How do Yamaha’s various Silent and TransAcoustic pianos compare with Kawai’s Anytime series?
As you will remember, a silent piano is in most respects a normal acoustic piano, with the authentic piano action. The benefit of the silent piano is the ability to plug in headphones, allowing you to play silently at anytime of the day or night, as well as the piano sounds sampled from the flagship CFX grand, app interactivity, USB connectivity and dual headphone sockets.
With all these additional technical elements, you may be wondering which is the best choice, and we know that a piano is an important and personal purchase. As piano experts, we are here simply to help provide the key information in an unbiased way so that you can make an informed decision.
And so, in brief:
The Kawai ATX3 is thought to be slightly more user friendly than its Yamaha counterparts, with a neat little screen on the left cheek of the piano that functions much like your smart phone. Scroll through a selection of 27 voices to create the sound you want or choose from a vast array of pre-set songs.
Looking for your perfect piano? Why not download our Buyers Guide to help get you started.
Kawai ATX3
The Yamaha SH2 and SC2 offer a little less choice in terms of voices and pre-set songs than the ATX3, and they do not have an inbuilt screen, requiring an iPad/iPhone or Android Tablet instead. However, what the Yamaha’s do offer is binaural sound sampling for a truly authentic piano experience. Binaural audio is a special recording method that mimics the natural human form to create 3D stereo sound, making the listener feel like they are in the room where the music was being recorded.
Yamaha SC2/SH2
In terms of tone, Kawai pianos typically have a more mellow tone in comparison to the Yamaha, which tends to be a bit brighter. Having said that, there is an option to play a Bösendorfer concert grand sound sampling on the Yamaha which means you have multiple tone options as the Bösendorfer offers a rich, mellow tone.
Overall these pianos offer many of the same features. The biggest difference is the number of voices (the Kawai ATX3 offering slightly more choice) and the sound (the Yamaha SC2 and SH2 offering binaural sound sampling for superior audio quality).
For a summary of key features compared side by side please refer to the table below:
| Yamaha SH2 | Yamaha SC2 | Kawai ATX3 | |
| Number of Voices
|
20 | 10 | 27 |
| Voice Selection
|
CFX Grand, Bösendorfer Imperial, Upright Piano, Pop Grand, Ballad Grand, Stage E.Piano, DX E.Piano, Vintage E.Piano, Harpsichord 8′, Harpsichord 8’+4′, Celesta, Organ Principal, Organ Tutti, Jazz Organ, Strings, Choir, Synth Pad, Piano + Strings, Piano + Pad, Piano + DX E.Piano
|
CFX Grand, Bösendorfer Imperial, Upright Piano, Stage E.Piano, DX E.Piano, Vintage E.Piano, Harpsichord 8′, Celesta, Organ Principal, Jazz Organ | Concert Grand, Concert Grand 2, Studio Grand, Studio Grand 2, Mellow Grand, Mellow Grand 2, Upright Piano, Rock Piano, Classic E.Piano, 60’s E.P., Modern E.P, Jazz Organ, Church Organ, Harpsichord, Harpsichord Oct., Vibraphone, Celesta, Slow Strings, Strings Pad, String Ensemble, Harp, Pizzicato Str., Choir, Wood Bass, Finger Bass, W.Bass & Ride |
| Pre-set Songs | 20 Voice Demo Songs, 50 Classics | 10 Voice Demo Songs, 50 Classics | 39 Demo Songs, 29-42 Piano Music, 88 Concert Magic, 584 Lesson Songs |
| MIDI Recording/
Playback |
Yes (No. of Songs: 10) | Yes (No. of Songs: 1) | Yes (No. of Songs on Pianist Mode: 3, No. of Songs on Sound Mode: 10) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (Audio) | – | Yes (Audio) |
| MIDI | MIDI IN/MIDI OUT | – | MIDI IN/MIDI OUT |
| Audio | AUX IN: Stereo mini jack, AUX OUT: [L/L+R][R] (Standard phone jack) | AUX IN: Stereo mini jack | LINE IN (Stereo Mini Jack), LINE OUT (Stereo Mini Jack, Headphones x2 |
| USB | USB TO DEVICE/USB TO HOST | USB TO DEVICE | USB TO DEVICE |
| Power Consumption | 12W (when using PA-300C AC adaptor) | 11W (When using PA-300C AC adaptor) | 20W |
We trust you found our brief review of the two most popular Silent systems helpful – to chat through the similarities and differences between the Kawai ATX3 and Yamaha SC2 & SH2 in more detail, or for any other queries, please get in touch by calling 020 088 5858 or using our live chat.
Looking for your perfect piano? Why not download our Buyers Guide to help get you started.
