Yamaha YDP165

Description

Nice sounding digital piano with fully-weighted keys and 4 dynamic levels making it a good piano
to learn and progress on.
Recommended up to grade 6 level.

What’s it lacking?

The sound output is not great compared with the Clavinova range or other similarly priced
digital pianos such as the Broadway BW1 and Gewa DP300G.
This is due to the Yamaha’s smaller acoustic box and speakers (number and size).

Rent-to-Buy from £35 per month. Rental goes towards cost, more info

 

Part Exchange

Do you have a Yamaha YDP165 For Sale?
UK Pianos can buy it from you, or part-exchange it.
Please email photos to admin@ukpianos.co.uk

 

Recommended accessories for Yamaha YDP165

Headphones: Hadley HB20

Piano Stool: Hadley HS100

Dust cover

 

Reviews

None yet

 

Questions

“Yamaha YDP165 or Broadway BW1, which is better?”

Hi Graham

I have spent a fair bit of time looking at your advice, reviews and very useful bible on digital pianos. I am looking to replace a tired old acoustic upright Pianola that is probably teaching my daughter bad habits due to it’s poor action, dud spots and lack of tuning. She is currently working towards Grade 4 and the time is right to invest in the right tools for the job. (I am also keen to see if I can build on my Grade 3 skills learnt a million years ago and not honed since).

I am a little torn between the Yamaha YPD165 and Broadway BW1. I like the look of the functionality on the Yamaha and the ability to link it to an App – I suspect this may appeal to a 12 year old and encourage more practice.

Meanwhile – I like the Bluetooth capability of the Broadway and know that you rate it highly. I have some nervousness around it being less familiar to me as a brand – but I am a very naive buyer in this market.

I know that the most important things are feel, dynamic range, and sound quality. I understand the BW1 has 5 dynamic levels – can you let me know how many the YDP165 has?

Any other advice will be greatly appreciated,

Many thanks

Reply/ Hi Mark

The Yamaha YDP165 has 4 dynamic levels.

It’s a similar piano to the Broadway BW1
both in key feel and tone quality.

Speaker size is the same, specs are similar,
so is the size and shape.

The Broadway has a warmer, more mellow
tone than the Yamaha… so if you’re playing
classical music then it might suit you better.

The Yamaha sound is brighter than the Broadway,
which makes is good for playing jazz.

Let me know if you have any questions or
would like to place an order.

Yours pianistically

Graham Howard
Piano Advisor

Further information/

Graham

Thank you for your reply and for your very generous offer. Unfortunately the Broadway is just too wide for the available space and so I have had to go elsewhere – and, once again, used your advice to help source a reputable supplier.

I really do appreciate the willingness you have shown to provide genuine help and support for those looking to invest in a piano – and, but for the supply issue, would have been very happy to purchase from you even if I had seen a better price elsewhere. Please be assured that you are firmly saved in my browser favourites and will my first port of call for accessories, other equipment, etc in the future.

With very best wishes, Mark E

—

Hi Graham

Thanks for your email. I’ve read the digital piano bible before. We also exchanged a few emails. I reckon it might have been on two separate occasions. Last time it was before Xmas 2022. I didn’t buy a piano on that occasion as our circumstances changed. Things have settled down since then and we are back to the stage where we are trying to choose a digital piano. We are leaning towards a Yamaha (we just adore the brand. I play a Yamaha saxophone and my wife’s got a Yamaha guitar) and thinking about going for one either on Black Friday or Cyber Monday hoping to find a better price. We’ve got our eyes on either the YDP-165 or CLP-735. I wonder what your thoughts?

Further/ I reckon I forgot the most important question, what which I saw being asked by one of your subscribers and there was no clear answer. You praise the Broadway brand and I don’t doubt it’s really good. Yet in the bible Broadway pianos have scored significantly less points than Yamaha. That’s why I’m baffled. It’s presumably worth mentioning that I’m not bothered with the tone or the resale value. I guess the most important to me factors are reliability and the closest possible resemblance to the real piano in terms of the keys, while obviously not breaking the bank

Reply/ Hi Rafal

Hi Rafal

Sorry for the late reply, I returned from holiday
to a Mount Everest of paperwork.

Broadway scores less points overall than Yamaha
due to its smaller selection of pianos (Yamaha
picks up more points due to the number of models
it has over several price points); its brand history
(Yamaha has been around a lot longer); its reliability
score (we have more data for Yamaha), and many
other factors.
But Broadway pianos have a similar score when
comparing their models directly with Yamaha.
In fact, in most cases you get better value for
money with Broadway.

The Yamaha CLP735 has a nicer sound than the YDP165.
This is due to its larger acoustic resonating box and
the bigger speakers with more wattage.

Not only does the CLP735 have a warmer, deeper and
more resonating sound, the note sustain is longer and
sounds more natural.
What’s more, the keys have a little more weight to them.
So you can FEEL more control when you press the keys down.
It’s also more sensitive to touch allowing you to play faster.

Having said that, there are alternative brands out there
that offer a similar performance level at much less cost.

I recommend looking at either Broadway or Gewa.

Two pianos to compare are the Broadway BW1 and
Gewa UP355.

The Broadway is our most popular piano by far.
It’s nicer to play than the Yamaha YDP165,
and compares well against the CLP735.

The Broadway has a firm, fully-weighted feel and
a warm, pure tone that sounds very close to an
acoustic piano.
At £999, it’s the best value digital piano I’ve played.

The Gewa UP355 is a step up again.
This piano has been sampled on a Steinway grand.
It has a large, rounded, resonant tone with superb sustain.

The Gewa’s key touch is ultra responsive making
it suitable for any level of playing.

The Broadway and Gewa are also available
on our Rent to Own programme.

Let me know if you have any more questions.
Yours pianistically

Graham Howard

 

 

Digital Piano Repairs and Service

Have a faulty Yamaha YDP165?
UK Pianos can repair it !

Most digital pianos can be repaired, but if not, we can offer you a part-exchange.

-Fix sticky, noisy, knocking or broken keys
-Keyboard issues, felts, contact circuit boards and rubber key contacts (strips)
-Faulty circuit boards
-Damaged cabinet or wooden parts
-Piano stopped making sound, doesn’t turn on — can be fixed
-Pedal issues: not working at all, noise, squeaky…
-Control panel buttons
-Speakers not working, crackling, vibrating…
-Low volume
-Servicing (We can also do a full service)

Email admin@ukpianos.co.uk with your postcode, phone number and digital piano/keyboard issue and we’ll usually get back to you within 24 hours.