Welcome to another digital piano review here at Merriam Pianos. Today we’re reviewing the Casio Celviano AP-470 digital piano. The AP-470 has been with us for a little while, but it’s the first time we’ve had a chance to take a look at it, and its popularity has remained pretty strong in the marketplace.
We’ll cover all of the relevant points of consideration and be discussing how it compares to the Privia PX-870, another Casio piano with similar specs, as well as some other digital pianos available for a similar price.
Be sure to check out the accompanying video review as well!
Casio AP 470 – Opening Thoughts
We’ve been reviewing more and more Casio’s over the past year or so, and that’s almost entirely due to customer/viewer demand.
We think this demand is ultimately coming from the fact that Casio has done a great job of continually improving their products while maintaining a value pricing model. Casio wasn’t on par with the Rolands, Kawais and Yamahas of the world, but that’s no longer the case.
Casio’s Increasing Prominence
The latest batch of Casios are now totally giving some of the more prominent models from other manufacturers a run for their money. There are a few areas where Casio still has some room to grow. But when you look dollar-for-dollar at what they’re providing, their products are in many cases a higher value than what you would get out of some of the other companies.
Price Range
The AP-470 certainly fits this description. In Canada, it comes in under $2,100, and in the United States, it generally retails for around $1,700. For that price, you’ll be comparing to staples like the Roland F701, Kawai CN-29 and Yamaha YDP164.
On that note, let’s begin our look at the Casio AP-470BK by checking out the sound, and exactly what separates it from the less expensive PX-870.
Casio Celviano Digital Piano Sound
40 Watt 4-Speaker System
The first upgrade over the PX-870 is the presence of four speakers instead of two. The AP-470 has two tweeters, although they’re fairly large, so they’re actually more like mid-range speakers.
There’s a panel running across the body of the instrument that actually contributes to the acoustic experience here. It properly directs those higher frequencies at your ear, somewhat similar to what you would get on an upright piano.
Then we’ve got two main speakers on the bottom, which are focusing the majority of the lower and the mid-range frequencies down at the floor, like what you would get with a grand piano. In total, there are 40 watts of power coming from the amplifiers here.
Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source
The sound engine is Casio’s Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source, which is a 4 sample layer engine with extra synthesis of things like String Resonance, Damper Resonance, Hammer Response, Key-Off Simulator and a Lid Simulator. If you’re looking at this engine compared to the slightly more expensive Kawai CN-29’s Progressive Harmonic Imaging engine, what’s going to be the core difference between these engines?
The core sound on both instruments is actually quite similar. That said, one area where the AP-470 is slightly behind is with regard to the authenticity of the note decay.
With that in mind, it’s falling somewhere in between the KDP-110 and CN-29 for overall authenticity of sound for example.
Digital Audio Effects
You’re given a little bit of control over the sound in terms of having the ability to edit certain digital effects like DSP, Chorus, Brilliance and Reverb courtesy of the Hall Simulator, but not as much control over other acoustic effects as some other options in the $2,000 price range.
256-Note Polyphony
In terms of polyphony, we’ve got 256 notes here which is typically the top end of what you’ll see with sample-based sound engines.
Even around 80 notes of polyphony are going to be enough for solo piano playing, so 256 ensures that even with effects running and layering happening you won’t ever have to worry about notes dropping away.
Other Sounds
The AP 470 features 22 sounds to play with, and you can navigate those with the Chordana Play for Piano app, or with very nice little cheat labels just behind the keys.
22 is a decent selection of onboard tones. Among those is a selection of grand piano tones, which seems to be 2 different grand piano sound samples (Grand Piano 1 and Grand Piano 2) with different signal processing going on. Casio calls each piano a different name such as Bright, Mellow, Pop etc.
After the acoustic piano patches, there’s a nice collection of electric pianos, as well as some organs, strings and a few other staples.
Sound Wrap-Up
So, the big difference between the PX-870 and this Celviano digital piano with regards to sounds comes down to a better speaker system here, a few more sounds and an upgraded cabinet.
Key Action – Tri-Sensor Hammer Action
Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II
The AP-470 is actually using the same hammer action you’ll find on the PX-870 with their Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II, with 3 adjustable sensitivity levels.
Textured Keytops
The weighting is nice, as is the feeling of the key bed. The keytops feature simulated ebony and ivory key texture which provide just the right amount of texture to keep your fingers from slipping.
Roland and Kawai are also providing nice key textures in this price range, while Yamaha oddly is not as of yet.
Triple Sensor Detection
The touch response is very solid – a beginner won’t have a problem progressing to some intermediate level repertoire with this action, and courtesy of the Triple Sensor detection, a wide range of dynamics are easily achievable.
Kawai and Roland are also including triple sensor actions in this price range, but Yamaha is only on certain models.
Action Wrap-Up
This is definitely one of the stronger plastic actions available in the category, but we wouldn’t call it the best in class overall seeing as it doesn’t offer any escapement, nor does it have any counterweights. It is also a bit louder than some others in terms of action noise.
Features & Connectivity
Cabinet
One of the key upgrades over the PX-870 here is the cabinet itself. The AP-470 features a much larger and more substantial cabinet than what Casio is offering with the PX-870.
The PX-870 has kind of a sleek, contemporary appearance, while the AP-470 looks much more like a traditional upright piano.
Connectivity, Recorder & Chordana Play App
The AP-470 also has the ability to record both USB Audio (WAV Format) and MIDI onto a USB flash drive, and it’s got a USB connection so you can hook it up to a computer, as well as the Chordana app on a Smartphone.
The Chordana App for iOS and Android is definitely worth checking out, as in addition to allowing you to control the instrument from a graphic interface, also lets you view PDF scores and work edit MIDI files.
Other connectivity includes dual headphone ports and a built-in 3-pedal unit with half-pedal operation.
Concert Play & Lesson Function
Then there’s the Concert Play feature which gives 10 audio recordings of a full symphony orchestra that you can either play along with or simply sit back and listen to.
Next, there’s a lesson function where you can turn on/off the left-hand or right-hand parts to really hone in and practice difficult parts. And of course, things like a metronome, duet mode and transpose are all here too.
Includes Piano Bench
The last thing worth mentioning, and it’s also an upgrade over the PX-870, is that Casio ships the AP-470 with a piano bench, which is definitely nice to see.
Closing Thoughts
Thanks for joining us for our run-through of the Casio AP 470. For many, it will be worth the jump from the instruments around the $1,500 range, and it’s well enough below $2,500 to occupy some real middle ground between those two price points.
Check out the video above for an even deeper dive!
