Speakers and Piano Sound: How Good Can Digital Pianos Really Sound?

Speakers and piano sound—two things that don’t necessarily go together. After all, an acoustic piano produces sound naturally, without the need for speakers. Replicating the complex interplay of action, strings, and soundboard electronically is a major challenge for digital pianos—one that most speaker systems struggle to fully meet.

So how good can a digital piano actually sound? How do we evaluate its sound quality, and what standards apply? Digital piano enthusiasts are often left disappointed by the answers to these questions.

One thing should be clear: While both acoustic and digital pianos are designed for the same purpose, they are fundamentally different instruments. The gap between them is vast—not only in how sound is produced, but also in how it is perceived.

What’s the Difference Between Speakers and Piano Sound?

Acoustic pianos are designed to fill a room with natural resonance. In the typical wall-mounted position, an upright piano projects sound in all directions through its body and soundboard. Opening the lid allows for greater sound projection, while removing the two-part front panel makes the sound even more open and direct.

This effect is even more pronounced on a grand piano. When the lid is raised, the instrument can fill an entire concert hall with sound. It should be clear that a compact, entry-level digital piano priced at $1,000 or less cannot achieve this level of acoustic presence. Nevertheless, many players still expect a full “concert sound” in their living room.

Headphones vs. Speakers

In a way, digital pianos can reproduce the rich sound of a grand piano—when played through headphones. The stored piano samples sound like a classical recording, with concert hall reverb simulated through digital effects. More importantly, listening through headphones isolates the sound from any external acoustic influences. This highlights an essential point: You must consider not only the speakers and the piano sound itself, but also(!) the surrounding acoustic environment.

What Influence Does the Acoustic Environment Have on the Sound?

In some cases, a significant one—sometimes more than you’d expect. A typical living room is not an acoustically optimized space like a concert hall or recording studio. In general, the more reflective surfaces (e.g. empty space) in a room, the more they can negatively affect the overall sound perception. But this challenge isn’t exclusive to digital pianos. Even acoustic pianos can struggle to sound their best in such environments.

→ More on this topic: Setting Up a Digital Piano Correctly, Setting Up a Piano Correctly

What You Should Know About Sound Reproduction Systems

Due to fundamental differences in their construction, the speaker systems in digital pianos can only approximate the original sound of an acoustic piano. In an acoustic instrument, nearly every part of the piano vibrates, whereas in a digital piano, only the speaker membranes do.

In the simplest case—primarily found in entry-level digital pianos—two speakers are mounted on the underside of the instrument, emitting sound downward from the left and right. This design is the most basic way to approximate the sound projection of an acoustic piano: by creating an indirect sound field, the digital piano is perceived as a “self-sounding” instrument.

Even the most compact home digital piano performs this basic function, but does that actually sound good? Well, it certainly doesn’t live up to most expectations… While small entry-level models may struggle to fill larger spaces with sound, they generally function well in smaller music rooms.

The Bigger the Piano…

…the louder and fuller the sound. This generally applies to digital pianos as well, as larger and more expensive models tend to have more powerful speaker systems. Their larger cabinets allow for the installation of larger speakers with greater membrane surface area, enabling them to move more air and reproduce longer sound waves, resulting in richer bass response.

A great example of this is the Thomann DP-140B U. With its upright design, this digital piano makes a strong visual statement. But thanks to its powerful speaker system, it also delivers an equally impressive sound.

Speakers and Piano Sound: The 360° Method

Larger digital pianos are often equipped with more sophisticated multi-driver speaker systems. Each manufacturer has its own approach, even if the technical terms sound similar. The goal is to achieve a more natural, room-filling sound dispersion.

• Front speakers: These speakers project sound directly toward the player. In addition to downward-facing speakers, some models include additional speakers in the upper console to enhance mid/high frequencies and create a more precise stereo image at the playing position.
• Diffusors: Kawai incorporates 360° diffusers in certain models from the CN and CA series. These elements are mounted above the speakers to disperse the sound more evenly, creating a more spatial listening experience.

In the CLP-800 series, Yamaha also employs diffusers, waveguides, and bidirectional horn attachments.

Acoustic Soundboard Plus Transducer

Kawai is the only manufacturer to combine electronics and acoustics in the flagship model of the CA series to replicate the natural sound dispersion of an acoustic piano. The Kawai CA-901 features a 360° diffuser system along with a transducer-driven soundboard, combining the benefits of both digital and acoustic elements for a more authentic playing experience.

Comparison of Speakers and Piano Sound

In our test recordings for the video, we examined a variety of instruments to highlight the differences between speaker designs and price ranges.

To replicate the studio listening experience, we used a Neumann KU 100 dummy head microphone. This specialized stereo microphone captures binaural recordings*, creating a nearly three-dimensional and highly realistic sound image from the player’s perspective.

* The immersive effect of dummy head recordings can only be fully appreciated with (high-quality) headphones.

The listening tests began with two portable pianos, the Roland FP-10 and Yamaha P-525, followed by the Korg Poetry and Casio AP-750 home pianos. The comparison also includes an acoustic piano for reference.

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