Which CVP...?

[Levchik]

Hello all,

I have been following this forum for a couple of weeks now and have found some useful info. Unfortunately, it seems that a large proportion of you own the 309 model, i however shan't be as lucky as to be able to afford such a splendiferous instrument :(

I have been dithering over my potential purchase for some weeks now but eventually decided that i wanted one of the CVP models. I had vaguely decided that the 303 would be the one for me but have been wondering if it's worth over extending my budget a smidge to upgrade to a 305. I am fairly familiar with the specs for all these Clavs but would be interested to hear if anyone had any opinions on the practical differences between the 303, 305 and 307. Is it really worth paying the extra money to move up the ladder? Does ones playing pleasure increase in line with ones poverty? Any opinions on these or any other matters would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for all the info i've already found here, and for any more you choose to post.

Lev.

[mr frodo]

Dear Lev

I myself own since one month a 307 and I'm very happy with it. I take piano lessons and my teacher has a 303. I can tell you that the difference in accustic is even for a beginner very well recognizable!

I think when money is a criteria one should not look at toys and luxus features. Im my opinion the 309 is anyway just a 307 in a nicer case and with wooden keys. I've even heared voices which consider the wooden keys as disadvantage. The 305 is in my opinion just a 303 which was pimped up a bit.

So my recommendation - if you can get the money together go for the 307 - rather wait a bit longer and save some more as this instrument will be with you for a very long time. If the 307 is anyway out of your financial range - stick to the 303. It's also a great piano and when you can't compare it to the 307 it also sounds nice.

[MikeinNC]

I have owned a 207 for a year and a half and am extremely happy with it. The 300's came out shortly after I bought my 207. I try not to lust after the newer series now. What I have been able to gather is that there is a tremendous loss of value, as with any electronic instrument. If you are thinking of upgrading at a future time you cannot count on a whole lot of trade-in so it seems best to buy the the most that you can afford and count on keeping it for a long time.

[tbernardi]

With all that I have read regarding the CVP series, the best value for your money is the 307. I would agree that if you could find away to step up to that and just really negotiate the price, you could get a reasonable price for the 307.

I am actually waiting on the delivery of a 309 today. The wife wanted the mini grand ebony casing, so there was no arguing and I also like what I have read about the 309. Is it worth the extra money, probably not.

[steeveevee]

On another thread I've posted my opinion why the 309GP is in fact worth the money. Tony should not be so quick to chastise himself.

Which leads to a greater point: After due consideration I have come to believe, actually, that each CVP-30x is pretty well-priced.

I was pleased to see that there is at least one 301 owner who has posted to the forum. I remember reading his posts carefully and noting that he did not seem the least bit unhappy about the limitations of his bottom-of-the-line CVP-3. His family was pleased as punch about it. The other day I visited the home of a family who had just bought a CLP-110. They said they absolutely loved it. I was thinking to myself, but it doesn't have ANY bells and whistles. But I could tell that that hadn't been what they were looking for.

Now that I have had a chance to sit down at my 309PE for a week, I can see more clearly what's important and what's not.

I've had a chance to play with the many voices: some are total throwaways to me and others I know I will use all the time. Which voices are which will vary with the individual, but all the 30xes have the important voices.

There are not as many styles on earlier models...but styles can be made and downloaded. There aren't as many "songs" (actually just styles dedicated to a particular song; there's no score included, which was a disappointment), but songs can be downloaded. The basics are all there; the control panels and functionality are the same throughout them all.

It appears to me that the best single feature of the 30x line is the USB port. You can add a USB hub, and to that as many flash-card readers as you'd like. I can store 25,000 MIDI files on a single 1GB SD card. I can plug a 200GB hard drive in it if I want. I can connect it directly to my computer! All the scores, styles, arrangements I could ever hope to muster, I can make available in any CVP.

I can see myself having been happy with any product in the line. I thought seriously about buying a 307 or 305 and then getting a TYROS or PSR to have something portable that would also let me do sampling. As someone else here said, you're very likely not going to have two of them side-by-side in your home to compare with, so whatever you get will be all you have to compare it to most of the time.

That said, since it's a big purchase, buy the most piano you can afford in a single unit, and have no regrets. It was worth the extra money, Tony.

== Steve

[Levchik]

Thanks all for your responses, which were very helpful. Unfortunately, i think that the 307 may just be a little beyond my price-range so for the moment will have to shelve that one. Am i to understand from everyone's comments that the 305 is not worth the price jump from the 303? I must admit that i am the kind of person who likes the all singing, all dancing version of everything that i buy!! That said, two of the most important aspects of buying a keyboard for me are the quality of sound and feel. does the 305 improve very noticeably from the 303 in these areas? In case this helps, I am an intermediate piano player with some interest in composing etc. Also i live in Singapore, does anyone know of anywhere other than the Yamaha shop that sells these things? Can one negotiate much off the price in either the Yamaha shops or elsewhere?

Sorry to bombard with questions, and thanks for your time!! :D