Casio Privia PX-150 Review
Casio has worked hard to push forward their line of digital pianos, whether it is the Privia series, or the line of exquisite Celviano pieces. While the Celviano series focuses more on the elegant feel and experience of an upright piano, the Privia series has focused on providing a comprehensive learning and playing experience for the serious pianist. With all sincerity, I have to admit that Casio is doing a wonderful job.
The Casio Privia PX-150 is the next step up from the PX-130 in providing this experience. Their aim was to take an already wonderful machine and continue to add on, only making it greater than before, all while keeping it at an affordable price. Many would be surprised to know most of the features present on the PX-150 appear in many of the higher-end pieces of the Privia series.
Your Piano Buying Guide
Below, please enjoy the interactive guide that was created to make your piano purchase easier. Compare the very affordable Casio Privia PX 150 to the best pianos in its class.
| Photo | Model | Features |
|---|---|---|
 | Casio PX-S1100 | 192-note polyphony; 18 built-in tones |
 | Yamaha P-125 | GHS Weighted Action |
 | Alesis Prestige Artist | 30 voices, 256 polyphony |
 | Casio CDP-S360 | 128 Notes of Polyphony |
 | Yamaha P-515 | 40 Voices, 18 Drum/FX Kits, 480 XG Voices |
 | Casio PX-870 | Redesigned Cabinet, Speaker System |
 | Korg LP-180 | Natural Weighted Hammer Action |
 | Casio PX-770 | 128 Note Polyphony |
Casio PX150 review: Features
The PX-150 retains much of the simple, yet defined look that made the Casio PX-130 great. It can be purchased in the customary black finish, but now also in a beautiful ivory white color that could fit well in any home décor.
While I’m speaking of ivory, let me get right to one of the greatest additions to this new model: the ebony and ivory textured keys! As someone who gets excited about a bringing a real acoustic experience to the digital piano, I couldn’t think of a more creative innovation. No more nasty plastic keys that have accompanied most keyboards and digital pianos. These keys have an actual ebony and ivory texture that realistically mimics an actual piano.
Many of the same dimensions from the PX-130 have returned, with the piano being about 52 inches long and 11 inches wide, enough to accommodate the 88 keys. They’ve done well to create a fashionable stand for the piano that fits great with the overall design, in the CS-67 stand. This stand wonderfully accommodates a state-of-the-art, SP-33 three-pedal unit, which replicates exactly what you would find on most pianos, with sustain, soft, and sostenuto pedals.
And below, be sure to check out the best selling digital pianos online so that you can compare their prices and features to the PX-150:
| BEST SELLERS |
|---|
| 1) Casio PX-S3100 |
| 2) Casio PX-870 |
| 3) Roland RP-102 |
| 4) Yamaha P-515 |
| 5) Roland FP-90X |
More Features of the Casio 150
However, the engineers at Privia have been able to manage to fit more into less, and at a mere 20 pounds Casio is able to proudly boast that the standalone Privia PX-150 is the lightest digital piano in the world! This is absolutely perfect for the individual who needs to carry the piano around to rehearsals or performing events.
Casio surely doesn’t stop there to boast about themselves. They’ve gone to great lengths to tout their new complete AiR Sound Source technology. AiR stands for ‘Acoustic and intelligent Resonator’, which is pretty much their fancy way of saying they’ve done everything to make their pianos sound real. While sounding a bit full of themselves, the truth is AiR packs a pretty significant punch.
AiR has lossless audio compression technology, which allows recorded samples and sounds to be reproduced without any decrease in quality. AiR also incorporates its String Resonance System, which uniquely replicates the response of all 88 strings when the damper pedal is pressed. Personally, I thought whoever came up with that idea alone should be given a promotion.
AiR also incorporates Casio’s state-of-the-art Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action, which gives the keys their weighted feel and the hammer-action of a real piano. Keys along the bass are heavier, and as they scale towards the treble, they become lighter and lighter. The sensors also detect how heavy the keys are being played, and respond accordingly.
There is a nifty audio recording function incorporated into the system with AiR, which allows users to record compositions on flash drives and transport them directly to the computer. The USB/MIDI port enables the machine to be ready to play, simply meaning that you can hook this Privia up to any machine, Windows or Mac, and even iPad, and it will immediately start working without any drivers or installations.
The sound system on the PX-150 isn’t one of its brightest spots, but it certainly will get the job done. The machine has two built-in 13 by 6 cm speakers, which give off a good enough sound. However, as many piano players like myself have found with this machine, once you put on a pair of headphones it’s like you’ve entered a whole new world. The sound quality in the headphones is just amazing! I found that once I got used to experiencing the piano with the headset it was hard to go back. If anyone is still unsatisfied they can hook up an amplifier for an even better sound.
This digital piano comes with 18 built-in tones, 2 more than the PX-130, and five of them being distinctive grand piano tones – grand, modern, classic, mellow, and bright. Personally, I believe the grand piano tones are the best thing going for the Privia series in general, and once you hear the machine you’ll understand why. Privia has gone to great lengths to adjust and perfect the grand piano sound, and they’ve done this by layering four different grand piano samples and using their patented Linear Morphing technology to easily change between them. When a skilled pianist sits down with the Privia PX-150, it really brings all this wonderful engineering to life.
The Duet Mode, layer, and split functions have also returned from the PX-130, which allow the keyboard to be divided into different sections, whether to play different instruments or accommodate student-teacher piano sessions. There are also two headphone jacks for that reason, as well. For digital effects, there are 4 different types of reverb, along with four different types of chorus effect, so you can achieve whatever type of environment you desire. There is also a transpose function and Music Library which contains over 60 internally stored demo songs and pieces.
Conclusion
With the quality machine you’re getting in the PX150, this is an instrument that provides you with a great price–especially compared to its competitors. If you’re considering similar pianos, such as the Casio CDP 120 or Casio 130, you should strongly consider opting for the 150 instead.
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