Keynoter
01-22-2006, 11:31 AM
NAMM Report
I am an interested buyer who was using the NAMM as an oportunity to evaluate my decision about the purchase of a CVP 309GP. First, let me tell you about the CGP 1000. It is a CVP 309GP in all internal respects with physical and acoustic changes. It is in a 4’11” case and immediately you notice a natural wood soundboard under the lid. This is the major sonic difference in that Yamaha has added acoustically coupled transducers to activate the soundboard, giving the sound a more “natural” sound. The literature calls the CGP 1000 an acoustic/digital hybrid. Unfortunately, in the noisy NAMM environment, it was not possible to evaluate the improvement. The case size gives the illusion of a “real grand piano”. No price has been set but if you use the reference of the $17,000 MSRP on the 309GP, one marketing manager was talking around $25000. That might translate, (in my opinion) to a $10-12000 “street price”. I use the term street price after seeing that you can buy a 309GP if you shop the dealers for around $8000. This price could be due to the rapid changes in Yamaha’s competitive environment and could be unique to the press for technology and cosmetic changes. In other words, this may be a good time to buy a 309GP before new models come out in 2007.
I spent a little time at Kawai, Roland and Kohler. I believe Kawai and Roland represent the major competition that Yamaha faces. They have followed Yamaha’s lead and are making improvement. The larger case size, computer interfaces, built-in CDRW capability and a good piano sound driven by higher power amplifiers (200W). I could be very happy with the new Kawai CP207. Some like the Roland KR117M are overloaded with teaching gimmicks. Pricing on these units has not been set and the release is 3-6 months away. The trend seems to be toward the larger case and higher priced digitals as they continue to challenge acoustics. There is nothing like an acoustic piano or a disk clavier but you pay for what you get.
I personally believe that this is a good time to buy a Yamaha CVP 309GP as many of the improvements that are coming can be done without for most users. I also feel that Yamaha’s depth of experience and the potential of the internet interface will keep them in the lead. Are you going to wait or buy now?
I am an interested buyer who was using the NAMM as an oportunity to evaluate my decision about the purchase of a CVP 309GP. First, let me tell you about the CGP 1000. It is a CVP 309GP in all internal respects with physical and acoustic changes. It is in a 4’11” case and immediately you notice a natural wood soundboard under the lid. This is the major sonic difference in that Yamaha has added acoustically coupled transducers to activate the soundboard, giving the sound a more “natural” sound. The literature calls the CGP 1000 an acoustic/digital hybrid. Unfortunately, in the noisy NAMM environment, it was not possible to evaluate the improvement. The case size gives the illusion of a “real grand piano”. No price has been set but if you use the reference of the $17,000 MSRP on the 309GP, one marketing manager was talking around $25000. That might translate, (in my opinion) to a $10-12000 “street price”. I use the term street price after seeing that you can buy a 309GP if you shop the dealers for around $8000. This price could be due to the rapid changes in Yamaha’s competitive environment and could be unique to the press for technology and cosmetic changes. In other words, this may be a good time to buy a 309GP before new models come out in 2007.
I spent a little time at Kawai, Roland and Kohler. I believe Kawai and Roland represent the major competition that Yamaha faces. They have followed Yamaha’s lead and are making improvement. The larger case size, computer interfaces, built-in CDRW capability and a good piano sound driven by higher power amplifiers (200W). I could be very happy with the new Kawai CP207. Some like the Roland KR117M are overloaded with teaching gimmicks. Pricing on these units has not been set and the release is 3-6 months away. The trend seems to be toward the larger case and higher priced digitals as they continue to challenge acoustics. There is nothing like an acoustic piano or a disk clavier but you pay for what you get.
I personally believe that this is a good time to buy a Yamaha CVP 309GP as many of the improvements that are coming can be done without for most users. I also feel that Yamaha’s depth of experience and the potential of the internet interface will keep them in the lead. Are you going to wait or buy now?