Mindbullets I've been really curious about the P-525 action! For those who have tried the P-515 and the P-525, any thoughts on the differences and/or preference between the two?
I own the P-515 and have now played the P-525:
The action in the P-525 is significantly lighter; however, there is no excess bounce, and it plays well. So yes, I do like it.
There has been some talk about the lower-end being muffled, and it’s true!
If you try to get rid of this ‘muddiness’, then the sound gets a bit ‘thin,’ but it was very difficult to find a sweet spot; now, that being said, there’s a definite improvement in terms of “realism”, if that makes any sense; in other words, the P-525 gets much closer to the nuanced variation of an instrument (despite the muddied lower-end). It simply “feels” real.
It is more musical and responds beautifully to one’s intentions despite the muffled lower-end.
I do hope this muffled-bass issue is fixable through a firmware update, and no matter what Yamaha says, it truly is there, and I ask Yamaha, effing why?
Note: perhaps I should mention that it is the mid-lower-end (not the very lowest end) that bothers me. The ‘more-playable’ region (bordering middle C and down an octave or so) because the truth is that the ‘lowest-end’ is of no use to me, or anyone else playing “normal” music.
Yes, the instrument has to be played, and I do not recommend buying it sight unseen; however, as it relates to me, and if Yamaha doesn’t ‘fix’ this muffled mid-lower-end (I hope they do) I’d fix it myself by blending it with Pianoteq.
