Casio PX-870 Digital Piano

Product Overview

Despite breaking into the higher end digital market over the last several years, Casio’s bread and butter over their 40 years of manufacturing digital pianos has been the entry-level and intermediate market. Casio digital pianos are synonymous in the industry for exceptional value. The Casio Privia PX-870 home digital piano is another example that attests to this and offers a great alternative to brands like Yamaha and Roland.

The PX-870 is the flagship home model of the Privia series, and in the greater context of the entire digital piano market, functions as an intermediate, mid-range option, meaning it’s built to compete with models like Roland F140R, Kawai’s KDP-110, and Yamaha’s YDP164.

Replacing the popular PX-860, improvements found in the PX-870 include a new 4 layer piano sound and an upgraded speaker system.  You’ve got Casio’s proprietary AiR Sound Source (Acoustic and intelligent Resonator) offering up an authentic grand piano sound, and 19 total onboard sounds, plus the tried and true Tri-sensor II Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard. All of this makes the PX-870 one of the top intermediate home digital pianos on the market.

The Action

Casio has equipped the PX870 digital piano with its Tri-Sensor 88-note scaled hammer action keyboard II. The action is well-weighted, but a little ‘mechanical’ in comparison to the latest Roland or Kawai actions. This might not be a deal-breaker for some, but it is worth noting. It is overall well-scaled across the entire key range and has three adjustable levels of touch sensitivity.

The action has simulated ebony and ivory key surfaces which give the keyboard a unique feel, especially the ivory textures. There is a sense that it’s a heavier action, but from our perception, it’s the dynamic resistance that feels a little bulkier than normal – the amount of weight it takes to get the key in motion (static resistance) still feels totally consistent with an acoustic piano.

Piano Sound

Casio uses what they call the Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR (Acoustic and intelligent Resonator) tone generator, which is essentially a 4-velocity layer sample-based engine, with the added synthesis of variables such as damper resonance and hammer response.

The PX870 features 256 notes of polyphony which is sufficient for complex classical music, and overall delivers a pretty satisfying piano sound. Also present is Casio’s new Sound Projection system which has helped in overall more detailed sound. There’s a powerful 40-watt, 4-speaker system that has been redesigned to produce sound from various places on the instrument, much like an acoustic grand piano. They’ve also added a Volume Sync EQ feature to produce a more balanced, clear sound across the entire frequency range, at every listening volume. There’s also a special headphone mode feature that enhances the headphone playing experience.

There are 19 total onboard instrument tones here, including organ, pad sounds electric pianos, harpsichord, and more. The PX870 also features duet mode which allows the keyboard to be split into two equal ranges so a student and a teacher can use the piano simultaneously.

Connectivity

With regards to connectivity, the Casio PX870 is a bit on the limited side, offering USB to host, audio line out, and 2 1/4″ headphone inputs. This instrument is mainly used for playing and practicing at home, so it wasn’t built for people seeking tons of connectivity in mind. That being said, Casio has other options with more connectivity options if that’s important to you.

Notable Features

The Concert Play is an impressive feature found in the PX870 that is definitely going to be a super cool add-on for some folks. Concert Play essentially allows you to play orchestral pieces along with a symphony orchestra.

• AiR Sound Source tone engine
• 19 onboard sounds
• 256 note polyphony
• 40 watts of speaker power
• Acoustic Simulator Parameters for Piano Tones: Hammer Response – (4 levels), String Resonance – (4 levels), Damper Resonance – (4 levels), Lid Simulator – (4 levels), Key Action Noise – (ON / OFF), Damper Noise – (ON / OFF)
• 88 note Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard II
• Duet mode, Transpose  (-12 semitones ~ 0 ~ +12 semitones)
• Digital Effects: Hall Simulator / Reverb – 4 (Hall Simulator), Chorus – 4, Brilliance – (-3 ~ 0 ~ 3), DSP – (Preset for some tones)
• On-board lesson function
• Music Library: 60 songs
• On-board USB Audio Recording: Two track MIDI recorder
• Built-in 3-pedal unit with soft, sostenuto, and damper pedals
• Metronome
• AC power supply, music stand, and built-in key cover included
• Conclusions

For those seeking the best the Privia series has to offer, but looking for something for the home with a stylish cabinet, the PX870 is just the ticket.