The sound is probably the last reason I bought this piano. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it sounded excellent. I think they sampled the sounds from one of their own grand pianos, and you do get a sense of size which is surprising from such a small machine. If you really want loud sound, you may want to look at some of the Yamaha Clavinovas, which have 40W (or more) speakers. There are some very nice little touches, like the "key up" sound for the harpsichord, which accurately reproduces the sound made when you release a key.

Features above and beyond the normal piano touch/response were not that important to me. The touch, however, is excellent. It really feels like a mid-range grand piano. The only thing I would add (I'm spoiled - used to playing Steinway Concert Grands) is the quick-return keys. On a Steinway, when you lift the key halfway up, you can feel the mechanism reset itself, so you can play the same note repeatedly at high speed. With passages such as the fast solo from Rhapsody in Blue, this would really make it feel like $100,000 piano. For those who can't afford 6 figures for a piano (neither can I!), the graded hammer action and variable touch (soft, medium, hard) make this a GREAT feeling piano to play. It comes with the obligatory 10 voices or so, can record a couple of tracks (it would have been nice to record more, so I could accompany myself without having to re-record each time I change pieces), and has lots of demos. The demos make some nice background music, but really if you want to listen to piano music, a CD costs a lot less! The MIDI features, RCA audio jacks (put it through your amp system!), dual headphone sockets, matching bench, and 3 pedals really round this piano out. I just REALLY wish there were clips music books on the stand. Come on, even the cheapest uprights have those! It makes it VERY difficult to play music out of the book they include with the piano, let alone larger books. I couldn't bring myself to take 1 point off from the score for this, but it was very close.

The wood finish looks excellent, and really fits in with the brown leather couches in my living room. Most importantly, though, the piano is sturdy. You can bash out Rachmaninoff on this thing without having it wobble and tilt under you. Even the included bench (which looks a little weak at first) holds up very well.

Definitely worth it. It strikes the best balance between features (excellent feel and response, sturdy quality, great sound) and price. When you're thinking about getting a Yamaha Clavinova that costs $600 - $1500 more, just ask yourself if you're actually going to USE what you're paying for. I surely wouldn't. On the other hand, I wouldn't have paid any more than I did for it, as an extra $200 or so would start to look expensive.

I have no idea about support, as I've not had to use it. The only thing I didn't like was that, while this piano is IDENTICAL to the CLP-120 (another Yamaha, but in the Clavinova line), the YDP223 comes with a 1-year warranty, whereas the Clavinova comes with 5 years. While I don't expect (or hope) use it, it would be nice to have.

Excellent, excellent, excellent. I needed a good-looking, good-feeling, good-sounding piano, and I got it. Plus, all the extra bells and whistles are just icing on a delicious cake.

Classical

All of the 14 voices are great. I can vary the intensity of sound by hitting the keys softer or harder or using the footpedals. If I really want to make the sound louder I can output the sound to any sound system. However, the volume control max output is usually loud enough. I permitted our church camp to borrow the YDP-223 this summer and they loved it. They played it beside their piano and said it is loud enough. They did not want it to be louder than the piano.

Includes the traditional piano pedal board with 3 pedals, a gorgeous full-back stand, and a comfortable, attractive piano bench. Fourteen sounds; 64-voice polyphony. Two-track sequencer with tempo adjustment. It interfaces with my computer. There are stereo outputs.

The smallest members of my family find it easy to use. The feel of the YDP-223 is great. The graded hammer action of the keys, the sound, and the footpedals keep my playing skills sharp so that I am able to move to other pianos with ease. I have it connected to my computer. I can key music into Finale notation software from the YDP-223 and play it back. If I want to play to my hearts content while others are watching TV I can put on the headphones. That also makes it a great teaching piano. If a student is shy we can put on the headphones and only the student and teacher can hear the results.

My YDP-223 arrived in October of 2003. It is now July 2007. It still looks and plays great. The quality is exceptional. It has not diminished even though many little children have played with it. It sounds as great as it ever did.

It is definately worth the money.

The best support is never needing any. Thanks Yamaha you did a great job in making this product.

This piano is exactly what I want. It does everything I want and looks and sounds great.

choir director

Country Gospel, Christian classical

I'm an audio production major so I'm spoiled when it comes to sound quality (hence the 8 stars). The speakers sound pretty good and get loud, but I like the sound better though high quality headphones. It has an output jack so you could probably get a really killer sound hooking it up to some high end speakers. Still a very impressive sound for something digital. I've worked with a lot of MIDI equipment and nothing came close to this.

I like pure piano sound so I don't care much for sound effects. I do use the reverb effect which sounds great and gives the piano a bigger sound (You get four different types of reverb and can control the depth of each one). The half pedal effect is useful, but not exactly the same as you'll find on a grand piano. I was really surprised about the book of 50 great classical pieces you get and the practice feature built into the piano.

Change the voices with a push of a button, no scrolling through a huge list of patches. Easy to dual-voice also. Playing the demo pieces is super easy. Nothing very complicated when it comes to using all of the features. Also very easy to assemble.

So far this instrument has exceeded my expectations. Very attractive look and sound. Only had this for about 6 months and I hope it last for many more years. I really can't complain about the quality at all.

You get a lot for what you pay for. Seems to be a great substitute for an acoustic piano if you don't have the space or money. The Pay as You Play is an awesome deal. Monthly payments with no interest is unheard of. You also never need to pay a piano tech with this piano.

Haven't had to deal with support.

The color of the wood of this piano is part of what made me want it. That and knowing that it had the graded hammer effect. The touch turned out to be much better than the upright in the living room. I was skeptical of the sound because it's digital but it has really blown me away.

Music Student

Classical, Blues, Classic Rock, Flamenco

I did a lot of research before buying and the YDP-223 is the best in it's class. Our family loves the sound. We have owned this piano for over a year. My granddaughter fell in love with it and inspired her to begin lessons. She often changes the sounds as she is practicing. It alleviates boredom because each time she plays a song she hears it in a different way.

This piano is compact enough to fit in any room in our home and has everything our granddaughter needs to learn to play including the footpedals. When she goes to school and plays the yamaha grand piano the transistion is easy because the feel of the keyboard is the same.

The design and finish fit are attractive. The finish is also quality and has not shown any nics or bangs in spite of children who frequent the keyboard. Everything looks and plays as well as it did the day that I received it.

It is absolutely worth the selling price. There is nothing on the market that comes close to the value of this piano.

Have not needed any support service. I did not rate this because I did not use it. However, not needing service is a quality that speaks for itself. In that area I would give it a 10.

This product is very appealing. It is attractive. Why settle for one huge grand piano that requires a room of it's own. It has the sound of many high quality instuments with a versatile input and output system for sound and computer interfacing.

Choir director, Computer professional

Variety. Favorite is Inspirational

Sounds considerably better than the upright it replaced. Among the most realistic digitals I have heard, easily the best in the price range. Electric piano 2 has a nice Rhodes quality to it as well.

Minimal sound bank and limited MIDI saving. Neither of those are expected in this type of product, though.

Very straightforward. Even a small child would have no problem selecting sounds, changing timbre or volume. More advanced features, like tremolo depth or volume each of the two voices in a mix require some digging in the manual.

Looks and sounds great right out of the box. I would not take it on the road, due to weight issues and difficulty maintaining the finish.

Best sounding and feeling digital in its class. And that's coming from a Roland and Alesis freak!

Pass. Haven't needed it, don't expect to.

Looks great against a wall. Less good if it's viewed straight on--from a stage, for example. The back is a kind of particle-board material with a slit in the top for running cables and providing access.

Active Musician

Experimental, Contemporary Christian, Instrumental

Truly amazing piano sound. I was originally looking for the bells and whistles, but couldn't get over the sound and the feel of the keys. Unlike most digitals, you can actually feel the vibration of strings in your fingers, as if playing a real baby grand.

Obviously you don't buy this one if you're looking for an instrument heavy on extra sounds, sequencers, midi, etc. But as others have said, the basics are GREAT, and there's enough extras to be interesting but not overwhelming. You don't need to be an engineer or computer programmer to play it.

High high quality. Very substantial. A real piece of furniture, not just a road axe.

Depends on how you look at it. If you want bells and whistles, no, other units have far more for less. But that's not why you buy this unit. You buy it because you want solid basics, great looks, and a few extras. On that basis, a great value.

Pass. No experience.

10 seconds of playing and I was hooked.

Rock-jazz fusion.

From the numerous reviews submitted over the years, it goes without question that the piano sound is phenomenal! I'm surprised there hasn't been more discussion about the organ though because it's outstanding as well! The ease with which you can combine two instruments just can't be beat. In fact, as a blind musician, the ease of this entire button structure is as good as it gets, without today's usual digitally driven menu and screen access focus. The layout of the controls on the YDP223 just makes since. As the saying goes; "if it isn't broken, don't try to fix it," so adding fancy menu stuff would just mess it up. Thanks for such a user friendly and unbeatable sounding digital piano!

The wood cabinet makes this a very attractive addition to your living room. The cabinet is a bit unsturdy if you were going to actually move the piano so that you MUST pick it up, NOT slide it, or the legs wabble like they might come off.

Yes. I was strongly debating between the YDP223 and the Arius YDP160, but was assured that the look of the YDP223 was just more like a classy piece of furnature, as a real piano would be. I also liked the two track recording instead of only one, and the 4 additional instrument voices making it 14 rather than 10. So even though the ydp160 was newer and cheaper, I still chose the ydp223.

no

The real piano feel is rmarkable and if you crave the feel of playing your heart out with expressive controll, then the ydp223 will do it for you.

I've played by ear since age 4 and I'm now 35. I have absolute pitch which can be a gift or a curse.

modern easy listening and some classical; Music Box Dancer, You Raise Me Up, etc.

Outstanding sound. Best of many models I tried.

Does not have as wide a variety of sounds or features as others. But the sounds it does have are impressive unlike some other models.

Very high quality. Sturdy. Comfortable bench. Excellently weighted keys.

More expensive than many other models but well worth it.

Only had to contact them for drivers so I could connect my piano to my computer. Very helpful.

Have played on many keyboards and I always like coming home to play this one.

Rag and Jazz

I love both the feels of the key action and, if you close your eyes when it's in grand piano voice, you really think that's what you're listening to. Marvelous instrument!

No accessories, I bought the ear phones to go with.

I haven't yet learned how to record but I love learning the classics that are already stored and playing along with the Yamaha version.

It's a little too heavy to take on the road, I think.

I think so!

No idea, haven't needed support.

Pretty nice looking and I like the fact you can't spill anything into it (happened with a Clavinova I had once).

Playing since 6 years old, but hobbyist

Some jazz, some classics

Great sound...everyone who's heard it is impressed!

Has just what I wanted in a digital piano...no more, no less.

It's a sturdy instrument. Very attractive styling and finish. Everything works fine so far... It was delivered in one big box and was very easy to assemble...all the parts fit together well

I'm a senior citizen on a fixed income...did alot a research before I purchased this and I believe it's the best value for me.

Haven't needed any support, so I'm rating this on Yamaha's reputation...

LOOKS like a piano, SOUNDS like a piano, FEELS like a piano, all at a reasonable price...what more could I ask for?

semi-retired musician, now more of a hobbyist

Old-time, country, polka, variety..

Great sound...everyone who's heard it is impressed!

Has just what I wanted in a digital piano...no more, no less.

It's a sturdy instrument. Very attractive styling and finish. Everything works fine so far...

I'm a senior citizen on a fixed income...did alot a research before I purchased this and I believe it's the best value for me.

Haven't needed any support, so I'm rating this on Yamaha's reputation...

LOOKS like a piano, SOUNDS like a piano, FEELS like a piano, all at a reasonable price...what more could I ask for?

semi-retired musician, now more of a hobbyist

Old-time, country, polka, variety..

My keyboard is only two years old. The pedals have stopped working correctly and only work intermittently. I thought it was probably the cord that connects the keyboard to the pedals. i called yamaha three times before finding a human, they and passed me along to a local electronics company after denying any responsibility for or knowledge of anything about this keyboard, including the option to purchase a new cord. The electronics company verified that it was the cord and will cost $275 plus I don't have the piano for three to four weeks, because yamaha has to send them the part (which they wouldn't send me). I use this piano every day for work, so this span of time is a real hardship.

Playing-wise, this piano is fantastic. Its easy to use, has a few fun sounds, but the feel of the piano and the sound are what sold me. After only two years, though, I have severe concerns about buying another Yamaha product.

Music teacher - choral, musicals, band, general music ed

all kinds

It's hands down the best digital I've ever played. Action is awesome, very much like their concert grands.

Wish it had the ability, in record mode to adjust recording levels. there is no way to get any kind of decent mix through internal recording.

Very easy to use and taylor rich sounds without being a programmer, those dudes are weird anyway. I'm a player.

top shelf

Well worth the money.

can't comment, haven't had any problems with anything Yamaha.

Wish they made it in ebony. it would be perfect then.

For years I've been trying to find a digital piano that can simulate the sound of an acoustic piano. This is by far the closest I've come across. To the novice ear, it's almost impossible to tell it's digital. I'm very impressed with this instrument.