Topic: Yamaha CVP 709 and Pianoteq 5
I thought I would write something about my adventures with Pianoteq 5 and this Yamaha digital piano. One of the distinctive features of the piano is the elaborate internal speaker system with subwoofer and spruce cone speakers that does sound very hifi. Of course as with any digital piano there are going to be colourations to the sound which detract from vivid realism compared to a well maintained acoustic. But the CVP 709 is not bad and its really fun to play. It has the same key board as a CLP585 and one of the great things about it is the ability to play softly, dynamically and with a good responsive connection to the sound.
The main on board piano models are the Yamaha CFX and the Bosendorfer Imperial. I think I prefer the CFX through the speakers with lower reverb as this sounds bright, lively and a little more distinct. The Bosendorfer is more mellow and European in sound and works particularly well through headphones. It really is a toss up between the two with headphones and my choice often based more on my mood. I must say coming out of headphones I do notice the speaker coloration much more until my ears get used to the sound.
What has surprised me is how good Pianoteq 5 sounds through the speakers. I am using an apple macbook pro with a usb to host into the apple and an audio connection into the apple speaker input. Turning off the main local control on the Yamaha allows me to play the selected model and preset straight from Pianoteq 5. I use the pianos output for headphones. The Model B, the D4 and the K2 sound pretty good. In particular I'm getting some very pleasing results with Model B. All of these pianos improve when I use the headphones from the laptop. However, I still find myself leaning toward the two internal piano sounds through the systems speakers. The exception is the Bluethner Daily Practice. It sounds really wonderful, better than the internal sounds and better than other Pianoteq 5 sounds channelled through the Yamaha to my ear. I'm amazed really. It works brilliantly through speakers and headphones and even tames some of the speaker colouration and helps to improve the definition of the notes. I have tried all sorts of presets and FPX's on all of the above and cannot beat out this Bluethner daily practice.
This result has really helped me to appreciate Pianoteq 5 which is a fantastic piece of software. In addition, the on board upright piano sound of the Yamaha is frankly dreadful, very digital and at times almost electronic. The Pianoteq upright U4 is superb in comparison and completely blows the yamaha upright out of the water. Its hard to imagine how Mozart can improve on this kind of stuff.
Kind Regards, Paul H
