 does not and that audio streaming Bluetooth technology in this model works great and allows you to use the internal speaker system of this piano as a “home stereo” system to play your music wirelessly from your external device.

Those are the differences which means you are really getting the CLP-735 in a very attractive mini-grand cabinet with a much more powerful internal speaker system and Bluetooth wireless connectivity for only $2300 more than the polished ebony CLP-735.

Is it worth the money for that…we think it is because it sounds a lot better, fuller, richer and that mini-grand cabinet is not cheap to produce…so this model does cost a lot for money for some good reasons. The polished white cabinet finish is $800 more than the polished ebony because Yamaha doesn’t make many of the white versions and there is a big premium you’ll pay to get it…assuming they would be available at the time because there are never many in stock, if at all.

Yamaha CLP-795GP polished ebony

Yamaha Clavinova CLP-795GP Review

$8199 internet price for polished ebony | $9199 internet price for polished white

This is Yamaha’s top-of-the-line CLP mini grand and it measures  almost 49″ deep from front to back, so just a bit over 4′ deep and it weighs 280 lbs. It has great styling with a large music rack and slide-out key cover. This mini grand piano model is absolutely identical to the CLP-785 upright version in every way with regard to functions & digital features.

However, the CLP-795GP sound system and speakers are placed in completely positions to emulate the feeling of playing a grand piano in terms of how the piano sound is projected. The bass response a clearer sound and definition to help diffuse it through the grand piano cabinet which helps make the sound more natural and spreads out like a real grand piano.

Other than that everything else is identical to the CLP-785 including all of the hundreds of extra instrument sounds, General MIDI, the powerful 300 watt speaker system, all functions, features, touch panel interface, etc.

Yamaha CLP-795 speaker array and wood-cone speaker

Yamaha CLP-795GP speaker array & spruce-wood cone speaker

The CLP-795GP also has an interior polished “wood” soundboard which looks very elegant and really makes this model outstanding in terms of cabinet design and materials used to create an impression on everyone who sees it.

As I already mentioned, Yamaha has also done a great job in speaker placement and design inside that soundboard along with that extra “wood cone” speaker, so it all ties together nicely and looks great. It’s definitely a step up in appearance from many other digital grand pianos and you’ll likely never run out of things to do on this piano.

Also, as with all the other CLP models, the Smart Pianist app allows you to have control over the piano along with seeing digital sheet music displayed and a lot more through the color touch screen on any iPad. If you don’t mind being in this price range and you want a mini baby grand shaped piano, and like what you read about on the CLP-785, then this may be the perfect digital baby grand for you.

This would be especially true considering its reasonable price range, because for just $1000 more than the the CLP-785 (polished ebony finish), you get a beautiful mini grand piano cabinet version of the CLP-785 with the sound coming out of the piano like a grand piano.

Yamaha CSP sign

Yamaha CSP 200 series – CSP-255, CSP-275, CSP-295, CSP-295GP

Yamaha CSP-150

Yamaha Clavinova CSP-255 Review

$4199 in matte black and $4499 in polished ebony finish.

The Clavinova CSP series now consists of 4 models with the CSP-255 being the lowest price. CSP stands for Clavinova “Smart” Piano and this “smart piano” is called that name because it is actually very smart. If you just look at the piano from the outside it doesn’t appear like it has any digital features at all. It is one small, flush-mounted button called “function” located on the left side of the keyboard and on the right side of the keyboard it has one power button and 1 master volume control slider.

So by the looks of it this piano seems to have no features at all because it doesn’t have a built-in user display screen, there is no control panel with buttons like the other Clavinova models, and basically it looks like many other home furniture cabinet digital pianos as far as cabinet design goes.

So what makes this digital piano so different and so “smart” as compared to all the rest? The answer lies in the fact that “underneath the hood” lies literally thousands of features and functions all controlled by a proprietary app for iPad called the Yamaha “Smart Pianist.”

Instead of having the more traditional user interface along with many buttons built into the piano,  the CSP digital piano series is the first of its kind offered by any digital piano brand to be completely controlled by the color touch screen on an iPad.

The Smart Pianist app was created by Yamaha and Apple company and is mostly based off the features and functions of the previous Yamaha CVP-805 digital piano. The CVP-805 has thousands of functions & features including having almost 1500 instrument sounds (aka: voices), nearly 500 interactive chord music styles (aka: backing tracks) with hundreds of variations, a built-in 7″ color touch screen to control all of those functions and features, and so many other features you almost cannot believe it.

To say the CVP-805 has a lot of “bells & whistles” is a huge understatement, and yet the sounds and music styles, etc of this model are so good that it is a very compelling model to own. However, the user control panel, buttons, sliders, and other user interface functions can take a longer time to learn for many people, and beyond that, this CVP model is somewhat “pricey” at about $8000. Even though this CVP-805 digital piano is an outstanding musical instrument, it is also outside of the financial reach of many families.

Yamaha Smart Pianist instrument sound control

So what Yamaha did is that they spent many years of time, energy, and development to design and implement a brand new proprietary technology that digitizes many of the most desirable features and functions of the CVP-805 into “software” that is accessed by the Smart Pianist app from any iPad with a lightning or other direct connector.

In other words, you just take an iPad (doesn’t need to be the latest, greatest iPad model) and you download the Smart Pianist app from the iOS app store and then you connect your iPad to the CSP-255 piano by a simple cable included with the CSP-255 and then you can instantly begin your piano playing adventure using this new app in ways you never thought possible.

This app is attractive, elegant looking, intuitive, easy to use, quick, and it allows you to access thousands of very cool musical features from the iPad color touch screen so that you can play piano and interface with musical features in thousands of very cool ways not available on any other digital piano in the digital piano business.

This app is also a great idea because then Yamaha can update the app if when they come out with new features for the CSP models, which they could not do in previous “hardware based” digital pianos. It is good to know that the main stereo acoustic piano sounds in this model are the same as in all of the Clavinova CLP models including the 256-note polyphony sound chip with sampling & physical resonance modeling technology.

Yamaha Smart Pianist app functions

Smart Pianist for CSP – Rhythm accompaniment and interactive sheet music

Here are just “a few” of the features inside this Smart Pianist app including 772 instrument sounds plus 47 drum and special effects kits, 495 interactive musical style accompaniments with interactive chord detection and style control, 403 preset songs in the song library, and 44 different vocal harmony parts for microphone singing when microphone is connected to CSP.

There also a 16-track full General MIDI recorder and playback feature, interactive “streaming lights” song learning features and visual note recognition, digital sheet music notation with song play options for left and right hand, master EQ, 65 reverb/effects settings, layer/mix instrument sounds, split instrument sounds, visual digital mixing board, and importing iTunes for instant chord charts and play-along.

There is also built-in Bluetooth wireless connectivity for audio and MIDI so that you don’t need to use cables if you don’t want to do that.The CSP-255 cabinet is fairly attractive and is nearly 18.5″ deep from the wall and about about 56″ wide. Its weight is 128 lbs in the matte black finish and 135 lbs in the polished ebony finish.

The CSP-255 has 80 watt total amplification going into two 6.3″ speakers so the sound output is reasonably good for what it does.
The key action in this model is new and upgraded over the previous CSP model in this price range and it is far more responsive and easier to play than before, which is a welcome change.

The key action is all-plastic, and although Yamaha calls it their GrandTouch-S keyboard, it does not feel or respond like a grand piano. The keys on this model are not long enough to do that, they don’t have the mechanical nature of a real grand piano,  and the keys are not made of wood.

That’s fine and I still like the new key action which is also the same key action used in their Clavinova CLP-735. But just because the word “grand” is in their key action name does not mean this key action is like a real acoustic grand piano.

I like the fact that the minimalistic appearance of the CSP-255 also makes it look the most “un-digital” piano on the market within this price range in terms of not having obvious buttons, screens, etc within the structure of the piano itself.

If you are the type of person who really likes technology but wants to keep the interface simple and easy to use while having an instrument that can not only be a good piano without all the “extra buttons,” but also has just about every conceivable music technology feature that any digital piano could possibly have, then the new Yamaha CLP-255 may be the perfect piano for you.

Yamaha CSP-170 streaming lights

Yamaha Clavinova CSP-275 Review

$5699 price in matte black, $6299 in polished ebony

The CSP-275 model is the next model in the CSP series. The significant differences between the CSP-255 and this CSP-275 include the internal speaker system which is a big upgrade over the CSP-255 in offering 200 watts of total power going through 4 speakers and being powered by 4 individual amplifiers. The main speakers are housed in a separate acoustic speaker box below the piano keyboard which provides the CSP-275 with a lot more power for a fuller, richer, bassier sound, and it is noticeable, especially compared to the CSP-255.

When you turn up the volume of the CSP-275 it sounds amazing with huge sound more like a grand piano in volume and quality. The other big difference between this model and the CSP-255 is the key action. The CSP-275 has the same key action as the current Yamaha Clavinova CLP-745 which is called the GrandTouch-S. But unlike the CSP-255 with all plastic keys, the CSP-275 has with white wooden keys, and it is noticeably more realistic than the CSP-255.

Given that the CSP-275 normally costs $1500 more than the CSP-255 in matte black ($1800 more in polished ebony), you need to decide if having a much improved and upgraded internal speaker system with a noticeably better key action is worth the difference in price. Otherwise the CSP-275 uses the same Smart Pianist app as the CSP-255 with all the same features & functions accessed in the same way.

The CSP-275 is the more popular of the 2 models mainly because if people are going to be in the mid $5000 to low $6000 range and they want to keep the piano for a long time, it’s generally best to get the most authentic piano key action available along with experiencing a richer, fuller piano sound when playing the piano. The CSP-275 definitely does a very good job in those particular areas and for most people it’s worth the extra investment into their musical future for piano playing development and enjoyment.

For more precise specifications of each new Yamaha CSP model including CSP-295GP, CSP-295, CSP-275, and CSP-255, please look at the chart below for that information.

***please be aware that this chart below is for all 4 CSP models and the chart is so large it can only be viewed completely on “Desktop.” Please go to the actual Yamaha piano website at the following link to view it from mobile devices. Thank you. Yamaha Clavinova website for specifications

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

 
Dimensions Width

CSP-295GP

1,430 mm (56-5/16″)

CSP-295

1,437 mm (56-9/16″) [Polished finish: 1,437 mm (56-9/16″)]

CSP-275

1,412 mm (55-9/16″) [Polished finish: 1,418 mm (55-13/16″)]

CSP-255

1,412 mm (55-9/16″) [Polished finish: 1,418 mm (55-13/16″)]

Height With music rest closed: 931 mm (36-5/8″), With music rest raised: 1,093 mm (43-1/16″), With lid up: 1,580 mm (62-3/16″) 1,127 mm (44-3/8″) [Polished finish: 1,129 mm (44-7/16″)] 1,041 mm (41″) [Polished finish: 1,041 mm (41″)] 1,041 mm (41″) [Polished finish: 1,041 mm (41″)]
Depth 1,237 mm (48-11/16″) 484 mm (19-1/16″) [Polished finish: 484 mm (19-1/16″)] 465 mm (18-5/16″) [Polished finish: 466 mm (18-3/8″)] 465 mm (18-5/16″) [Polished finish: 466 mm (18-3/8″)]
Weight Weight 133 kg (293 lb, 3 oz) 99 kg (218 lb, 4 oz) [PE: 103 kg (227 lb, 1 oz) / PWH: 104 kg (229 lb, 4 oz)] 67 kg (147 lb, 11 oz) [Polished finish: 69 kg (152 lb, 2 oz)] 58 kg (127 lb, 14 oz) [Polished finish: 61 kg (134 lb, 8 oz)]
Packing Box Width 1,570 mm (61-13/16″) 1,544 mm (60-25/32″) 1,563 mm (61-17/32″) 1,545 mm (60-53/64″)
Height 620 mm (24-13/32″) 1,226 mm (48-17/64″) 621 mm (24-29/64″) 621 mm (24-29/64″)
Depth 1,410 mm (55-33/64″) 578 mm (22-3/4″) 740 mm (49-9/64″) 580 mm (22-53/64″)
Keyboard Number of Keys 88 88 88 88
Type GrandTouch™ Keyboard: wooden keys (white only), synthetic ebony and ivory key tops, escapement GrandTouch™ Keyboard: wooden keys (white only), synthetic ebony and ivory key tops, escapement GrandTouch-S™ Keyboard: wooden keys (white only), synthetic ebony and ivory key tops, escapement GrandTouch-S™ Keyboard: synthetic, ebony and ivory key tops, escapement
Touch Sensitivity Soft2/Soft1/Medium/Hard1/Hard2/Fixed Soft2/Soft1/Medium/Hard1/Hard2/Fixed Soft2/Soft1/Medium/Hard1/Hard2/Fixed Soft2/Soft1/Medium/Hard1/Hard2/Fixed
88-key Linear Graded Hammers Yes Yes
Counterweight Yes Yes
Pedal Number of Pedals 3: Damper (with half-pedal function), Sostenuto, Soft 3: Damper (with half-pedal function), Sostenuto, Soft 3: Damper (with half-pedal function), Sostenuto, Soft 3: Damper (with half-pedal function), Sostenuto, Soft
GrandTouch Pedals Yes
GP Response Damper Pedal Yes Yes
Functions Sustain, Sostenuto, Soft, Glide, Style Start/Stop, Volume, etc. Sustain, Sostenuto, Soft, Glide, Style Start/Stop, Volume, etc. Sustain, Sostenuto, Soft, Glide, Style Start/Stop, Volume, etc. Sustain, Sostenuto, Soft, Glide, Style Start/Stop, Volume, etc.
Display Type Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device
Size Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device
Language 26 Languages (English, Japanese, Germany, French, Spanish, etc.) 26 Languages (English, Japanese, Germany, French, Spanish, etc.) 26 Languages (English, Japanese, Germany, French, Spanish, etc.) 26 Languages (English, Japanese, Germany, French, Spanish, etc.)
Panel Language English English English English
Key Cover Key Cover Style Sliding Folding Sliding Sliding
Music Rest Yes Yes Yes Yes
Music Clips Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tone Generation Piano Sound Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial Yamaha CFX, Bösendorfer Imperial
Binaural Sampling Yes (“CFX Grand” and “Bösendorfer” only) Yes (“CFX Grand” and “Bösendorfer” only) Yes (“CFX Grand” and “Bösendorfer” only) Yes (“CFX Grand” and “Bösendorfer” only)
Key-off Samples Yes Yes Yes Yes
Smooth Release Yes Yes Yes Yes
Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Grand Expression Modeling Yes Yes Yes Yes
Polyphony Number of Polyphony (Max.) 256 256 256 256
Preset Number of Voices 872 Voices + 47 Drum/SFX Kits 872 Voices + 47 Drum/SFX Kits 772 Voices + 47 Drum/SFX Kits 772 Voices + 47 Drum/SFX Kits
Compatibility XG, GS, GM, GM2 XG, GS, GM, GM2 XG, GS, GM, GM2 XG, GS, GM, GM2
Types Reverb 65 Types 65 Types 65 Types 65 Types
Master EQ 5 Types 5 Types 5 Types 5 Types
Vocal Harmony 44 Types 44 Types 44 Types 44 Types
Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Stereophonic Optimizer Yes Yes Yes Yes
Functions Dual/Layers Yes Yes Yes Yes
Split Yes Yes Yes Yes
Preset Number of Preset Styles 525 525 495 495
Style Control INTRO x 1, ENDING x 1, MAIN x 4, FILL IN x 4 INTRO x 1, ENDING x 1, MAIN x 4, FILL IN x 4 INTRO x 1, ENDING x 1, MAIN x 4, FILL IN x 4 INTRO x 1, ENDING x 1, MAIN x 4, FILL IN x 4
Other Features Music Finder
One Touch Setting (OTS)
Preset Number of Preset Songs 403 403 403 403
Recording Number of Songs Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device
Number of Tracks 16 16 16 16
Data Capacity Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device
Compatible Data Format Playback SMF (Format 0 & 1), XF SMF (Format 0 & 1), XF SMF (Format 0 & 1), XF SMF (Format 0 & 1), XF
Recording SMF (Format 0) SMF (Format 0) SMF (Format 0) SMF (Format 0)
Piano Room Yes Yes Yes Yes
Lesson/Guide Lesson/Guide Correct Key, Any Key, Karao-Key, Your Tempo Correct Key, Any Key, Karao-Key, Your Tempo Correct Key, Any Key, Karao-Key, Your Tempo Correct Key, Any Key, Karao-Key, Your Tempo
Guide Lamp Stream Lights (4 steps) Stream Lights (4 steps) Stream Lights (4 steps) Stream Lights (4 steps)
USB Audio Recorder Recording Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device
Playback Supported format by the Smart Device Supported format by the Smart Device Supported format by the Smart Device Supported format by the Smart Device
USB Audio Time Stretch Yes Yes Yes Yes
Pitch Shift Yes Yes Yes Yes
Vocal Cancel Melody Suppressor Melody Suppressor Melody Suppressor Melody Suppressor
Overall Controls Metronome Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tempo Range 5 – 500, Tap Tempo 5 – 500, Tap Tempo 5 – 500, Tap Tempo 5 – 500, Tap Tempo
Transpose -12 – 0 – 12 -12 – 0 – 12 -12 – 0 – 12 -12 – 0 – 12
Tuning 414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz (0.2 Hz increments) 414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz (0.2 Hz increments) 414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz (0.2 Hz increments) 414.8 – 440.0 – 466.8 Hz (0.2 Hz increments)
Scale Type 9 9 9 9
Audio to Score Yes Yes Yes Yes
Registration Memory Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bluetooth Audio/MIDI (varies by country) Audio/MIDI (varies by country) Audio/MIDI (varies by country) Audio/MIDI (varies by country)
Storage External Drives Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device Depending on the Smart Device
Connectivity Headphones Standard stereo phone jack (× 2) Standard stereo phone jack (× 2) Standard stereo phone jack (× 2) Standard stereo phone jack (× 2)
Microphone Mic/Line In, Input Volume Mic/Line In, Input Volume Mic/Line In, Input Volume Mic/Line In, Input Volume
MIDI IN, OUT, THRU IN, OUT, THRU IN, OUT, THRU IN, OUT, THRU
AUX IN Stereo Mini jack Stereo Mini jack Stereo Mini jack Stereo Mini jack
AUX OUT Standard phone jack (R, L/L+R) Standard phone jack (R, L/L+R) Standard phone jack (R, L/L+R) Standard phone jack (R, L/L+R)
AUX Pedal Yes Yes Yes Yes
USB TO DEVICE Yes Yes Yes Yes
DC IN Yes Yes Yes Yes
Amplifiers (50 W + 50 W+ 40 W) × 2 (50 W + 50 W+ 40 W) × 2 (50 W + 50 W) × 2 40 W × 2
Speakers (16 cm + 8 cm + 2.5 cm (dome) with Waveguide) × 2 + 20 cm, Spruce Cone Speaker, Twisted Flare Port (16 cm + 8 cm + 2.5 cm (dome) with Bidirectional Horn) × 2, Spruce Cone Speaker (16 cm + 8 cm) × 2 16 cm × 2
Power Consumption 75 W 72 W 60 W 50 W
Auto Power Off Yes Yes Yes Yes
Accessories Owner’s Manual, USB cable(Type-C to Type-C), Online Member Product Registration, Power cord, Bench* (*May not be included depending on your area.) Owner’s Manual, USB cable(Type-C to Type-C), Online Member Product Registration, Power cord, Bench* (*May not be included depending on your area.) Owner’s Manual, USB cable(Type-C to Type-C), Online Member Product Registration, Power cord, Bench* (*May not be included depending on your area.) Owner’s Manual, USB cable(Type-C to Type-C), Online Member Product Registration, Power cord, Bench* (*May not be included depending on your area.)

Yamaha Clavinova CVP sign

Yamaha CVP-701 and CVP 800 series

Yamaha CVP-701 matte black

Yamaha CVP-705 matte black

Yamaha Clavinova CVP-701 Review

$4299 internet price for matte black | $5149 internet price for polished ebony

I have personally been playing CVP models for many years both for personal pleasure and also professionally. As with the CVP-701, all CVP models have offered a fun “one-man-band” playing experience with all those cool backing tracks and a big variety of music styles to choose from.

The CVP models above this one (CVP-900 series) have the more realistic instrument voices (sounds) and more natural sounding accompaniment music styles. For those people who like this type of interactive piano, the idea has always been for Yamaha to provide the most realistic sounds, voicings, accompaniments that they can offer in a specific price range given the limitations of the digital technology at the time.

The Yamaha CVP series of digital pianos has many of the “bells & whistles” as the CSP series but all those features are accessed by proprietary control panel buttons and in the CVP-701 Yamaha has a 4.3″ color (non-touch) display screen in the piano.

The 701 is a current model in the Yamaha CVP line of Clavinova’s and it has the same synthetic ivory/ebony key action as in the CLP-735 along with having an internal speaker system nearly identical to the current CLP-735/CSP-255 with the exception of the total power being 50 watts in the 701.

The CVP-701 has the same stereo 256-note polyphony sound chip in it as the other current model Clavinova’s with the 2 main Yamaha Grand and Bosendorfer grand acoustic piano sounds and that is a good thing. It has Yamaha’s “Piano Room” accessed by a single button on the control panel giving you quick instant access to the piano sound environment including reverb settings, touch, brightness, etc.

This model also has 1257 instrument sounds and 29 drum & special effects kits which includes a huge library of amazing “high definition” quality instrument reproductions such as guitars, flutes, saxophones, etc and no other brand has anything close it it in this price range.

So if you like other instruments sounds other than acoustic piano tones, the CVP-701 is a real winner. The CVP-701 has 310 preset music styles from all genres of music so that you can have a one-man-band playing experience when you use left & right hand chords & melody notes to play your music as opposed to more traditional classical bass clef/treble clef. These accompaniment styles are also known as “backing tracks” because they actually do “back up” your music with your own band.

This is a great feature to have lots of musical fun and it ultimately makes you sound way better than you really are and puts your playing in the center of an orchestra or band! The CSP-150 also has these features and it is equally as impressive and in that model you access it all from a larger iPad color touch screen.

Yamaha CVP-701

Yamaha CVP-701 control panel

In the CVP-701 you access all those music selections by pressing the appropriate buttons on either side of the 4.3″ color touch screen or by pressing the appropriate buttons below the screen and along the control panel.

This piano also has additional proprietary functions for their music style backing tracks with one of them called “Music Finder” to help you find the appropriate styles for the songs you want to play, “Style Recommender”  which helps you finds a good style of music for specific songs located in the piano song library, and “one touch settings” which sets up the appropriate right hand instrument sound when you are using the music styles.

There are 4 variations per style and since there are 310 music styles in the CVP-701 and there are 4 “one touch” settings per style, you get a total of 1240 “one-touch” settings to help you sound great when using those backing tracks. The CVP-701 has the 16-track General MIDI multi-track MIDI recorder player just like you get in the CSP-150 along with being able to play and record individual tracks along with audio wav file recording so that you can have different ways of recording your music and saving them.

The main reasons we believe that you would want to purchase a CVP-701 over the CSP-150 is that having proprietary buttons on the piano can make it easier and quicker to change functions and features without having to “turn” pages in the Smart Pianist app for getting to other functions and features which can take more time in doing it that way. So if you like to “jump around” in changing instrument sounds, interactive accompaniment styles, volume controls, etc while you are playing a song in “real-time” then the CVP operating system may have its advantages in that way.

The other main reason for wanting a CVP-701 in our opinion is that it offers more interactive features when it comes to the “accompaniment music styles” as I already mentioned and it does have a few more secondary features we have not discussed yet that are also on other Clavinova models.

It is important to note that this CVP is the only Clavinova that cannot use the Smart Pianist app to control the functions on the piano so you must use the piano control panel to do that. However, the CVP-701 does display music notation (sheet music) although you will be limited to seeing it on the 4.3″ color display screen. This model does have “follow-along lights” above the keys so that when you play a song from the CVP-701 song library those lights will light up above the key that you are supposed to play.

This feature allows the beginner to follow the lights so that they will know what key to play when the song is playing. It’s a cool feature and does help beginners (or those who cannot read music) to know what note to play and it helps with eye to hand coordination as well. The CSP-150 has a similar feature called “streaming lights” so that you can also visually follow the music and be able to see what keys to play, but that feature is done in a more advanced way on that model.

What it really boils down to is this: if you are the type of person who would focus on the accompaniment one-man-band feature (as I like to call it) and you want all of those cool style finders, recommenders, and one-touch play settings that help you with using the styles, then the CVP-701 would have all those things whereas the CSP pianos do not. In our opinion, at least when considering the CVP-701 against the CSP-150, I believe the better choice for most people will be the CSP-150.

Given that it is considerably less money than the CVP (because the CSP does not need all those buttons and built-in color screen), then choosing the CSP-150 would be the better way to go for many people. However, if you like the unique aspects of the CVP-701 and what it has to offer then that model would be a very good choice in our opinion.

Yamaha CVP-805 matte balck

Yamaha CVP-805 matte black

Yamaha Clavinova CVP-905/805 Review

$7999 price for CVP-805 matte black | $8699 price for CVP-805 polished ebony

This newer model replaced the former CVP-705 and has some cool features on it. The cabinet size and weight of this model is 56″ wide x 34″ high x 24″ deep and weighs 176 lbs for matte black and 185 lbs. for polished ebony.

As a long time musician and having played and also taught many instruments, I know what a real band or orchestra actually sounds like and I know how many of those individual instruments should behave and how they work when you are playing them.

So when I hear digital pianos try to “imitate” those instrumental sounds or music styles I can tell right away if they sound artificial (fake) or if they sound authentic and “live.” For someone who doesn’t know much about music, isn’t personally experienced with a variety of real instruments, or has not been around real bands and orchestras very often (if at all), then even the “fake” instrument voices (sounds) on some of these digital piano may fool you into believing they are real…but in reality they are not real and many musicians would recognize that fact.

I say all of this because Yamaha has new “instrument reproduction technology” in the new CVP-805 which really does give you (even a musician) a more organic “live sound” that you would otherwise get from the “real thing.” In other words Yamaha has move their CVP technology to a new level and radically improved the instrumentation and music style voicing technology in a way where it really does give you the impression that you are hearing “live” musicians play “live instruments” with a live backing orchestra or band.

This is essentially what the new CVP-800 series pianos are all about…giving the player the feeling of being immersed in a “live music setting” where you control the music by what you play with the piano providing the most accurate reproduction of sound that is available and puts it way beyond any other digital piano from any other manufacturer on the market.

The recently discontinued CVP-800 series with the CVP-805 being the 1st one and lowest priced model in that series is in a class all by itself and beyond the CVP-701 as well beyond the Yamaha CSP series. Both the CVP-701 and the 4 CSP models are really very exciting to play and sound great.

But to the “sophisticated musical ear” you would immediately notice the difference in the instrumental sound “content” and you’d be able to hear all those musical nuances and organic elements associated with that acoustic or electric instrument that have not been previously captured in any digital piano.

Yamaha CVP-805 polished ebony

Yamaha CVP-805 polished ebony

The CVP-905/805 cabinet has also been updated over previous models with a more intuitive and faster responding user interface with a 7″ color “quick response” LCD touch screen with quick-press light up buttons across the entire control panel. The internal sound system has been upgraded to sound richer and fuller than previous models with a 4 speaker, total 130 watt internal sound system powered by 4 separate amplifiers.

Considering the price of this model being at over $7000 you might think the internal sound system would have been more robust and more powerful especially as compared to the top-of-the-line Clavinova CLP-785 at $1200 less which has a total of 300 watts powered by 6 amplifiers going through 6 speakers. My best guess is because the digital sound technology and additional digital features, color touch screen, etc in this CVP-805 are so extensive and so much more “live” than what the CLP-785 offers, Yamaha probably had to decide whether adding more audio power and speakers to this model would have been worth a much larger increase in price.

The good thing is that you can get a better internal speaker system in a CVP if you are willing to spend more money and go up to the next model CVP-809 which I will be talking about next.

Like all the other Clavinova pianos, the CVP-805 and new CVP-905 has the Yamaha and Bosendorfer stereo concert grand piano sound samples in it and they do sound great with lots of natural resonance or organic string vibrations and other natural acoustic piano elements. If you just play this model as a piano it is very satisfying to play and hear, in our opinion.

So ultimately if you are the type of person who does not play well but wants to sound way better than you really are with the help of the “live” sounding auto-accompaniment backing tracks and music styles of almost any type of music you can think of, then this may be the perfect piano for you. This especially true if you are comfortable with playing 3, 4, and/or 5 finger  “chords” rather than just pure bass & treble clef notation.

The built-in “live” auto-accompaniment chord playing aspect of this model is what sets it apart from all other digital pianos for Yamaha and for other brands. In fact you can just play simple chords and the auto-accompaniment is so real and so good and fills in so much music into your playing that you can just play “simple music” with simple chords and you sound like an absolute professional player who has been playing all of your life.

Yamaha CVP-805 control panel

Yamaha CVP-805 control panel display screen

The CVP-905/805 has so many things it can do and so many features that we could talk about that it would be overwhelming so we’ll just mention the most important features which includes this model having 1315 proprietary super high quality instrument voices, 480 standard Yamaha XG/General MIDI voices, and 49 drum/SFX kits for a total of nearly 1800 total instrument sound selections and almost 50 drum and special effects kits and each kit has a variety of individual sounds.

There are 525 amazing music styles (accompaniments) with 4 different variations each for a total of 2100 accompaniment styles and each of the music styles has 3 professional introductions and 3 professional endings to the song accompaniments. There are also 4 “one touch settings” for each of the 525 music styles for a total of 2100 “OTS” (one touch settings”) which will automatically setup the best right hand and/or left hand sounds for your song so that you don’t have to figure out what would sound best among all the sounds in the piano…it’s pretty crazy having all of those possibilities but it works well and is easy to use.

There are 403 full length songs in the CVP-805 and you can also see the actual notation sheet music to those songs on the digital display screen and play along with those songs at any tempo you want.

There are 2500 “records” in a song library that allows you to search for 100’s of songs that are popular or famous in some way and if the song is in the piano and you want to play it then the piano will set up all the sounds, rhythms, tempo, accompaniments and everything you need to make that song sound as real as possible in terms of the sounds and backgrounds that are heard. You just press a button and the intelligent technology in the piano does the rest and then you just play the song as you normally would.

Yamaha sheet music notation

Yamaha display screen sheet music notation

This model also has a full blown Karaoke feature in it that displays song lyrics in the LCD color screen for hundreds of songs so that you can sing along through a microphone and hear it come out of the piano speaker system.

You can make a variety of adjustments to the song including tempo change, key transpose, etc along with being able to use a “vocal harmonizer feature” that automatically puts instant “harmony” on your solo voice so that it sounds like you have professional back-up singers in your band singing along with you in harmony and it sounds amazing.

There are 54 different types of harmonies available to choose from including 2-part, 3-part, 4-part, country, jazz, rock, and the list goes on & on. You can also create your own user vocal harmony custom settings and store them into 60 user memories.

Like other Yamaha Clavinova pianos this models has a 16-track MIDI recorder and playback system so that you can create and arrange your own full music scores as well as 1-track audio wav file recording & playback, However, unlike any other Clavinova models, the CVP805 also has 1-track MP3 (iTune type) audio recording and playback for that format as well which is great for being able to take your recordings and play them back on your favorite MP3 audio player such as an iPhone, iPad, iPod, etc..

The “Piano Room” feature is also in this model where you can select the piano sound you want along with other aspects of the piano you might want to add and do it all very easily from the color touch screen on the piano. You can access the functions and features on the piano including viewing the karaoke lyrics and sheet music notation on a large external TV monitor or screen so that all that info can be displayed through the entire room that you are in so that everyone can see it rather than just having the info seen in the 7″ piano display screen.

You can also connect the piano to an iPad and control the entire piano from the iPad using the Yamaha Smart Pianist app just like you can do on the CSP and CLP pianos. Ultimately there is very little this piano cannot do.

Yamaha GrandTouch wooden key

Yamaha GrandTouch wood key action

The final item on the CVP-905/805 I want to mention is the GrandTouch key action with wood keys (white keys only) which replaces the former NWX key action in the prior CVP-705 model. The GrandTouch action is similar to the key action that is used in the CLP-775 but is somewhat heavier in touch and I would personally prefer a lighter key action such as what is currently in the CLP-785.

Even though Yamaha has extended the key length of the keys in this action and that extra length has given the keys much better and more even balance and motion from the front of each key to the back of the key as you press the keys down, the down-weight (aka: touch-weight) of each key is somewhat heavy when you press down the keys, especially when playing more lightly and delicately.

Based on our personal playing experience with this key action and having played it ourselves for a number of hours we can say this is the only part of this piano that we would prefer to be different. However, we really do love this new CVP-805 model but the relatively lower power internal speaker system (considering its price) with somewhat smaller bass response along with this heavier key action makes us wish for more.

There will likely be some people out there who don’t need or want a more robust internal speakers system for their home, studio, or venue and may like this heavier key action, so this one still could be the perfect piano for you.

Yamaha CVP-809 polished ebony

Yamaha CVP-809 polished ebony

Yamaha Clavinova CVP-909/809 Review

$12,799 price for CVP-809 matte black | $13,499 price for CVP-809 polished ebony, $14,199 price for CVP-809 polished white

This top-of-the-line CVP console model is what we would have wanted for the CVP-805. It has everything the CVP-805 has along with a bigger, fuller, more robust internal speaker system that has a noticeably better key action.

Even though it is the new GrandTouch longer key key-action, Yamaha incorporated counter-weights within each key on this model to give the keys better response, better key movement, and an overall lighter touch-weight as compared to the GrandTouch key action in the CVP-805 which does not have counterweights in each key.

It’s amazing how much better this key action is with these counter-weights embedded into the keys so we are happy that Yamaha was able to do that in the CVP-809 and we do think they should have done the same thing in the CVP-805 but perhaps the added expense of doing that would have put the price up in the 805 to a level that Yamaha did not want to do. But in our opinion it would have been justified and a welcome addition to that key action in the 805 which we thing is just too heavy…but that’s our opinion and yours may be different.

The CVP-809 also has a “grand piano” response damper pedal which gives you the feeling that you are pressing down a real “grand piano pedal” as far as pedal weight and response are concerned as opposed to the CVP-705 pedal which is more like a standard upright pedal movement. The CVP-805 damper pedal movement and response is very good but it’s not to the level of a grand piano damper pedal movement in the CVP-809.

The internal speaker system has 7 speakers with one of them being a larger 8″ speaker with wooden spruce pulp-wood in the cone and powered by a single 80 watt hi-quality Yamaha amplifier which handles the bass frequencies and gives this piano the extra boost that it needs to put out a full, rich, theater quality sound that you just do not get in the CVP-805.

The other 6 speakers are powered by 6 amplifiers putting out a total of 180 watts for a combined total of 260 watts of power in the CVP-809 along with a “twisted flare port” which gives the bass frequencies more definition rather than just being like a sub-woofer.

With 150 watts more total power than the CVP-805 along with an 8″ bass “wood” speaker with 80 watts of dedicated power to handle the bass frequencies in the CVP-809, the improved key action and this amazing sound system give this model the “edge” that it needs to be a real winner in the game of ultimate home digital pianos.

Yamaha CVP-809 display screen

Yamaha CVP-809 color touch screen

So what are the other upgrades and improvements to this top model? The CVP909/CVP-809 is improved over the prior model CVP-709 with upgraded “live” sounding instrument voices (sounds) and impressive articulation, “live” band and orchestra accompaniments/backing styles that make you believe that real musicians are actually playing along with your music, even more than the CVP905/CVP-805.

There is also a better, faster, clearer, and larger color touch-screen display, and better ergonomically designed control panel and buttons along with the new brushed black aluminum material on the control panel. It also has a lot more internal memory with 2 gigabytes vas compared to 6.3 megabytes in the prior model CVP-709.

This extra memory allows for substantially more memory storage for a variety of features. As far as notable differences between the CVP809 and the CVP-805, the CVP-809 has the improved key action and speaker system that we already discussed along with 290 more instrument voices, 9 more drum and SFX kits, and 50 more impressive preset music styles/backing tracks.

The cabinet size and weight is almost identical to the CVP-805 so in that way they are very similar with the exception that the CVP-809 also is available in a polished white finish for $500 more than the polished ebony finish. The CVP-809 would be our choice if you can extend your budget to get up to this price range.

Yamaha CVP grand piano banner

Yamaha CVP-809GP Digital Grand Piano

Yamaha CVP-809GP grand piano

Yamaha CVP-909GP/809GP digital mini grand piano

Yamaha Clavinova CVP-809GP grand piano – Review

$17,499 price for CVP-809GP polished ebony | $18,499 for CVP-809GP polished white – This model has the exact same functionality that is on and inside of the CVP-809 console model with the only difference (although it’s a big one) being the cabinet, design, and construction.

That’s why the CVP-809GP is $3500 more for polished ebony and $4000 more for polished white as compared to the console version CVP-809 polished ebony and polished white. So you obviously pay a big premium to get the CVP-809 in a mini grand piano cabinet.

The CVP-809GP grand style cabinet is identical to the the Clavinova CLP-795GP although the CLP-795 has an upgraded speaker system redesigned key action, and new upgraded piano sound chip. So when you consider the internal speaker system, piano sound samples, and key action, the CLP 795GP digital grand is better than the CVP-809GP digital grand in that way.

But all of the CVP functions and features are in a class by itself. Hundreds and hundreds of natural live sounding articulating instruments, full orchestral and rhythm interactive accompaniments, vocal microphone and vocal harmony capabilities…its amazing what this piano can do.

This model is 49″ (slightly over 4′) from from to back so it has a nice footprint to make it look like a small baby grand and its not too large and not too small like some of the 3′ or 2.5″ deep smaller grand cabinets. Smaller size grand cabinets can also be great for a lot of people with small spaces who like the appearance of a grand but this model is only available in this 4′ model.

Also in the CVP-809GP grand style cabinet you will hear the sound come up and out of the piano through the upward facing speakers inside the piano in a way that more realistically emulates a real grand piano as compared to the “upright” console model CVP-809.

In the final analysis if you have the “disposable income” and want to invest in your musical future for years of musical enjoyment then the Grand Piano version (GP) of the CVP-809 could be the perfect piano for you, your family, your church, your school, your studio, or wherever you play music! We really like this model and recommend it.

Yamaha CVP-809/809GP color touch display screen

CVP-809/809GP color touch screen interface

There is a big unadvertised $1500 instant rebate (off the internet discount price) being offered on the recently discontinued CVP-809 series and CVP-805. If you are interested in these models then contact us right away to see if these rebates are still being offered!

Lower prices than internet stores or amazon

Lower price than Amazon or Internet