Review: Yamaha Arius YDP-165 – Entry-Level Digital Upright Piano

The digital pianos of the current Arius generation offer improved sound characteristics, especially compared to their predecessors. The most interesting model is certainly the Yamaha Arius YDP-165, with which Yamaha combines quality with an attractive price.

The new 165 Arius is exactly the same size and design as its predecessor, the YDP-164. The same goes for the weight of 42 kilos. Currently available for around $1,800, the typical low-cost look is immediately recognizable: Compared to more expensive digital upright pianos, this piano has no front legs, the back is shorter, and the stand comes with plastic feet.

Digital Piano for the Living Room

The Yamaha YDP-165 is a classic digital piano for the living room—its high quality stems from rock-solid workmanship. The YDP-165 doesn’t have to do without small details like clips on the music stand, a felt strip behind the keys, an aluminum strip on the keyboard cover, or a headphone hook.

It comes in four color variants: Rosewood and White Ash are offered alongside the black and white versions. As always, you’ll have to assemble yourself, which Yamaha recently demonstrated in an assembly video.

Slim & Modern

If you prefer a modern digital piano instead of the classic upright piano design, the slim version Arius YDP-S55 is the right choice. While it offers the same features as the Yamaha YDP-165, it is a bit more compact in size. Another very practical feature is that the open keyboard cover doubles as a music stand. And with the keyboard cover closed, you can even use the piano as a small desk.

Tip for Beginners: Yamaha YDP-165 Bundle

Whether it’s a digital upright piano or a slim version, beginners buying their first digital piano should take a look at bundle offers from online retailers. This is the most affordable option to get both an instrument and the necessary accessories, such as a piano bench and headphones.

All the Features

The YDP-165 keeps it simple with a choice of ten sounds. Each of these sounds can be layered quickly. While the 192-note polyphony is quite high for an entry-level instrument, it lacks a bass sound and a split function. However, the Duo function for piano lessons is on board, which makes the grand piano sound playable on two separate keyboard halves. Accordingly, there are two headphone jacks in standard jack design.

The power switch and volume control are located on the right side of the keyboard, with the rest of the control panel on the far left. In the absence of a display with menu buttons, most of the piano keys are used for operation. A helpful overview can be found on the back of the included manual.

Connectivity of the YDP-165

Simply connect an Android tablet or iPad to the USB-to-host port and use Yamaha’s Smart Pianist app to control your instrument. This app adds real value and convenience. As with the Clavinovas, the USB Audio/MIDI function is also available on the Yamaha Arius series. USB Audio/MIDI is ideal for anyone who wants to easily connect their digital piano to mobile devices or audio computers for online lessons, recording with a DAW, or playing piano apps.

Grand Sound

The selling point of the Yamaha Arius YDP-165, as well as the entire current YDP series, is the sampled piano sound of a Yamaha CFX concert grand, which comes from the manufacturer’s more expensive Clavinova digital upright piano series. In the Arius series, the “CFX Grand” sounds first-class and extremely realistic. It can be played very dynamically, from pianissimo to a great fortissimo.

Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM) works in the background to create string, damper, and cabinet resonances. The difference from Clavinovas: While most grand pianos have various VRM parameters that allow you to change the character of the grand piano’s sound, the new Arius pianos only allow you to turn VRM on and off. Yamaha calls this “VRM lite”, which works with fixed basic settings. The key point, however, is that the piano sound dynamically captures these nuances, resulting in a more authentic playing experience.

The YDP-165’s nine remaining sounds provide additional powerful timbres. In addition to two grand piano variations (“Mellow” and “Pop”), there are electric piano sounds from the Fender Rhodes and DX7, a successful harpsichord with key-off samples, a full-bodied vibraphone, good church and Hammond organs, and great strings in stereo width.

Outstanding Keyboard

The YDP-165’s keyboard makes you feel right at home. The proven “Graded Hammer 3” (GH3) from the previous model is heavily weighted with four graded sections across the entire keyboard. Triple-sensor key release technology allows for repetition without having to cover the entire key range, as the third sensor makes the keys easier to press.

The white and black keys have an ivory/ebony coating for a better grip. Paired with this keyboard, the CFX-Grand plays great and is controllable right out of the box. Three dynamic curves allow you to further adjust the basic response of the keyboard.

Good Speaker System

The internal playback system of the YDP-165 uses the same two twelve-centimeter speakers and 2×20 watts of power as its predecessor. However, the new slots on the back of the cabinet make the sound appear more three-dimensional. Depending on whether the cabinet is on the wall or in the middle of the room, the slots influence the sound character.

To give it a technical name, the manufacturer calls this “Tone Escapement”. The overall sound is quite balanced for a piano of this class and can become quite powerful and voluminous. Also exemplary: The built-in speakers can be turned on or off at will, even when using headphones.

Practice Piano with the YDP-165 …

Compared to the previous generation, the Arius models offer an expanded lesson section. In addition to the 50 piano pieces for which a music book is included, there are now 303 built-in lesson songs. These are piano etudes by Hanon, Czerny, and others, i.e., practice pieces from classical piano lessons. With the Smart Pianist app, you can also play all of these pieces, including notation and tone tracking, and use the playback function to practice them yourself.

…and Smart Pianist App

The Smart Pianist app also lets you integrate audio songs from your mobile device and play them through the speakers or headphones connected to the piano. It even supports chord recognition for audio songs, allowing you to create your own lead sheets in a snap.

While the piano also has a built-in metronome and a simple two-track MIDI recorder, you can also use the app to record yourself playing in MIDI or audio song format and save it to your mobile device.

In addition, the app provides convenient graphic-based controls for all YDP-165 settings, as well as registration memories for layer sounds that are not available on the Arius itself. All in all, the Smart Pianist app is a real asset.

Yamaha Arius YDP-165 in Comparison

Yamaha YDP-165 vs. CLP-725: The closest competitor to the YDP-165 comes from Yamaha itself: The CLP-725 of the Clavinova series was introduced back in 2021. At the time of this review, it is available for nearly the same price as the newer Arius model, despite the original list prices of the two pianos being $500 apart.

Advantages of the CLP-725 are a second elaborate grand piano main sound (Bösendorfer Imperial) next to the CFX and even more polyphony (256 voices), a more three-dimensional CFX binaural sample extra for the headphones, a slightly more upscale look with front legs and a more responsive keyboard (Grand-Touch S with let-off mechanism). What the smallest CLP lacks, however, are the YDP-165’s 303 built-in practice etudes.

Otherwise, the two instruments are almost identical. There is also a luxury version, the CLP-725, with a high-gloss black finish that the Arius series does not offer. However, this version is considerably more expensive. Meanwhile, the white ash finish is only available on the Arius. The same goes for the loudspeaker slots on the back (Tone Escapement).

Yamaha YDP-165 vs. YDP-145: If you want to save some money compared to the YDP-165 and buy the little brother for less than $1,000, you have to make some concessions: The keyboard of the Yamaha Arius YDP-145 lacks the synthetic ivory and ebony keytops and the third sensor. The playback system also has less amplification power and does not sound as rich as its big brother. It also comes without a headphone jack and the console’s music clips.

Conclusion: Solid Sound and Features

The Yamaha Arius YDP-165 is rock solid in its class: An instrument for little money with some limitations, but whose sound and playing characteristics can inspire beginners and advanced players alike.

Yamaha’s ingenious app connection takes advantage of the fact that most modern households already have a tablet or at least a smartphone. The ease of use, which is always limited on an inexpensive piano, is almost a secondary consideration. The YDP-165 stands out from its predecessor with the CFX Grand à la Clavinova as well as the Tone Escapement feature and more MIDI practice material. Sounds ideal!

Yamaha Arius YDP-165 – Overview

Release date: 05.2022
Keyboard: 88 keys, Graded Hammer 3 (GH3)
Polyphony: 192 voices
Piano app: Smart Pianist, free of charge for Android/iOS
Special features: 303 practice exercises, remote control via „Smart Pianist“ app
Manufacturer/Distributor: Yamaha

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