I suggest you go to several piano stores and try out various brands of pianos, as well as different pianos of the same model. that way you can get a better idea of what is out there.
overall yamaha pianos are very well regarded. of course, even within a well regarded brand, some variability is expected, so you absolutely must try the instrument you intend to purchase!
I've only tried a few yamaha's myself. my impression was that they had a nice warm, full sound, but that it was hard to play as quietly as I would like. a soft touch produced no sound, and by the time it would sound at all it was pretty loud. again, this could be a characteristic of that instrument or potentially adjusted by a technician as opposed to a brand characteristic.