🎹Roland LX705 Digital Piano Review & Demo - Luxury Digital Upright Piano (LX Series)🎹
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2024
- Sound - 1:56
Action - 16:33
Features - 20:54
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#Roland #LX705 #DigitalPiano
Welcome to the Merriam Pianos CZcams channel! In this video, we’ll be featuring another premium digital upright piano with a full review of the Roland LX705.
The LX705 is the entry point into Roland’s flagship LX line, and has been a very popular instrument in our store.
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Piano Appearance:
While we happen to be sitting in front of an LX705 in a light oak finish, the piano is actually available in 5 different premium finishes. One of the hallmarks of the LX series is the focus Roland has put into the cabinets - each LX series pianos looks like a real piano, and can actually function alone as a furniture piece. The quality of the veneer and wood working is right at the top of the industry.
Piano Sound:
While the LX705 is the entry point into the LX line, with the LX706 and LX708 being more expensive, the sound engines and internal features or ‘brain’ of each instrument is actually the same. What this means is that all three LX series pianos will sound exactly the same if you were to play them with headphones. The differences actually come down to speakers, action and cabinetry.
The sound engine in each LX series piano and present here is Roland’s PureAcoustic Piano Modeling engine, with limitless polyphony. Sound modeling is newer technology that generates sound in real time, as opposed to triggering a pre-recorded sample. There’s a built in Piano Designer function which allows you to go in and edit a whole bunch of sound related parameters to customize your own preferred piano tone, or, it allows you to access several different preset configurations.
The modeling applies to either the “European Grand” or “American Grand” sounds. Once you move past either of these tones and out of the sound modeling mode, there’s still a strong 256 notes of polyphony across the 324 total internal sounds. The other tones, including electric pianos, organs, strings, etc, are generally all studio quality across the board.
In terms of the speakers and amplification system, while the LX705 isn’t designed to fill a gigantic room with sound, it will be more than enough for a standard sized living room. There’s 4 total speakers being driven by a total of 60 watts of amplification. The sound is very well balanced and clearly well thought out.
Piano Action:
Roland has featured their well regarded PHA50 action in the LX705. You can find this action throughout the top half of Roland’s lineup on models such as the RD2000, DP603, HP704, as well as the GP607 and GP609.
This is wood/plastic hybrid action, with a triple sensor, escapement and a nice texture on the white and black keys. I personally own and gig with an RD2000, so I’m very familiar with this action. I can say from experience that this is a super durable action, and even after 1000’s of hours of use, there’s no unwanted key noise or clicking.
Some folks feel this action is too spongy, but I don’t personally have that view. In my opinion, this is a great overall action.
Piano Features/Connectivity:
A big thing I love about the LX705 is how intuitive the user interface is, to the point that most won’t ever need to consult the owner’s manual.
In terms of connectivity, the LX705 has a DC in jack, stereo mini input jack, ¼” L/MONO, R output jacks, USB type A and B as well as two headphone jacks. In addition, Bluetooth MIDI and Audio are covered as well.
There’s a built in music desk, as well as key cover.
Conclusions:
We hope you enjoyed this review of the LX705. Stay tuned for an upcoming video where we’ll be comparing the LX705 and the Kawai CA79.
Thanks for watching!
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Thanks for a great demo - you encouraged me to buy one today!
Greetings from Tokyo! After watching many of your review videos, I bought this piano. I love the sound, action and design. I enjoy playing it everyday. Thank you!
Hello from Canada! Thank you for tuning in and congratulations on your new Roland LX705 piano! They are wonderful digital pianos that provide a fantastic touch and tone as you've discovered. Thanks again and happy playing! :)
Great review; thanks :))
Thanks for this.
I do trust your reviews and bought lx 705 online.
Out of all the options that were available to me 2½ years ago the Roland PHA-50 action was the best for digital pianos within the mid-price range. What I like about this LX705 model is that you can pull the lid down and cover the electronic control panel.
This was already a feature back then. You can pull the lid down over the controls with the HP601, HP603/A, and HP605.
Lol I was in a music store a week ago and I looked at the 705 for like 10 minutes and could not find the on button. I was just there to buy a cable and a music book and of course took the chance to try all the nicer digitals they had there, except for this one that just baffled me. Staff was very busy and I ultimately gave up and moved to the next. Should have opened youtube :)
i have been using PHA50 action (in FP-90X) since October of 2021 and I can definitely say that it is much better action of PHA-4 and other plastic actions (I briefly had Kawai ES110 and Yamaha P125). I had three different PHA-4 based digital pianos and all of them developed the annoying clicking noise after 3-4 months of intensive playing. It was not as bad as Kawai plastic actions (I could not stand it after just one day of playing) but it was very much distracting me.
Thank you for the video
You're welcome! Thanks for watching! :)
Wonderful presentation and illustration of this keyboard ,concise practical and comprehensive,especially in enhancing the productive .logistically sound and a wonderful palete of colours .I 've actually played it also ergonomically sound every thing u have explained is spot on your only problem is to give it to me for free Baha...cheers from dwn under
Great video, I’ve had a 705 for a couple of months and love it! One thing you forgot to mention in the video is the app, complete control of the piano through your phone/ tablet; I believe this is also an advantage of the LX705 vs the HP704 which has a more basic app. That being said, the on-piano menus are so easy to use I rarely use it..
As a HP704 owner, you can use the piano designer app. The LX series have better speakers and a new modeling engine. I personally love the HP704 cabinet over the LX series. The music stand or rest is too low on the LX series for my taste. On the HP704, the music stand is a bit higher which promotes a better posture. Overall, all Roland Digital pianos are amazing. I do wish that the Piano Every Day app could display the notes bigger.
Gio S Ah fair enough! You’re right that all Roland DP’s are great, I went for the 705 largely just because I like the cabinet the best, good point about the music stand though. Another thing to consider is in a smaller or medium sized room the HP704 may sound better through the speakers, as you can crank them up to the sweet spot
Waiting for the FPX series review :)
I would really like to hear the comparison of Roland LX705 and FP-90X piano sounds when listening on headphones. Is there a difference between equivalent piano sounds on both of these pianos (and why). Thank you
Please review the Kawai MP 7 SE as you are one of the only reviewers i trust to make objective comments
Wow early nice video though🎹🎶
I just bought the LX 705 without having tried it (due to lockdown) and absolutely love it, though the PHA-50 action does feel a bit heavy. Cost about USD1K to upgrade to the LX706 for the longer stick in the Hybrid Grand Keyboard (plus two extra speakers, which is not necessary in my medium sized living room), so I am still content with my purchase. A beautiful furniture (I chose the polished ebony look) as well and lots of fun playing around with the 300+ sounds (which I mistakenly thought I would never use). And having movers lift an lx 708 to my 4th floor apartment simply wasn’t feasible (705 and 706 comes disassembled in two parts). One thing to consider: the LX series was launch in the Fall 2018, the previous LX series was launched in 2015 - so an upgrade might be around the corner.
Hi, I'm kinda wavering between LX-705 and LX-706. I dont have chance to try all of the models due to lockdown, but I'm more on the LX-705 side due to the price. Do you think paying $1k more for the longer key would be worth the price? (The number of speakers don't really matter to me 'cause I have small room). I've done some research but any other advice would be very helpful!
@@mkyN77 I asked at the dealer and the salesman said the extended keys would only make a difference for very technically demanding pieces. I am very happy with my lx705 and it takes up less space than the lx706/8 both in height and depth while still looking like an acoustic upright. Unless you play a lot without the headphones and need the larger speakers,, go for the lx705.
Wow I didnt expext such a fast reply and sound advice. Thank you so much! I’ll definitely get the LX-705 :)
Would you please comment on the differences between this lx705 and Yamaha clp745?
You stated polyphony as 384 at 11:47, Roland online specs only show 256 for LX705
Was this mic'd differently than the LX708? They sound like completely different pianos which I wouldn't expect unless I was playing them?
Thanks for the review, great demo. Is the LX series basically a Roland FP90X put in a cabinet with a lid and 3 pedals with more/better speakers?
I would love to know to know this as well, especially as far as piano sounds are concerned. I have FP-90X
This is by far the most thorough and insightful review out there. Mine is on order now. I have a question for you since you appear to have acoustics there as well… Do you think you’d be able to determine a volume setting (numeric value) on the LX705 that in your opinion most closely matches the “volume” of an acoustic piano of roughly that same size (ie. if the LX705 were an acoustic)?
I really liked your review. I have been thinking for quite a while why it is not possible to get PHA50 action in a simple keyboard (what I really have in mind is a MIDI controller). I am not interested in any sophisticated sound solutions (I am connecting to my high end audio system) or even sound modelling (I am using Pianoteq anyway). I would love something like FP-10 with PHA-50 or even Hybrid Grand Keyboard.
Agreed.
kawai vpc1 ?
@@alpay389 It is a good keyboard without doubt. Unfortunately it is expensive, very heavy and it’s MIDI implementation is flawed (this controller was released in 2014/15)
I know it's been over a year, but just wanted to say that Roland do have a PHA50 midi controller called the a88 mk2.
@@nujuat Roland A88 mkII (I had it) has PHA-4 not PHA50.
Great review (as usual).
I bought the LX-705, and love it.
But I have a question. Can Stu, or an expert community member out there,answer this Q:
Can I hook the USB MIDI-out from my LX-705 to an Audio Interface and use the LX-705-Midi out as the keyboard controller to play my virtual pianos (e.g., virtual pianos by Keyscape, Garritan, Arturia and/or Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron pianos?
Thanks! We appreciate the kind words. Thanks for taking the time to check out the video! You can certainly use the LX705 as a MIDI controller to control your VST pianos. Using the USB Computer connection should certainly allow you to do this. The LX705 also has wireless Bluetooth MIDI as well. Thanks and hope this helps!
Hello, a clp 795 gp démo ?
Very impressive - this piano costs about 20 times as much as mine here. It’s the first I find worthy the price tag
The LX705 is quite the piano! It really does live up to the price tag. The musical experience it provides is exceptional. :)
What is the cost of LX705 in India? Wanted to buy one.
Given that Pianoteq runs on X86, Mac OS, Linux, and Android, I'm amazed they are able to get so much piano out of the sound chip in an ordinary laptop. That said, it does take a lot of processor power. This Roland sounds great. A great piano for institutions. This instrument is a good example of why a good digital is so much more versatile that an obsolete acoustic. I have no complaint about the way you play Opus 9 No.2. Clair de lune, or Rachmoninoff. You are the real deal pianist.
After hearing this instrument, I'm seriously thinking of cancelling my es920 order. The Kawai doesn't come close to the sound quality. I think Roland will be coming out with something that outclasses the RD-88 but is still light weight.
😂 You are comparing es920 with this Roland LX705?
You realize that the price of the LX705 is more than twice that of the ES920, don't you? They are not comparable instruments, IMHO. That doesn't mean you shouldn't do what you're thinking of, but... just saying!
I think that what we need is just a great keyboard and MIDI output (to a computer and audio system). It will give us flexibility and a great path for sound improvement. I can get much better sound for a couple of thousand dollars
If you like this sound over Kawai's, have a look on new FP-90X. The X is important as this is the facelift of FP-90, but with PureAcoustic-modeling. Given it has same PHA-50 action and same sound-processing as LX705, you can consider it as a portable LX705. Just in case you ordered ES920 because you want a portable.
@@SeaDrive300 Depends where you are living. In Europe an ES920 with stand and triple pedal is 1900€. The LX705 is 2200€. I wouldn't call this double the price-tag.
What are the main differences between this and the HP-704 please? And any news on Roland updating the HP-704 to include the newer chip / sound processing, like the FP-90x?
The pianos are quite comparable in a number of ways, including the action, but the biggest difference is that the LX705 features the same PureAcoustic Piano Modelling that all of the other LX models include. It is quite different than the SuperNATURAL Piano Modelling engine featured on the HP704. We haven't heard anything from our Roland reps in terms of updates to the HP704. You can bet that we will keep you posted if we do! ;)
I mostly play using headphones, and record. I'd like to hear what it sounds like if you're using a headset / recording directly to your computer. Speakers will never sound as good. I currently have a Kawai CA97 with the full soundboard in the back and that can't be duplicated so any demo with speakers will be disappointing by comparison. But I also don't need that.
Hi! Brent from Merriam Music here! Generally speaking, the sounds you are hearing from our videos are actually direct line out recordings opposed to microphones capturing the speakers. Some videos show both for comparison when necessary to do so. Thanks and hope this helps! :)
I had this piano for 3 years. 3 years I was fiddling with all the settings but was unable to get a pleasant sound from it. The sound is so harsh and dull at once. So I decided to sell it. It took a while to sell it, because my potential buyers were also disapointed/shocked by the sound. I'm wondering why nobody speaks about it. There are 2 problems: the first is, that the generated sound is raw. The second is, that speakers and cabinet are not tuned well. So for me, the cabinet is awesome, the action is fine, but the sound is a pain. I replaced it by Kawai ES920 and I'm in love with it. No more generated sound from Roland for me.
I am very sorry to hear that you were disappointed with the LX705, but I am happy to hear that you found a. tone that you were able to connect with in the ES920! At the end of the day, tone and touch is a very personal and subjective thing. The most important thing is to find a sound that continues to inspire you, which it sounds like you have! :)
Many people complained about the LX Pure Acoustic yet praising the super natural sound source
Hey. I have a question? Is the sound in your lx705 very different between headphones and piano speaker? I just got mine delivered, and the sound from the speakers are very middy and unnatural, but it sounds fantastic with headphones. I'm wondering if the speakers are broken.
Should it sound the same with speakerss/headphones?
If there is no cracking sound your speakers are probably OK. Play for a few hundred hours and see what happens. New speakers can be a bit tight.
Thanks for the video. How does LX705 benchmark against HP704? I can afford that few hundred on the price but I really want to know if it is worth it.
Do not buy HP704. I bought it and trying to return it. Terrible sound, dull, muffed, with a lot of harmonics, even when resonance is turned off.
@@olegvorkunov5400 Place your HP704 for at least 50cm from the wall. The sound will clear up, without the often complained harmonics.
Roland LX 705 or Yamaha CLP 745?
I just can’t decide! What do you guys think?
I think I prefer the sound and the design of the Yamaha. However i think the Rolands keyboard feels more realistic and ist nicer to play than the Yamaha…? Connectivity and feature wise they are pretty similar I guess.
What are your thought?
They are both very solid pianos to say the least! Ultimately, it will come down to your personal preferences and feelings. With that said, when it comes to digital pianos, I personally tend to weigh the action a little bit more heavily given the fact that, via MIDI and VSTs, there really aren't too many sonic limitations within the realm of digital pianos. Hope this helps! :)
I can see on this video that the cabinet is actually moving a bit during firm playing, is it actually stable?
The cabinet is incredibly stable! The movement may have something to do with where the piano is positioned for the video shoot.
I wonder whether all of his performances are improvised or prepared in advance. It would be amazing if he improvises all those small pieces
I'm 99.9% sure they're all improvised, he makes that point every so often in other videos... It's super impressive!
You are improvising this very comment you wrote. Things happen very smoothly when many different cooperative patterns have been internalized into one’s unconscious.
One could even say that it is not actually improvised other than from the perspective of the conscious.
Practice pattern recognition on the piano. Very simple patterns repeatedly and after knowing them well you can let go and play randomly.
It is not really randomly though, it’s a beautiful dance partner ship between the conscious part of your being and the unconscious.
What will happen is that these patterns will pop up into existence while you play and you will see possible new connections.
No different in principle from learning to speak any language or play football or what not.
I agree that Stu plays wonderfully and behind it is a lot of practice. But you can prove it to yourself that you can improvise in a beautiful manner on the piano also by learning super simple patterns and just repeat them like before a test at school.
The more practice the more feeling and subtlety and nuance is part of what you can create.
And because we are all more or less unique as individuals with our experiences and genes our improvisation will inevitably with time develop a unique flavor.
Michael Jackson looked fluid when he danced because of a freakish amount of repetition and the same goes for everything else.
You might make being an asshole towards your dishwasher look effortless and that’s quite a feat in itself.
He did play Chopin, Debussy, Rachmaninov, some scales run & jazz improv. But it's still amazing, his technique is splendid.
some of them are classical pieces, although Stu takes some liberty with them
We're still waiting ES920 / ES520 :)
No twin piano function? Can't find that on any of the current line-up, or have i missed something? It's brilliant for teaching or for improvising with a partner.
There is a twin piano function - using it daily teaching my 10-year old
I have an Idea for a new piano-comparison video: Do a comparison of different piano sounds, each played with the same piece of music. I would like to compare:
Rolands PureAcoustic modeling with all 4 piano sounds. Same with SuperNatural Modeling and with old SuperNatural of the cheaper models. Then there are Kawai SK-EX, EX, and SK5. And Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer.
I know we are talking about 5 different pianos in total, but why not: I mean there is Corona and lockdowns everywhere....
Yamaha and Kawai definitely better, the piano sound from Roland extremely digital for me. Quite disappointed to be honest, I used to be a fan of Roland.
May Yahweh bless you brother you are a very intelligent person and well spoken 🙏 👏
Thank you kindly! We appreciate your support. :)
the Eurpean Grand sound which acoustic piano is inspired by?
Steinway 9ft
Is there a possibility to turn off the blinking of the buttons?
The lights only blink when you record. You can also cover them with the keyboard cover.
That's the thing that draws me to the Roland. The keyboard cover has two stages so you can completely hide the buttons and lights while playing.
It has just struck me, after a year or two of explaining mathematical modelling and algorithms, and creating sound in real time and so on there is a simple word for this. It’s a piano synthesiser! Or even emulator. I think a marketing department somewhere are to blame - and it’ll save having to use lots of words.
All electric piano manufacturers are adding useless features to their new releases. In reality, we just need a great keyboard (as close to real piano as possible) and a MIDI output. We can then setup up our own piano sound modelling and acoustic system
Hello, I would like to know what are your opinions around the differences between the HP704 and the LX705, would be worth it to buy a LX705 rather than a HP704 and why ? Many thanks
So the difference is going to be speaker placement and tone generator - I'd say the LX is going to be a more intimate experience, with the speakers closer to your ear, and a more complex tone from the updated BMC chip/Pure Acoustic rendering. The HP704 was impressive, but had a more distant tone, albeit warm and satisfying. Same action. It's really a piano sound issue exclusively to me. Thanks! - stu
@@MerriamPianos I've actually tested the HP704 and loved the keyboard action (thats why i'm comparing with the LX705).
The piano will only be for my personal use in a 10m² room. I don't especially need power but clarity and accuracy.
I've seen on a forum that people complained about the projection of the speakers on the LX705 because it seemed that the farthest you are, the best rendering / sound you will get. So I was wondering if the fact that the speakers on the HP704 are firing direclty upward and to the player would create a better experience for the player ?
Also, I would play with headphones late at night. I didn't find much information around the 2 technologies, could you help me find out between the "Headphones 3D Ambience" of the HP704 and then "Headphones Acoustic Projection" on the LX705 ?
According to what you are saying, the LX would have a better sound dynamic range of tones than the HP because of the fact that the PA rendering is newer ?
Thanks again for your great help!
@@MerriamPianos Are saying that the HP704 doesn't make use of the BMC chip? This would be weird if so because it came out after the LX!
@@Biozene he’s saying the hp704 uses a different program to generate the sound. Lx705 is newer, more advanced and nuanced. And that it sounds more direct than atmospheric. mono vs stereo esque.
I also enjoyed 12:17 😂
How can we get a printed copy of the music that is a song that came on the LX705?
Hi! I am not sure if I am understanding the question completely, but I may have a solution for you. If there is a particular built-in song on the LX705 that you like and wish to acquire the sheet music for. You could use the MIDI output capability to record the MIDI information into some type of DAW in order to create a MIDI file of the piece. From there, notation scoring software like Finale allows you to open MIDI files and the program will automatically convert that information to notation. Sometimes when it comes to representation of sustained notes or certain rhythms, it can make some strange decisions, but it might be a helpful way to achieve what you're looking to do. Hope this helps!
PHA50 is still plastic with wood inserts on the sides. I have it on HP704. Quite noisy, though. The key surface is not as good as on Kawai CA59.
Hmm I just found local shop where they have LX705 for price of HP704 ... I think I am going to pay them visit tomorrow.
If that is the case, that would certainly be a fantastic deal! The LX705 is a fantastic digital piano! :)
@@MerriamPianos Just bough it!
I ordered this exact model in December and paid cash and it still has not arrived:(
Scammed!
Same so now I'm going in store to switch from a clavinova to a roland bc they don't know when the clavinova will come in
The furniture itself looks a bit "wobbly" when Stu is playing it, doesn't it? Is it sturdy enough?
In my experiences, the LX instruments, including the LX705, have a wonderfully sturdy and robust stand. :)
lol I noticed that too with him playing the kawai models, with my CN301 there is no wobbling, with his video he wobbles a lot LOL I assume they assembled it in a hurry
It still cuts sustained sound from the prior sound when switching to another sound. Not good.
Thanks for the comment, did you mean that with the sustain pedal down in piano mode, you play one note then another, the latter note would cut out the sustain sound of the previous note? If so, this is really not good
@@samwang5831 No. Switching to another instrument type cuts off whatever notes are playing at the time. A very minor issue for most people, most likely.
Lx705 or CLP775?
It is a matter of preference as both pianos offer a very different musical experience. However, with that said, I tend to lean in favour of the LX705 due to my preference of the PHA50 action. If you're looking for a really exceptional playing experience, you should check out the LX706 model, which has even longer key sticks. :)
Ma balla tutto quando suoni !?!
this sound is coming from the aux socket and not the speaker itself. Just received lx705 and it is drama.The sound is not that sharp as on your video. Why you don't highlight that this sound is not coming from the speaker ?
@minimalist don’t know still spending time to adjust the sound as basically Roland give you a master file for tuning literally everything. I’m looking for a very sharp sound. The other thing which is so pis*** me of is visible connecting cable between speakers and the main unit that goes directly in the middle through the huge rectangular cutout of the wooden wall at the back !!! Unbelievable with that money spent !!!!!
@@user-gw1wg9mp3w I read another comment to put it further away from the wall to remedy this. Well, I hope you have a larger living room. ^^. Hope you were able to get close to your desired sound though.
What is this blinking on their control panel?... why would anyone put this seizure-inducing blinking indicator into an electronic piano? oh my... Instant turn over for me, unfortunately. Even watching this through a monitor is incredibly annoying, cannot imagine sitting by this in person for hours, lol. Fixable with some tape, but why would I buy something I need to fix with a tape at this price range lol
I think it's just because of the camera, it doesn't blink if you look at it. Other people said it only blinks when you are recording, which I would also find incredibly annoying...
It is probably due to the camera capturing the flickering of the lights
I would suggest review instruments with speaker output and not line out. 99% are not going to use Line Out and the review becomes incomplete and not showing the real sound.
if you record with speakers you wouldnt hear the sound of the piano because the microphone and audiointerface affects the sound. if you use the lineout you can hear the sound you would get with headphones at least.
@@alpay389make it comparable by reviewing all pianos with the same set of stereo microphones and interface. I agree, the sound from the piano itself should always be a part of the review, even if only in a specific part of the review just to have a valid impression of how the piano actually sounds vis the speakers.
After watching this and other videos we went to see and buy one... Than I heard it in real. Actually it sounds like it's playing from behind a pillow, or from dozens of meters away from you. What a shame. So one thing is to play a demo on it, and another is to play it yourself through it's built in speakers... Not worth the money at all!
It is definitely important to audition a piano in person whenever possible! With that said, it comes down to a matter of preference and how one is using the piano. Tone and touch is a very personal and subjective thing. Thanks for tuning in and sharing your thoughts!
@@MerriamPianos
Never ever heard similar defective voice from any other digital piano before. Maybe something was broken on that model...