How much does a good digital piano cost?

What do you get for paying more for a digital piano? We break the price down into parts: keyboard, sound system, pedals, connectivity and cabinet — and say where not to economise.

Digital pianos can cost anything from a few hundred złoty to several tens of thousands. Anyone buying a first instrument therefore faces a question that is hard to settle in a shop: is the pricier model really better, or does it just look nicer?

The answer is concrete. The price rises for a few clearly countable reasons, and it is worth knowing which of them apply to you.

What you pay for in a digital piano

The keyboard — the largest part of the cost

It is the most expensive assembly in the instrument and at the same time the one you'll feel most under your fingers.

The cheapest constructions have light, sprung keys. Above them comes a semi-weighted keyboard, and higher still a weighted one with hammer action, where a weight works under every key, reproducing the movement of a hammer.

In the Versoni line the step between these levels is plain to see: V5N has a semi-weighted keyboard, while the V9N and the higher models have a weighted hammer action. That is the main reason for the price difference between the V5 and the V9.

The sound system

The second real cost. It comprises the speakers, the amplifier and the processor handling the sound.

The V5 has 2 × 10 Wof amplification. The V9NB, V10NB and V11B models have 2 × 12 W and a 16 × 24-bit DSP. In practice that means fuller bass, a clearer decay and less distortion at higher volume.

Pedals

A single pedal on a cable costs a few dozen złoty. A fixed pedal unit with three pedals — sustain, soft and sostenuto — is a structural part of the cabinet and costs many times more.

Here the news is good: a full three-pedal unit is fitted to the whole Versoni line, including the basic V5WN. You don't have to pay extra for something that underpins all work on phrasing.

Connectivity

Bluetooth, USB MIDI and a socket for a memory stick are standard in the mid-range today, but still not at the cheapest end. It is worth checking whether Bluetooth covers both modes: Audio for playing backing tracks and MIDI for working with learning apps. The Versoni line supports both.

The cabinet and the form

This is the item easiest to dismiss when comparing tables, and the one that decides how the instrument lives in a home.

V10NB has a closing lid that protects the keyboard and tidies the shape. V11B is a multi-purpose design: a sliding keyboard, a full desktop and a swivelling music rest with a mirror, so the instrument doubles as a desk or a dressing table. For such solutions you pay in joinery, not electronics — the sound module in them is the same as in the V9.

Where not to economise

On the keyboard. It is the only element that cannot be improved or replaced later. An instrument with a good keyboard and a more modest set of functions is a better buy than the other way round.

On the pedals. A pedal that travels across the floor puts you off practising.

On the headphone output. If you live in a block of flats, this is the function that decides whether you'll practise in the evening at all. The V9, V10 and V11 models have two outputs — useful during lessons with a teacher.

Where you needn't pay extra

For the number of voices. In practice you use a handful. Every Versoni piano has 127 tones and that is more than enough.

For the number of accompaniments. It is a convenient addition for practising rhythm, but not a criterion for choosing an instrument to learn on.

For demonstration pieces. You'll listen to them once.

How to spread the budget

A practical order of spending looks like this:

• first the keyboard — the best you can afford,
• then the sound system,
• then the a bench of the right height — HS1K, HS1B or HS1W,
• finally headphones over-ear ones, comfortable during longer practice,
• the form of the cabinet — if the instrument is to stand in the living room and the budget allows.

Summary

A good digital piano doesn't have to be the most expensive. It has to have a full keyboard, a sensible action, three pedals and a headphone output. Everything above that threshold is a matter of how seriously you take the learning and where the instrument is to stand.

You'll find current prices and full specifications in the digital pianos.