Our list of the 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market looks at some of the brand’s most significant pianos to consider buying. Casio is a renowned brand that doesn’t require much of an introduction. It stands out among other profound industry names such as Yamaha, Roland, and Kawai.
Here, we’ll narrow down to only 5 pianos to help you understand what the brand has to offer. Certainly, a brand like this one has more than 5 instruments to display their top quality.
However, the five here are the best overall, and you’ll see why in the review. So, below are the 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market.
1. Casio Celviano AP-700 Digital Piano
The Casio AP-700 is the ultimate choice for looking for the brand’s most realistic digital piano. It’s one of the brand’s high-end models so expect it to have a hefty price tag. The AP-700 combines realistic sound and feel to give you the most authentic experience possible.
Features
If you like expressing your thoughts to sound, then the keyboard system of the AP-700 will ensure you accomplish just that. It features a natural playing feeling, which approaches a grand piano with a firm touch for better playability. Below are some of the essential features of the Casio AP-700 digital piano.
Keyboard
With the Tri-sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II, this Casio digital piano sets the standards on how a digital piano should feel when playing. We have reviewed Casio keyboards that have this action, and the results were always impressive.
The Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II features the grand piano’s unique sounding timing. As you may know, timing is the central indifference in the grand and digital piano’s sound structures. But with this newly-designed keyboard action, the AP-700 keyboard responds sequentially by incorporating the three-sensor system. This gives you the closest feel and touch to playing on the real thing.
Additionally, the AP-700 features simulated ebony and ivory keys that offer optimal fingertip fitting for enhanced playability. The simulated key-tops deliver a similar feel and texture that’s available on a grand piano. Also, the minute, detailed, and crimp surface of the keys will ensure that your fingers don’t slip when playing.
Sound
The quality and quantity of sound in this instrument is nothing short of impressive. Featuring Casio’s AiR Grand Sound Source, the AP-700 has three legendary piano tones. The three grand piano tones come from concert grand pianos made in Berlin, Vienna, and Hamburg.
When playing on this instrument, you can feel the three full concert grand pianos’ tonal characteristics. Among the three, the Berlin Grand piano tone is the ultimate flagship sound. It’s modeled on the legendary D282 Bechstein, which features a balanced, elegant sound with a clearly defined shape.
On top of the three legendary piano tones, the AP-700 also comes with 26 built-in sounds. You can layer these sounds for custom voices and enhance your creativity. And for the beginners, the Casio AP-700 digital piano features 60 training songs for practicing. As you would expect from a high-end model, this instrument features a maximum polyphony count of 256-notes.
That number is enough to get you through the most complex music pieces, considering that this piano also features a practical keyboard action.
Lid Simulator
This isn’t a new feature on a Casio digital piano. However, it is quite impressive as it mimics the lid action present in acoustic pianos. With the lid simulator, you can change the level and quality of volume on the AP-700 by raising or lowering the lid. This simulation capability reproduces the same acoustic effects on this digital piano.
String Resonance
With 88 keys that feature three sensitivity levels, the Casio AP-700 digital piano also comes with the String Resonance feature. Unlike in other digital piano models, the AP-700 doesn’t reproduce the string resonance effect using virtual strings.
Instead, the Morphing AiR Sound Source on this instrument adapts the string resonance system that incorporates a stereo resonance simulator for all the 88 keys. As a result, the resonance of the 88 keys is reproduced wholly and naturally.
With this capability, you can achieve varying resonances on the Casio AP-700 and control them by your touch’s strength.
Key-Off Simulator
The Key Off simulation feature reproduces tonal variations resulting from your finger release. The length of the expressions and reverberations depends on how a player releases their fingers after striking the keys.
Therefore, the Key Off Simulator on the AP-700 reproduces the nuances that result from releasing the keys naturally. As a result, you can feel authentic reverberations similar to those present in an acoustic piano.
Damper Resonance
Installed on all the AP-700’s 88 keys is the Damper Resonance that achieves more natural resonance than when using a pedal.
When playing, this feature allows you to employ pedal operation and achieve expressive performances gracefully.
The other two features that make the AP-700’s sound quality stand out are the Hall Simulator and the Concert Play. The latter features 10 high-quality recordings of live orchestra performances for sound enhancement.
Connectivity
For connection capabilities, the AP-700 provides the following:
- MIDI IN, OUT
- Headphones Stereo Standard jack x2
- Line Out, In
- USB Type-A and Type B
Our Verdict
If you are looking for the best Casio digital pianos on the market, overlooking the AP-700 would be a major miss. It packs realistic features that can deliver the most authentic playing experience.
However, the model is too pricey and feature-packed for beginners. Therefore, the Casio AP-700 digital piano requires a professional to unmask its full potentials.
2. Casio Privia PX-860 Digital Piano
Our runner-up on the 5 best Casio digital pianos list on the market is the Casio Privia PX-860 digital piano. It’s a fantastic instrument that captures the brand’s reputation for producing good quality digital pianos. The Casio PX-860 boasts several essential features to enhance playability and creativity as well.
Features
To help you understand this piano’s true capabilities below is a rundown of the PX-860’s capabilities.
Keyboard
With a fully-weighted 88-key hammer action keyboard, the piano responds naturally and nicely to whatever style you play. The keys on this piano feature ebony and ivory feel that not only responds well but also enhances your playability.
The ebony and ivory feel are features that any pro or even novice piano players should be keen on when purchasing a digital piano. That’s because it not only gives you a natural playing experience, but it can also enhance your creativity and performance.
Like the AP-700, this model also features the Tri-Sensor technology that delivers good responses created when playing. Because it’s a graded keyboard, the keys on the PX-860’s lower register feel heavier than the lighter touch as you progress to the upper register. As you may know, this is the same technique an acoustic piano applies.
In general, you can experience a well-balanced keyboard response on the Casio PX-860 digital piano. Regardless of your level as a piano player, the PX-860 allows you to express your thoughts while playing altogether.
Sound
Casio is a brand well known for producing digital pianos with top-notch sound qualities. And fortunately, the PX-860 isn’t the opposite of this brand’s reputation. This model also features the Morphing AiR Sound Source with an upgraded memory capacity, which adds authenticity to the instrument’s in-built sounds.
Unlike previous sound engines, Casio’s AiR Sound Source delivers high-quality and truer sound samples. As a result, you can hear a higher level of complexity and richness in the PX-860’s tones. This makes them sound more natural and less electronically generated.
The piano also comes with three pedals that offer you the capability to express intricate music pieces fully. Additionally, the three pedals allow half-pedaling function, which delivers a similar acoustic playing experience.
And to support the pedals’ capabilities, the Casio PX-860 also comes with a whopping maximum polyphony count of 256 voices. This number is complex enough to accommodate the most intricate pieces, regardless of the music genre.
Tones
With 18 Preset Sounds alongside the Split and Layer functions, the Casio PX-860 digital piano offers various options for recording and performing. You also have the Reverb, Chorus, and Brilliance sound effects to enhance the PX-860’s sound quality.
Besides the 18 Preset Sounds available on the PX-860, you also get ten user loaded songs and 60 built-in songs. And although the quantity of the built-in sounds and songs might not reach the sky, it’s their quality that makes the Casio PX-860 digital piano an instrument worth investing in.
Lastly, this piano also features a built-in Metronome, Transpose, and Tuning function to make the playing experience more elaborate.
Connectivity
Unlike the first option, this model doesn’t come with MIDI connectivity. However, it does feature a USB port that can facilitate the connection between your computer and the piano.
Aside from the USB port connectivity, the Casio PX-860 digital piano comes with the following connectivity features.
- Headphones Standard Stereo jacks x2
- USB Type-A and Type B
- Line Out
You’ll need to separately purchase a USB A-B cable to use the USB port for computer connection.
Our Verdict
With a sleek furniture design and sliding cover, this Casio digital piano looks pricier than it is. The keyboard of this piano tries immensely to replicate the feel of an acoustic piano’s keyboard. And from our experience with the PX-860, we can credit Casio for their excellent work.
Sound-wise, this digital piano sits up with some of the best high-end models, digital pianos. The newly designed Morphing AiR Sound Source on the PX-860 delivers a high-level of authenticity.
But like any other instrument, this also comes with a fair share of negatives. The PX-860’s sound quality sounds a bit hollow. Also, the fact that you can only record up to 5000 notes seemed a bit limiting, especially to users who play longer pieces.
Other than those two issues, everything else stacked up nicely with the Casio PX-860 digital piano as our second pick on these 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market list.
3. Casio Privia PX-S3000 Digital Piano
Our third pick is also from Casio’s Privia line, although this one is a much slimmer model than the PX-860. The Casio PX-S3000 digital piano is a thing of beauty, and the same can be said about this instrument’s capabilities.
This digital piano integrates additional features that make a hybrid arranger keyboard and digital piano. It’s visually striking, and anyone who appreciates aesthetics in digital pianos would undoubtedly love the PX-S3000’s design.
Also, it features a sleek and slim design. And the PX-S3000 and the Casio PX-S1000 are marketed as the slimmest 88-keys digital pianos on the market. Its slim and compact nature makes the PX-S3000 an ideal instrument for both home and stage use.
Features
Now that you’ve known a bit about the piano’s design let’s look at its most significant features.
Keyboard
Unlike the first two options, the PX-S3000 features the Smart Scaled Hammer Action keyboard. This keyboard action features a newly-developed 2-sensor action, specifically developed for the compact size PX-series digital pianos.
Generally, the keys felt decent to the touch, and they were responsive enough to allow quick note repetitions without any problems. But if you are coming from the Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action II keyboard, the action here will feel like a downgrade.
Mechanically, the keyboard action on the PX-S3000 feels similar to other Privia models. So, you’ll feel a heavier touch on the lower register keys and a lighter touch when progressing up the register.
On a negative note, Casio had to reduce the size of this piano’s keyboard to adapt to the compact body size. As a result, the pivot length of the keyboard was affected, making the action shorter.
But besides that, the keyboard on this instrument worked nicely, and the action was significantly less bouncy and quieter than older versions.
Although the keys are plastic, they do feature simulated ebony and ivory key surfaces. This addition makes the playing or performing experience more natural and enhances your grip to prevent your fingers from slipping.
Touch Sensitivity
When it comes to touch sensitivity, the Casio PX-S3000 digital piano features five different levels, including the Off setting.
When we compared this keyboard action to others like Roland’s PHA4 Standard and the Korg’s RH3 keyboard actions, this felt less realistic. However, this is entirely due to the reduction in the keyboard’s size and the shortened nature of the PX-S3000’s keyboard action.
Sound
Like the first two options, the PX-S3000 also features the AiR Sound Source, which is updated for all the PX-S series. When playing, you can feel the difference in this piano’s improved space, reverberation, and resonance stimulation algorithms.
Additionally, the piano also comes with 700 built-in sounds, which gives you plenty of choices to find your preferred voice. We loved this model because it doesn’t have any cut off when switching between the tones.
This means that you can sustain a tone, switch to another, and start playing it while the previous sound still plays. On to piano sounds, you get samples from an unspecified Casio 9-foot concert grand piano. We loved the versatile nature of the different piano sounds, especially the Mellow Grand, Jazz Piano, and Stage Piano presets.
They are neutral, uncolored, and respond naturally to any style play decide to play on the PX-S3000.
You also get the acoustic stimulation of the Celviano series on this model, which enables you to modify several parameters of each piano sounds. The adjustable parameters include the following:
- Damper Resonance
- String Resonance
- Key On/Off Action Noise
- And the Damper Noise
Sound Effects
The Casio PX-S3000 digital piano comes with a configurable DSP Effect, 3 Sound Mode Effects, a Chorus unit, and Variable Brilliance to enhance your performance. Below is a summary of what you can expect from all of them.
- Hall Simulator – This one replicates a large space and features four main algorithms, with each of them having tweakable intensities.
- Reverb Simulator – Unlike the hall simulator, this unit simulates smaller ambient spaces. As a result, you get more intimate sounds when playing on the PX-S3000.
- Surround Sound – Like the name, this unit simulates the virtual surround. This effect makes the speaker outputs sound like they are coming from different directions. It’s a subtle effect that gives you a lighter, more expansive sound when activated.
- DSP Effects – This allows you to edit sounds deeply using four modules that have configurable parameters. Therefore, you can tune sounds to specific sound systems and applications.
- Chorus Effect – You can engage this separately from the DSP effects, and it features 12 different intensities.
- Brilliance Effect – Lastly, you can change the PX-S3000’s sound to be mellower or brighter, thanks to its built-in Brilliance sound effect.
Connectivity
- 2x Stereo Mini Headphones jacks
- ¼†Line Out jacks
- Audio In Minijacks
- USB To Host (Type B)
- USB-MIDI
- USB flash drive port
- 3 Pedal jacks
- And Bluetooth connectivity
Our Verdict
As you have seen, the Casio Privia PX-S3000 digital piano has rightfully earned third place on our list of 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market. It’s a compact and portable instrument, which comes with different varieties of sounds.
However, the keyboard action on this piano isn’t entirely comprehensive due to its build. But what we loved about this instrument is its versatile nature. You can play any genre, and in every style, you please, and the Casio PX-S3000 digital piano will still perform comprehensively.
ALSO READ: 5 Best Beginner MIDI Keyboards to Consider Buying
4. Casio Privia PX-760 Digital Piano
Casio’s Privia line offers something different compared to most models. Hence, the Casio Privia PX-760 digital piano is another Privia model in our list of 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market. This model came as an upgrade to the brand’s successful PX-750 model.
The PX-760 comes with several upgrades from its predecessor and manages to retain some of the PX-750’s previous features. To understand why to think it’s one of the best Casio digital pianos on the market, let’s have a look at the PX-760’s capabilities.
Features
Keyboard
Your level of playability primarily depends on the nature of the piano’s keyboard. You might find a digital piano with the best sound quality but lacking in its keyboard capabilities. When that is the case, you’ll find it hard to express the sound’s full potentials.
Fortunately, Casio understands the essence of a good quality keyboard, and the Casio Privia PX-760 digital piano is an acceptable attestation. It features an 88-key Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action keyboard that delivers a high level of authenticity when playing.
As we’ve discussed this action on the previous models, it features simulated Ebony and Ivory key surfaces. This addition gives the keys a smooth and natural touch that prevents your fingers from slipping. Also, the PX-760’s keys have a weighted action like in an acoustic piano. Therefore, you’ll get to experience a heavier touch on the lower register keys and a lighter touch on the upper register keys.
Additionally, the keyboard’s three sensors’ capability will capture your dynamic of the play and give you unparalleled speed and accuracy. The Tri-sensor capability is what you need if you are looking for a Casio digital piano that can give you the ultimate key-to-sound feel and response. It delivers a similar action and feels to when playing on a grand piano.
Sound
Using the AiR Sound Technology present in all the Privia models, there’s plenty to love about the PX-760’s sound quality. As you may know, the AiR Sound Source utilizes samples from grand pianos. The recordings feature four dynamic sampling techniques to ensure that you get piano sounds with natural decays and immensely rich qualities.
Moreover, the PX-760 features String, Damper, and Pedal simulation to enhance the sound’s realism further. And with a maximum polyphony count of 128-notes, you can play your most complex pieces on the PX-760 and get an all-around performance.
Tones
On this model, you get five stereo-sampled Grand Piano sounds, including:
- Concert
- Mellow
- Modern
- Bright
- And Classic
These sounds allow you to experience richer, more profound, and much grander piano performance on the PX-760. You also get an additional 13 instrument sounds ranging from Organs, Strings to Electric Pianos, among other additions.
For beginners, the Casio Privia PX-760 comes with a provided Lesson function that features 60 built-in demo songs with an additional ten user-loaded songs.
On to the PX-760’s sound effects, you get the Brilliance, Chorus, and Reverberation effects. The three will help you in enhancing the overall space and nature of the sound. They are also well customizable, and you can apply settings to suit your playing style or genre of music.
The other notable additional feature on the Casio Privia PX-760 digital piano is its built-in Metronome. This feature allows you to practice timing and rhythm; something can be highly beneficial to novice players.
Connectivity
Due to technological advancements, digital pianos are now also ranked based on their level of integration with other musical interfaces. As a result, most people now prefer instruments compatible with several musical devices for enhanced performance.
Hence, the Casio Privia-PX 760 digital piano is nothing different from the explanation and has enough connectivity features. They include:
- 3 Pedal jacks (Soft, Damper, and Sostenuto)
- Headphones (standard stereo jacks) x2
- USB Type B
Though it lacks MIDI connectivity, you can utilize the PX-760’s USB connection capability to connect the piano with your computer. But for that to happen, you’ll need to purchase a USB A-B cable separately.
Our Verdict
The Casio PX-760 digital piano is an ideal instrument for both home and stage use. Though the PX-760 doesn’t have a vast selection of voices, it certainly delivers high quality from the available tones.
Its keyboard action is also impressive with an action that’s present on the brand’s high-end models. The piano does feature a less polyphony count and fewer connectivity features compared to the other three models. But this is to be expected as we trickle down our list of 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market.
In conclusion, the Casio PX-760 digital piano is an instrument capable of adequately serving both the beginner’s and professional players’ needs.
5. Casio Privia PX-870 Digital Piano
Capping off our list of the 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market is the Casio Privia PX-870 digital piano. It’s also an upgrade from the previous model, the PX-860, and the PX870 is the new Privia Flagship.
Therefore, the Privia line being amongst the most preferred digital piano line on the market, expect nothing less from the Casio PX-870 digital piano.
Features
Like most Privia line keyboards, this one also features a modern cabinet design. The PX-870 is a compact and stylish digital piano capable of fitting into any décor. And unlike other cabinet designs on the Privia pianos, the one present on the PX-870 is more seamless and shorter.
This makes it suitable for tight spaces such as in a studio or a small apartment. It comes with a newly-developed four-speaker sound projection system that delivers top-quality surround sounds. And to prevent keys from getting dusty when the piano isn’t in use, the PX-870 comes with a pull-out keyboard cover.
Keyboard
Because it’s the new Privia Flagship, don’t expect anything short of impressive from the PX-870’s keyboard action. This model also comes with Casio’s Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II. The action incorporates the grand piano’s specific timing and sounds to give you the most natural playability.
Additionally, the three sensor features can detect each key-stroke sequentially in all of the PX-870’s 88 keys. And to improve the playability whenever you strike the keys repeatedly, the three sensors allow continuous sound production. That’s when even a key hasn’t returned to its original position.
And as is the norm with Casio’s Privia digital pianos, the PX870 also features a weighted hammer action on all the 88 keys available. Therefore, the keyboard’s lower register keys feel heavier, while the upper register keys feel lighter to the touch. You also get 3-touch sensitivity levels on this piano.
They include the Soft, Medium, and Hard with the Medium touch-sensitivity level possessing the most natural sound and feel, regardless of the pressure you apply when playing the keys.
Lastly, on the keyboard, the PX-870 features simulated Ebony and Ivory key surfaces for enhanced playability and a natural feel.
Sound
As a Privia flagship, the Casio PX-870 digital piano features the Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Engine. This sound engine provides high-quality piano sounds, sampled from the brand’s 9-foot concert grand pianos.
Therefore, you get increased memory capacity on the PX-870’s sound, enabling the production of deep sounds featuring immense accuracy. You also get a 4-layer piano sound system that produces smooth and vibrant sounds, which feature a natural decay.
The PX-870 comes with 19 built-in sounds, with 5 of them being Grand Pianos. They might not be plenty, but their qualities certainly match this piano’s tagline. And to deny any early cut-offs when playing your most complex pieces on the PX-870, you get a maximum polyphony count of 256-notes on this model.
And like the AP-700, the Casio Privia PX-870 digital piano also comes with the following sound enhancement capabilities.
- Lid Simulator
- String Resonance
- Key-Off Simulator
- Hall Simulator
- And Concert Play
Besides these sound features, you also get a Headphone Mode and a Volume Sync EQ. The former creates an inclusive sonic image when wearing headphones, while the latter allows you to balance the low volume sound by adjusting its quality in both high and low registers.
Connectivity
As for connection capabilities, the Casio Privia PX-870 digital piano offers the following:
- 2x ¼†Stereo Headphones jacks
- USB to Host
- Flash Drive Port
Our Verdict
As the new flagship of Casio’s Privia line of digital pianos, the PX-870 is a thing of beauty. You get a keyboard action worth professional performance and a top-notch sound engine. Additionally, the new 4-layer piano tone on this piano produces rich tonal variations that deliver the most fulfilling aspects of the sound’s natural decay.
If indeed, you are looking for the best Casio digital pianos on the market, you can’t afford to overlook the PX-870.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, our 5 best Casio digital pianos on the market review. The list looks at some of the best models from the brand without discriminating or biasing against other models. We know that there are more Casio offerings on the market.
But according to our in-depth research based on Keyboard Action, Sound, and Connectivity features, the five above stacked up nicely.
They delivered their fullest potentials, and we highly recommend them due to their impressive, responsive, and comprehensive capabilities.
