How to make a final Decision on Yamaha U5 U3 and Kawai K-80

[pletnev2004]

Dear all:

I read your nice post about how to choose a upright piano.
I live in NYC, now I am going to buy a upright piano since I have not enough place to have a grand one.
I visited several piano stores, I cant make my final decision!
But I just focus on Yamaha U5 U3 and Kawai K-80.
I know it is very hard to say which is better.....
All of these pianos' price and performance balanced very well!

(Yes, Yamaha is more brighter while Kawai is warmer....
Yamaha is a worldwide famous brand...
Kawaii is only about 70 years old..._


Give me some suggestions! Thanks so much!!!

[Axtremus]

Tie breaker #1: There is no reason to pay significantly more for something that you do not like significantly more. If you like them just as much, just buy the cheapest one.

Tie breaker #2: If prices are not significantly different, just buy from the store you feel most comfortable dealing with.

Good luck.

[pletnev2004]

Thanks I definitely agree with you!
I find the U5 of Yamaha has very good touch which is close to the grand piano touch. I do not know why? But the U3 is a very good upright piano.
I do not care about the sosteno pedal very much!
How can I make a decision? Kawai's price is more reasonable...
Anyone can give me some suggestion, 
Thanks so much!

[Brian Lawson, RPT]

Flip a coin!

Try and find the same models in other piano stores and see if they are the same.  If not, it may be how the pianos you have played have been prepped by those dealers. Otherewise just spend more time playing each one.

[kwtam338]

Hi pletnev2004

I was faced with the same situation two years ago - U5 or K-80. Finally, I bought the K80 because:
1) the price difference was too big - K-80 (HK$46,000) and U5 (HK$60,000+)
2) I did not think the Yamaha brand name was worth that much to me
3) the sound of the K-80 is just as good as the U5
4) the K-80 has a 10-year warranty (I don't know about the U5)
My experience with the K-80 is this:
1) marvellous sound (very lovely singing tune) and volume is no problem
2) the action is hard (I am comparing it with my old piano which is a Yamaha low-end model)
3) sensitive to humidity changes (I think it will take a few more years to get stable)
4) you need to tune it once a quarter in the first couple of years
5) the color of the keys gradually turn yellow (I had been told before I decided to buy it)

Hope this helps.

Cheers, Tam

[pletnev2004]

Dear Tam; 

Thanks so much for you suggestions!
I know the price of K 80 is very good! While U 5 is expensive!
But how to compare k80 and U3.
Somebody say that U3 has more splendid sound which is more Brighter  than K80
They told me K 80is very good  for playing the very classical such as Mozart beethoven Scarlatti...
Yamaha will be more accessible for the romatic  such as Chopin Liszt Rachmaninoff, Scriabin.,,etc.
Is that true?
Anyboay has the exprience?
I am sure k80 is Kawai's best upright which is at the similar level of U5 but is reasonable price!

Yamaha has higher price simply becasue it is a famous brand?

Thanks!!!

[Axtremus]

Functional difference between Yamaha U3 and Kawai K-80: The K-80 has a true sostenuto pedal (meaning there is a pedal that lets you sustain individual notes selectively), and the U3 does not. Though I do not think this is an important difference because I think pianists would soon need the action of a grand piano before they need the sostenuto function.

So you were told that K-80 can play Classical period music better and Yamaha can play Romantic period music better. So what?

Do you play Mozart and Scarlatti and Beethoven? Do you play Rachmaninoff and Chopin and Liszt and Scriabin?

If you do, you can just play them at the piano store and compare them yourself. If you don't, why should you care?

Why not just play what YOU like to play and buy the piano that sounds best for what YOU like to play? If I find myself enjoy playing the transcriptions of Theresa Teng and Andy Lau and Anita Mui, and like Richard Clayderman and Lloyd Webber and Elton John, I would be looking for a piano that would sound good with these pieces. If I don't care to play/listen to, say, Bach, then why should I care so much about whether a piano can play Bach nicely?

If you cannot play those classical/romantic pieces yet but thinking may be one day you will play them -- there is another way to go about this: get some one who can play those classical/romantic pieces to shop with you, get them to play the same set of pieces on different pianos, and you pick the one that sounds best to your ears.

Though I must say -- some composers write stylistically varied pieces. Pick Chopin for example, you may well find that while one piano may handle his Nocturnes more to your liking, another piano may handle his Ballades and Scherzi more to your liking. So you might want to pick out your favorite pieces to try, not just the names of the composers.

Personally, I'd say just go with the piano that sounds best to YOU when YOUR favorite pieces are played.

Good luck.

[pletnev2004]

Ok, many thanks!

[pletnev2004]

The problem is I did not find the K80 even in the Kawai dealer store in Mahattan.So I cannot compare. Anyone live in NYC knows where can I find the K80?

[Axtremus]

There should be another store in Long Island -- I think that store is operated by the same owner who operates the Manhattan store, so they should be able to hook you up with their Long Island store. See if that Long Island store might have a K-80 on the floor.

Otherwise, hop on to https://www.KawaiUS.com/ , and send an e-mail to acoustic2@kawaius.com , tell them where you are located, and ask where they think there might be an K-80 for you to try.

Good luck.

[pletnev2004]

Thanks I will contact them soon!