Casio PX870 Review: Casio’s Premiere Console Piano

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The Casio PX870 Digital Piano Bundle is the brand’s premiere console piano in the Privia line, with significant improvements over the previous model, the Privia PX-860, and more features than its little sister, the Privia PX-770.

Table of Contents

• Overview of Casio Privia PX-870 
• Casio Privia PX-870 Video Overview
• Casio Privia PX-870 Specs
• Who the Casio Privia PX-870 Most Suitable For?
• What’s Included in the Casio Privia PX-870 Bundle?
• Casio Privia PX-870 Features
• Pros & Cons of the ​Casio Privia PX-870
• An Alternative Product to Consider
• What You Need To Know in Casio Privia PX870?
• Sweetwater’s Casio PX-870 Review
• Conclusion

 But does it have enough to offer to make it worth investing the upgrade? Let’s see how the Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano Bundle stacks up!

Overview of Casio Privia PX-870

The Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano Bundle is a digital piano keyboard in a handsome, furniture-like console, for those who want the look and feel of a traditional piano, without the large footprint and necessary maintenance. It comes in black or white, and the music stand, pedal panel, and sliding keyboard cover make it look like an attractive analogue piano. Visually, it’s a nice addition to a home or music studio.

As an instrument, the full-size, fully weighted keys offer great feel and response, with simulated ebony and ivory keys for good texture and grip while playing. Advancements in the sound engine, speaker system, and onboard memory give it a full, rich, nuanced sound and resonance, while digital voices and effects offer a huge variety of acoustic options and environments.

It’s a digital piano with many of the features that advanced musicians love, and the feel and response of an acoustic piano. Casio‘s updates are more than cosmetic, and the Privia PX-870 is a significant advancement on the prior model.

Casio Privia PX-870 Video Overview

Casio Privia PX-870 Specs

Specification	Description
Keys	Full-size 88-key keyboard Simulated ebony and ivory key surfaces
Speakers	4 speakers
Pedals	3 pedals: damper, soft, and sostenuto
Demo Songs	20-watt amp output
Polyphony	256 maximum levels of polyphony
Voices and Chorus	19 instrument voices 4 types of hall simulator 4 types of chorus
Functions	Layer keyboard function Split keyboard function Duet keyboard function Octave Shift and transpose functions Lesson function
Jacks & Ports	2 headphone jacks USB port
Songs	10 concert play songs 60 built in demo songs Space for 10 user-added songs Onboard MIDI recorder for 1 song with 2 tracks Onboard WAV recorder for 99 songs at 25 minutes per song
Accessories Included	Amazon bundle comes with furniture bench Amazon bundle comes with instructional book and online piano lessons

Who the Casio Privia PX-870 Most Suitable For?

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While the Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano Bundle has onboard lesson and learning functions, the sturdy console, realistic key action and texture, robust sound, and price point show that it’s designed for intermediate to advanced players who want a rich, analogue piano experience in their home or studio. It has the weight and key response of a high-quality acoustic piano, and the sound engine, speaker system, and onboard audio enhancements give fantastic sound quality and projection.

Onboard recording functions, as well as the ability to connect to computers and digital devices via USB, make it easy to record, mix, and share your music. It has all the advanced features that advanced players are looking for.

It is the perfect digital piano for people who are accustomed to an analog piano, and want an analog piano, but don’t have the space or don’t want to deal with the maintenance. It offers the same key feel and response, along with the acoustic environments that those players are accustomed to, along with a lot of advanced digital capabilities.

 While the  Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano Bundle is certainly an excellent digital piano for students and beginners, and onboard lesson functions and the Casio Cordana Play app simplify learning, they may find it too expensive for their needs, or prefer a more portable digital keyboard.

What’s Included in the Casio Privia PX-870 Bundle?

The  Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano Bundle comes with:

• A handsome simulated-wood console keyboard stand
• A music rest
• An AC power supply
• A 3 pedal board
• A furniture-style piano bench
• Instructional book and DVD
• 2 months of online piano lessons
• A polishing cloth

Casio Privia PX-870 Features

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The Casio Privia PX-870 has a wide range of advanced features and musical capabilities.

FEATURE	DESCRIPTION
Design	The full-size, 88-key keyboard is fully weighted and has simulated ebony and ivory key surfaces for improved feel and grip over prolonged playing.
Sound	The Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano produces excellent sound. The Multi-dimensional morphing AiR sound engine provides excellent, high-quality samples with better sustain and decay than other keyboards.
Tri-sensor scaled hammer key	The Tri-sensor scaled hammer action key weighting system combines touch response and key weighting, providing accurate resistance with simulated hammers instead of springs, and responding not just to how hard the keys are pressed, but how swiftly they are attacked, and the motion of the fingers.
Polyphony	256 max polyphony is more than enough for the needs of anyone playing this piano, and 19 instrument voices give a rich range of options.
Concert Play	Concert Play allows you to play along with an entire live orchestra, and offers a fantastic way to learn, practice, and perform your favorite pieces. The ability to turn off the melody not just in the 60 library songs, but in your own user-added songs gives you even more ways to play your favorite music in your own unique way.With the Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano, you can record a whopping 99 of your own performances into the onboard memory, which is an exceptional way to learn, rehearse, practice, improve, and share your music.
Split function	Keyboard layer and split functions allow you to play multiple instrument tones at once, while keyboard duet mode allows you to share the keyboard with another player.
Functions	Hall simulator goes beyond just reverb to create a resonant acoustic environment, and chorus, brilliance, and DSP give more options and control.
Sophisticated touch response	The system imparts a sophisticated touch response that allows nuance, sensitivity, and expression when playing, and holds up well to same-key rapid repetition. 3 pedals in the console add to the musical and expressive capabilities of this piano.
Advanced sound projection	But it’s not just the sound engine that is good in this piano. The Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano also has an advanced sound projection system, and whopping 20 watt amplification. It has 4 onboard speakers that create full, loud, dimensional sound, along with the ability to enhance the sound with lid simulators and key action noise simulators. It even has a headphone audio mode that improves the sound quality when you play for no one but yourself.
Features	Dedicated one-touch buttons for grand piano and electric piano quickly restore settings back to defaults.
Chordana Play app	The Chordana Play app makes learning the piano fun and easy, with an intuitive, game-like interface. It’s free with the Casio Privia PX-870, and also complements the keyboard by providing a fast and easy way to navigate your settings, options, and preferences without referring to the user manual or pushing buttons on the keyboard. The Chordana Play app also uses the touchscreen of a smartphone or tablet to help you practice the piano and track your progress from anywhere.

Pros & Cons of the ​Casio Privia PX-870

PROS

Full-size 88 key keyboard with simulated ebony and ivory key surfaces and the Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II touch response and weighting system provide a real, grand piano-like playing experience with a full range of motion and expression Damper, soft, and sostenuto pedals allow you to play even the most complex compositions 4 onboard speakers with 20 watt amp output, and advanced sound projection produce incredible sound, and headphone mode optimizes audio output for headphones AiR sound engine with string resonance, damper resonance, damper noise, and hammer response for incredible grand piano sound throughout the frequency range, along with a lid simulator, key off simulator, and key action noise simulator make this piano sound like the highest-quality acoustic piano in your living room 256 maximum levels of polyphony, 4 types of Hall Simulator, 4 types of chorus, brilliance and DSP settings, octave shift and transpose functions, and tuning control allow you to explore, create, and express any style, sound, or environment you wish to create Grand piano and electric piano buttons for quickly restoring default settings Layer, split, and duet keyboard function for making the most of your digital keyboard 10 Concert Play songs, 60 built-in demo songs, and space for 10 user-added songs give great opportunities for learning, practicing, and recording. Onboard lesson functions make it simple to learn to play, or use the Chordana Play app to learn, or use the USB port to connect to a wide range of piano learning apps and tools Generous onboard recording and playback functions allow you to share your music and hear your progress Amazon bundle comes with furniture bench, instructional book, and online piano lessons Auto power-off saves power if the keyboard is left idle

cons
Included bench only comes in black, which doesn’t match the white console, if that’s your preferred color.

An Alternative Product to Consider

For those who want to take advantage of the excellent playability and great sound of the Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano Bundle, but who feel it’s a bit out of their price range, a great alternative is the Casio Privia PX160 Bundle.

Like the Casio Privia PX-870, the Privia PX160 features

• 88 full-size simulated ebony and ivory keys
• Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II weight and touch response system
• 3 levels of touch sensitivity or turn it off
• AiR sound engine
• 4 types of chorus
• Brilliance and DSP settings
• 60 built in demo songs
• Space for 10 user-added songs
• Lesson function
• Metronome
• Grand piano button
• Split, layer, and duet keyboard functions
• Octave, transpose, and tuning controls
• 2 headphone jacks
• USB and line out ports
• Auto power-off

This Amazon bundle is also comparable to the one offered for the Privis PX870, because it includes

• A console-style keyboard stand with music rest
• A furniture-style bench
• A 3-pedal board
• An AC power supply
• Instructional book and DVD
• Two months of online piano lessons
• A polishing cloth

Of course, the Privia PX160 is a downgrade, and has some limitations when compared to the Privia PX870

• It has damper resonance, hammer response, and damper noise, but no string resonance
• It doesn’t have lid simulator, key off simulator, or key action noise simulator
• Only 128 max levels of polyphony
• 4 types of reverb instead of a hall simulator
• 18 instrument voices instead of 19
• No concert play songs
• No Chordana Play app connectivity
• Onboard recording function for only 1 song with 2 tracks
• 2 speakers instead of 4
• Speaker output of 8 watts each instead of 20

Opting for the more affordable Casio Privia PX160 bundle does mean sacrificing a few features, and considerably downgrading the quality of the onboard speakers. However, thanks to the high-quality keys and key response system, excellent AiR sound engine, and good array of features and settings, it’s not as big a sacrifice as you may think. While advanced players love the hall simulator and concert play features of the PX870, the Casio Privia PX160 Bundle is a great way to access many of the excellent qualities of the Privia PX870 at a more affordable price.

What You Need To Know in Casio Privia PX870?

Sweetwater’s Casio PX-870 Review

Conclusion

Casio Privia PX-870 (click image for more info)

The Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano Bundle is the latest and undoubtedly greatest piano in the PX line, and an update worth waiting for. This piano has incredible sound, expression, and features, while being fun to play and surprisingly affordable for its class. This attractive console piano has so much to offer for beginners and experts alike, and will bring years of enjoyment to any home.