NAMM 2026

HZPiano

I see. I would go nuts having the piano sound from one side only. I've always wondered how you coped with that for all this time.

I would also say, don't get your hopes up too much for built-in speakers of digital pianos. They are usually not that good unfortunately, in particular for connaisseurs like us here. I visit piano stores for fun every now and then, I have a few in my country who have almost everything in the showroom, and I can't mention one single digital piano where I found the speaker sound convincing. And that includes the expensive models. The hybrids are no exception, unfortunately.

Alas!

Cheers,

David Lai

HZPiano "I've always wondered how you coped with that for all this time."

That's it, just coped with it. Not fun at all, despite the fact I have great speakers. They are a treat when seated properly, though. But yes, having the piano sound on the right side, with the left speaker beaming to my direct right, isn't the best in the world.

Sorry to hear about the general bad state of built-in piano speakers.

Pete14

David Lai Sorry to hear about the general bad state of built-in piano speakers.

The “bad state” of built-in speakers has been greatly exaggerated!

What exactly is it that y’all want? surely y’all can’t expect a $2,000 slab to sound like a $160,000 concert grand?

I think built-in speakers are just fine, considering the price, and yes, the multi-channel system on the AvantGrand is more-than-fine! IMHO!

David Lai

Pete14 You don't have to put IMHO after every post, it's an interesting and a bit of a strange habit otherwise.

That said, thanks for your conflicting observations. Despite the high frequencies not being too pronounced, I could work with an N1X speaker. But I imagine they would pale in comparison to Focal Shape 65.

Pete14

David Lai could work with an N1X speaker. But I imagine they would pale in comparison to Focal Shape 65.

Perhaps the Focals would be more detailed and such, but I humbly believe it difficult for the Focals to beat the N1X’s “sound-stage” resulting from strategically placed speakers that are synchronized and fine-tuned with 4-point samples, and that, IMHO, is more consequential…..

David Lai

Pete14 True, even with stereo samples like that of Modern D, I've enjoyed the sound stage in my face. If all goes well, I could retest the N1X next month. I could have a feel at that again.

CeDur

I like built-in speakers in slabs. I usually route piano VI to FP90 speakers and at the same time play on headphones, so I 'feel' some sound vibrations under fingers, have richer sound around me and annoy my neighbours or fiance at the same time. Also, I can do a 'family-Christmas-carols-singing gathering' with so much less cables and having to lug PA. 4:0 for slabs with speakers vs those without.

And about studio monitors - people tend to ignore how important is proper room acoustics and how it influences the percieved sound (much more than buying some cheap JBL 8" vs for example Neumanns).

David Lai

CeDur Yes, and I'm blessed with a beautiful nearfield acoustic where I am! The bass is in control, and the mids and highs are concentrated both directly in front of my speakers, and at a spot slightly backward, where I could hear a smaller stage and a rounder sound into the room.

tonyminas

David Lai That said, I guess the Gx2 with a silent system would be the best over all?

I would think that any mid or larger sized acoustic with a silent system that features a robust sensor/midi implementation would be the best of both worlds. Bechstein's Vario system for example is available in any of their acoustics all the way up to their D-282, for an added cost of course. Yamaha does something similar with their Silent system, though I think only up to the c7x. It's difficult to say with any certainty how well these instruments would perform as midi controllers for a VST without testing them. I had a very fruitful conversation with the lead engineer at Pianodisc about the challenges inherent in making an acoustic action work effectively as a midi controller and it may not be as straightforward as we would like.

David Lai I guess you didn't listen to any speakers on display, just played the pianos, correct?

I did try to go see those HEDD monitors you mentioned, but I unfortunately wasn't able to get around to it. All pro audio stuff fell by the way side. I didn't even get to go talk to the folks at RME which was on my list.

johanibraaten Thanks for this great report.

You are most welcome. Shame about the Frankfurt Messe. Daran würde ich auch sehr gern teilnehmen, wenn es zurückkommt. I'm also not at all surprised that you haven't come across many fine American pianos in Europe. For starters the biggest one (Steinway) doesn't send them there, Baldwin is long gone, and Mason and Hamlin produces relatively few in comparison to the other major piano brands. The so-called American sound, to be more than a little bit reductive, is very warm with a tad less clarity but very rich in overtones and resonances. I personally love it for romantic repertoire.

RE: Audio Interfaces and Built-In speakers: all digital pianos with audio interfaces I've come across are capped at 44.1 khz sample so any audio interface (especially those with dedicated drivers) would likely outclass them. The appeal of having one built in to the instrument would be to directly send audio to the onboard speakers. But I've seen so many posts on all the forums about people's dissatisfaction with this approach.

You guys, I don't think I'm asking for a lot here. I just want a hybrid with a 9 foot grand action, midi 7.0, an immersive Dolby atmos sound system, amazing onboard tone engine, and a pro audio interface with 768khz, 32-bit capabilities. And I want it for $1000.00.

HZPiano

tonyminas I don't think I'm asking for a lot here

Nah, indeed, those are totally reasonable expectations.

😁

David Lai

tonyminas Thanks for your detailed reply. That's alright, I guess I'll just wait for the general release of these stsudio monitors to learn more about them. And wow, I didn't know that RME was there as well! Sounds like a great place to get the latest in audio tech.

Looks like the best setup is to completely reorganize my workdesk so that the keyboard and speakers would be at a similar surface as my laptop. Tall order.

tonyminas

For those who want an even more insider look at the NAMM show than what I was able to provide from Stu at Merriam Music:

I'm particularly Roland's apparent refocus back on touch and tone for their coming prospects. And also what Bechstein is cooking up for their new digital projects and their support for installing their Vario system in any brand of instrument.

Pete14

Interesting, it seems like Pearl River is working on a hybrid, and I have to say, if there’s anyone that can make an “affordable” hybrid, that would be Mr. River!

Heck, River sells a whole grand, with strings and everything, for 6K (it might be a little more now with the whole tariff/inflation BS), so I wouldn’t be surprised to see a River hybrid that rivals the Yamawai on all fronts and then some, yet somehow manages to do it all at an affordable price….IMHO!

QuasiUnaFantasia

Pete14 I hope they will do just that; that would force the Japanese perma-stallers into real action (no pun intended).

Pete14

I’ve talked about a potential “Chinese” hybrid for a while, because, as with Pearl River, they’re great at keeping prices low (by comparison).

They can indeed build a decent action (that’s already been proven) so, the only thing that remains is to create a sound engine that perfectly matches the action, add some speakers, and house it all in a shiny/black box for say, 5K?

HZPiano

QuasiUnaFantasia perma-stallers

😄

Nice term!

HZPiano

Pete14

Here in Belgium/ The Netherlands, Maene's Pianos carry a house-brand "Doutreligne" for acoustics and digitals as well.

Until recently, their digital models were sourced from GEWA (Germany based), and those were half decent at least.

Now, Pearl River supplies their "Doutreligne" digital line and under my fingers and ears those models are a number of steps backwards.

Pricing is similar to the A-brands, so value for money isn't favorable either.

So much for my take on Pearl River expectations…

Cheers,

Pete14

I’ll have you know that Pearl River is known as “The Pearl of Beijing,” and I don’t think the people of Beijing would give it this title if they didn’t have utmost respect for the brand. How dare you!

Is it a shiny pearl? Perhaps not yet, but a pearl is more than the sum of its shine, and I, for one, see this one pearl growing into a highly prized gem; otherwise known as a hybrid…once again, how dare you!

CeDur

Isn't Kurzweil owned by some Chinese company? I wouldn't mind if those Pearl River hybrids had Kurzweil sound modules inside them.

Pete14

CeDur

You know, Kurzweil used to be called “The Steinway of Digitals” (not kidding), and perhaps it was for a while, but then they got lazy & greedy, stopped innovation at “TripleStrike” (sampling), yet continued charging a premium despite strong competition from “the big three.”

Fast forward to today, and they’re a shadow of what they once represented, and to make things worse, they even got rid of their iconic “purple,” so no, not Kurzweil, IMHO, but what about Dexibell?

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