Hi,

I test drove the Yamaha Clavinova CVP-307 yesterday for five straight hours. This model is almost identical to the top of the line CVP-309. It shares the same Mega, Regular, Natural, Sweet, Cool and Live voices as well as the 10 Organ Flutes and 386 styles and 128+128 voice polyphony.

We have discussed the CVP-309 flagship in this thread:
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/009569.html

We also made some suggestions to blend in a few of its elements into the Tyros II:
http://www.synthzone.com/ubbs/Forum37/HTML/009592.html


My purpose yesterday, was to critically listen to both models and find the differences. As luck would have it, the dealer had both models placed next to each other.

1. Appearance:
The 307 in dark rosewood finish is no match for the luxurious piano black polish on the 309PE

2. Keyboard Touch:
The 307 uses a graded hammer action GH3 mechanism. It feels slightly better than the graded hammer action of the P250 stage piano. It is an improvement and feels just a tad heavier than a Steinway. If I did not have the 309 to compare next to it, I would have remained happy as a clam.

But while the 307 touch comes very close to playing an acoustic, the 309 makes this experience magical, surpassing a real piano. The 309 feels a wee bit softer and delicate than a Steinway. It gives you an ethereal feeling as you let your fingers fly on this thing. The balance has that touch of superb delicacy and bounces back like a real piano making rapid staccato chords easier.

This is one area where Yamaha cuts corners on the 307.

3. Sound Quality:
It took a diskette full of high quality and complex GM/GS/XG MIDI files and played them back on the 307 and 309 listening for subtle nuances with my Sony MDR-7506 headphones.

I had a feeling that while the rendering of MIDI files through the 307 was superb, the 309 added just a wee bit more or air and brilliance at the top end. It could mean that certain GM/XG samples were better on the 309 or simply the 309 had better quality electronics with higher S/N specs.

4. Connectors:
The 309 has 2 USB ports, the 307 has one.

5. Cost:
This is where the 307 wins hands down. After a little research on the www.cvpug.com forum, I found out that the street price on the 307 is $5000. There is a wholesale merchant in Florida (Best Price Inc) who would deliver this to your doorstep for $4995 including shipping.

Here is their eBay ad:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=38091&item=3770813621&rd=1


Here are some other deals posted on this site:

Yamaha PSR3000 $1299
Yamaha PSR1500 $949
Yamaha Tyros $2469
Yamaha Motif ES8 $2790

These guys have gotten some excellent user feedback so I guess they are honest dealers worth checking out.

Here is their website and contact number:
http://www.bestpriceinc.com/contact.htm


The only problem with ordering from them is that you would not get the Yamaha warranty. The other option is to order the CVP-307 from Canada for $5,000 and pay shipping. Warranty is covered by Yamaha Corporation of Canada. If you are adventurous, you can also order it from UK. Curiously, they have a lower list price.

Don’t want to splurge $5000. No problem, you can buy a used CVP-209 for $3,500. Just visit the CVP users forum and get it from the forum members who are selling off their 200 series for the new version.


So there you have it. We have five top contenders in the arranger category:

1. Yamaha CVP-307 ($5,000)

2. Korg Pa1Xpro ($3,000)

3. Yamaha Tyros ($2,800)

4. Roland G70 (street price unknown)

5. Yamaha PSR3000 ($1,400)

Each one of them has their own strengths and weaknesses and are the standard bearers in their respective niche markets. You cannot go wrong with any of these.

The most versatile as the name implies is definitely the Yamaha CVP-307. This is an all around family entertainment device designed to be shared by your wife and kids for enjoyment and education by beginners and pros alike. They make learning and playing the piano a fun hobby with their follow the lights, cue-time and score sheets and karaoke lyrics displayed on your big screen TV. Heck, even the family cat can play this thing if you care to just depress the Performance Assist button and let her do her beauty walk on the keys. (Oh Scott, you did not read this!)

You can enjoy instant Karaoke by hooking up a microphone and sing along with the vocal harmonies. You could even have a direct connection to the Internet via broadband and download all the masterful XF MIDI sequences of popular tunes made by Yamaha engineers. They have uploaded over 7000 titles already.

The CVP-307 is an all-in-one solution. It emulates a Grand Piano complete with its delicate sound and touch for a fraction of the price and throws in a boat load of superbly crafted Natural voices, Mega voices, and the full XG palette with a gorgeous 640x480 display and 386 versatile easy to play styles. This is the ultimate family fun machine.

If you want to be frugal, you can duplicate almost all of this functionality with the Yamaha P250 88 key digital piano and the PSR3000 arranger for $3,200. Think of this as a poor mans Versatile Piano. You would lose the great sounding natural voices, but you will gain portability. You will still retain the 128+128 note polyphony of the CVP-307 but miss out on the fancy guide lights. But hey, if you want guide lights for your kids to practice, I have a solution. Go to your Casio outlet store and add on the CTK-620L for $69. This will give you lighted KEYS to track your MIDI files.

The Korg Pa1Xpro and the Yamaha Tyros go head to head in the professional arranger category. This is geared towards gigging one man band shows. They sound equally good with the mega voices being more playable on the Pa1Xpro. The Pa1Xpro edges out in the style category and has a better vocal harmonizer and 76 semi-weighted keys.

The Roland G-70 has not been widely street tested yet. From the 20 odd demos posted on the net, it seems Roland has done a great job with its creative styles. However, I am not so sure about the quality of the voices. Does not seem to be in the same category as the CVP307. I will withhold judgment till I get to try one.

The PSR3000 is the new lightweight champ. It is a godsend to gigging musicians. It packs the power and sonics of the Tyros in a surprisingly affordable, portable package. You can treat it as a beginners toy for your daughter, MIDI that to a Motif ES7 to get some kick ass rhythms and backing arrangements, use it solo to harmonize your voice while you are singing, or just carry it under your arms to a party and become a one man show. How could you not love this small wonder?

I nominate all five for this years Oscar contenders for Technical Achievement.

Cheers and Merry Christmas to all of you!!!

Tapas