Overview

The LX Series from Roland is one of the most respected digital piano lines on the globe and almost always comes up when discussing high-quality instruments. These pianos are equipped with Roland’s top tone engines, key actions, limitless polyphony as well as brilliantly engineered and put-together speaker and amp systems. They really sing!

The LX pianos are Roland’s upright piano offering and have been awarded for design innovation. They’re available in: Polished Ebony (all models), Polished White (LX708 only), Charcoal Black (all models),  Dark Rosewood (LX705/LX706) as well as Light Oak (LX705 only).

As the flagship model of the LX Series, the Roland LX708 is a genuine marvel of the industry. It’s quite literally got it all’, and in many respects can be considered the upright piano version of their GP series pianos.

The LX708 digital piano features the ‘Pure Acoustic Piano Modeling’ tone engine and the ‘Hybrid Grand Keyboard’ Action which together combine to create an incredibly authentic piano playing experience that will satisfy the demands of the most discerning pianists. Roland has created both American and European modeled piano tones for the LX Series which gives the musician a choice between the two big schools’ of piano style.

There’s a jaw-dropping 4-way/8-speaker audio system onboard the LX708, which is one of the most impressive audio systems on any digital piano, but especially impressive for the under 10k range. The speakers are strategically positioned.

Design awards in the digital piano industry aren’t common, but the LX708 received the ‘Good Design Award’ from the Japan Institute of Design and Promotion. The cabinetry on this model is truly beautiful, and it’s the only LX model to feature a top lid that opens and a genuine upright piano fallboard.

The LX708 is a piano that simply does not compromise.

Piano Action

The Roland LX708 features the ‘Grand Feel Keyboard Action’ which is the best action that Roland offers/makes. This same action can be found in their Grand piano models: the GP607 and GP609 as well as the LX706.

The ‘Grand Feel Keyboard Action’ is in essence the PHA-50 action but with longer key lengths. Many professional pianists and keyboard players will already be familiar with Roland’s PHA-50 action and the added key length makes it feel even more like a grand piano with more motion and control for the player.

This action is very sensitive to the touch, offers a realistic grading across the range of the instrument, and even has textured keys. It’s both very pleasant to play but also very durable / well built.

Sound Engine

Roland uses their extremely sophisticated ‘PureAcoustic Modelling’ technology in the LX708, which is a completely ‘sound modelled’ tone engine (no sampling). This gives the musician far more control over the sound of their instrument, and allows for higher levels of expression and nuance, like on an acoustic piano. There are certain details of an acoustic piano that are practically impossible to recreate with just sound sampling in a digital instrument, which is why Roland’s approach with their ‘PureAcoustic Modelling’ technology has received such high praise.

There are two modelled piano sounds in the LX708, representing the “two main schools” of piano style: European and American. Roland has also found a way to give both of these piano sounds: limitless polyphony. This is a really big deal as it puts literally no limit to the amount of tonal complexity the piano can produce. This combination of a purely modelled tone engine with an unlimited amount of polyphony makes the LX Series pianos from Roland wonderfully engaging and expressive instruments to play and makes them a genuine alternative to an acoustic piano.

The LX708 is equipped with an impressive 4-way/8-speaker system driven by a powerful amp, which will fill any home with a beautiful and full sound. The speakers are strategically positioned in the cabinet of the instrument to replicate the resonance and projection of an acoustic piano. Roland’s ‘Acoustic Projection’ speaker technology allows the LX708 to even recreate details of an acoustic all the way down to string resonance, hammer noise, and even cabinet resonance. On the LX708, there are two large cabinet speakers, two near field speakers under the keybed, and four spatial speakers on the upper part of the cabinet (front and top) for a fully immersive tone. This piano puts out 74W of speaker power and is an excellent audio system to stream music on with a wireless Bluetooth connection.

Connectivity

In terms of connectivity options, the Roland LX708 literally has it all. It offers both types of Bluetooth: MIDI and Audio, making it easy to connect to other devices wirelessly – whether you’re looking to work with a popular tablet app or stream your music through the piano’s speakers when entertaining.

There are also two headphone ports (with Roland’s Acoustic Headphone Projection Technology), a DC in Jack, Input Jacks: stereo miniature phone type, Output Jacks: (L/Mono R) ¼ inch phone type, a USB Type A Port and a USB Type B port.

Notable Features

Being that the LX708 is the flagship model of the LX series, there are many notable features that can be discussed here, but the cabinet of the instrument should certainly be highlighted. The LX708’s cabinet is the tallest of the LX series and resembles an upright piano the most. The polished ebony version uses the exact same material/finish quality as a good quality acoustic piano and apart from looking stellar, will be super durable for many decades to come. The top lid of the LX708 opens as well, which affects the tone of the piano, just like if you were to open the top lid of an upright. Add to this a genuine fall board and a grand-style music desk, and it becomes very clear why the LX708 was awarded the ‘Good Design Award’ from the Japan Institute of design and Promotion.

• Piano Sound: PureAcoustic Piano Modeling
• Max. Polyphony
  • Piano: Limitless (solo playing using ‘Piano’ category tones)
  • Other: 256
• Keyboard
  • Hybrid Grand Keyboard: Wood and Plastic Hybrid Structure, with Escapement, Ebony/Ivory Feel and Haptic Key Vibration (88 keys)
• Speakers
  • Cabinet Speakers: 25 cm (9-7/8 inches) x 2 (with Speaker Box)
  • Near-field Speakers: (12 cm (4-3/4 inches) x 8 cm (3-3/16 inches)) x 2 (with Speaker Box)
  • Spatial Speakers: (12 cm (4-3/4 inches) x 8 cm (3-3/16 inches)) x 2
  • Spatial Speakers: 2.5 cm (1 inches) x 2 (Dome type)
• Bluetooth
  • Audio: Bluetooth Ver 3.0 (Supports SCMS-T content protection)
  • MIDI: Bluetooth Ver 4.0
• Compatible Android / iOS Apps (Roland)
  • Piano Every Day
  • Piano Designer
• Convenient Functions
  • Metronome (adjustable Tempo/Beat/Down beat/Pattern/Volume/Tone)
• Display
  • Graphic OLED 128 x 32 dots

Conclusions

The LX708 is the flagship model in Roland’s incredible LX Series and is perfect for anyone looking at digitals for functionality purposes, but refuses to sacrifice piano performance or aesthetic. Packed with the best of the best that Roland has to offer, the LX708 is sure to impress pianists of all skill levels.

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Owner's Manual

• [English] LX708 Owner’s Manual

Roland LX708 Related Resources

• [VIDEO] Roland LX708 Digital Piano Review & Demo – LX Series Luxury Digital Uprights
• [VIDEO] Kawai NV5 vs Roland LX708 Hybrid Digital Piano Review & Demo – Cutting Edge Hybrid Technology

Additional Information