Yamaha Arius YDP-S55 overview: What’s it?
Yamaha’s Arius vary of fashionable, budget-friendly digital residence console-style pianos acquired a refresh in early 2022, which noticed the introduction of two new slimline variations of the present, full-size fashions. Consequently, the vary now consists of 4 pianos, the YDP-165, YDP-145, YDP-S55 and YDP-S35, all designed to mix the elegant kind and wealthy tone of a standard acoustic piano with the compact footprint and practicality of a digital piano.
The YDP designation stands for Yamaha Digital Piano, and whereas the 145 and 165 are the 2 full-size fashions, the S denomination represents the Slimline fashions, shallower from entrance to again to permit them to suit into smaller residing areas. Of the 2, the S35 is the extra inexpensive, whereas the S55, the main target of this overview, is the extra premium mannequin, that means that the S55 is to all intents and functions the identical piano because the 165 however in a extra compact cupboard.
Yamaha Arius YDP-S55 overview: Efficiency & verdict
The principle distinction between the S55 and the S35 is that the S55 options an enhanced Yamaha CFX grand piano sound, a extra highly effective speaker system and Yamaha’s GH3 keyboard (with an additional third sensor), somewhat than the GHS (Graded Hammer Customary) keyboard discovered within the S35. The GH3 options 88 full-size, weighted plastic keys which can be graded in weight from heavier on the left to lighter within the higher octaves, identical to on an acoustic piano.
The keys within the GH3 are designed to bounce again sooner than these within the GHS, responding extra like high-quality piano keys, and that further third sensor permits improved speedy notice repetition and expressive management, making the S55 an especially satisfying instrument to play. The place the S35’s keys have a clean matt end, the keytops on the S55 are textured to scale back slippage when issues get actually frenetic!
In the meantime, the half-damper pedal setting reproduces the pedal response behaviour of an acoustic grand, making the general expertise much more genuine..
Slim Pickings
With regard to cupboard design, the S55 has a contemporary, minimalist look that has rather a lot to do with the truth that it is so amazingly compact. Measuring a mere 309mm from entrance to again, the YDP-S collection is likely one of the slimmest console-style residence digital pianos available on the market, excellent when you’re a bit strapped for area. When not in use, the folding keyboard cowl turns into a flat, tabletop-like floor when closed, giving the instrument one thing of the look of a hallway desk.
To facilitate scholar/trainer interplay, there are twin 6.3mm headphone sockets positioned simply far sufficient forwards on the underside of the keyboard to be accessible with no need to crawl beneath, and there’s additionally a Duo mode that splits the keyboard into two four-octave pianos, so trainer and scholar can play collectively facet by facet. Adjoining to the headphone jacks sits a USB port that is used to connect with a pc so you should utilize your piano as a MIDI controller.
Sound reasoning
Additionally attempt
Yamaha Arius YDP-165
Full-bodied model of the YDP-S55 with a bigger cupboard.
Roland F701
Slim residence piano from Roland with minimalist trendy styling, SuperNATURAL piano engine and PHA-4 keybed.
With simply 10 sounds on board, Yamaha have clearly gone for high quality over amount right here – you get the identical variety of inner sounds as the remainder of the YDP vary. Largely due to this, the S55 is straightforward to function, scoring extremely in our ‘activate and play’ check. The meticulously-sampled CFX grand piano tone is great, and the decreased depth of the cupboard does not have the detrimental impact on the sound that you just would possibly count on – we anticipate that some black magic trickery has taken place within the design of the two x 20W speaker array (versus 2 x 8W on the S35) to facilitate this, as the principle CFX grand piano sound is full and wealthy.
Yamaha’s entry-level digital resonance modelling know-how, VRM Lite, is current right here too, providing you with convincing sympathetic resonance between adjoining notes when the damper pedal is held down, mimicking the way in which the strings, soundboard and cupboard work together on an acoustic piano.
Apart from the CFX live performance grand, the opposite voices are greater than serviceable – the Rhodes and DX E-piano tones tick all of the containers, together with the harpsichord, vibraphone and organ tones. On the draw back, we did encounter a curious lack of maintain on the strings voice, a foible frequent to the opposite fashions within the Arius vary, and being Wurli followers, we actually would have appreciated a Wurlitzer EP200A voice in there someplace to gasoline our Fleetwood Mac obsession – it’s solely logical in any case!
Bonus banquet
By way of further options, there’s not an extremely lengthy checklist – there is no Bluetooth for instance, so you may’t stream audio by the piano’s audio system to play alongside to. Nonetheless, you do get Clever Acoustic Management, which corrects the sound steadiness optimally based on the quantity you set, plus a Stereophonic Optimizer to make taking part in whereas utilizing headphones a extra immersive expertise, each of which appear to do what they are saying on the tin.
The actual bonus although, is that like the opposite Ariuses, the S55 is appropriate with Yamaha’s free Sensible Pianist app for cell units. This transforms a helpful iPad or Android pill into a big touchscreen show on your piano, making it a lot simpler to entry the inner settings. You need to use the iPad to alter voices, name up the scores of the built-in songs and use the Piano Room operate to regulate the tonal high quality and resonance settings of the piano tone in a a lot simpler to make use of visible surroundings. It actually does change the performance of the instrument to a critical diploma, making it simpler to work with the ten demo songs, 50 classical onboard songs and 303 lesson songs.
Yamaha Arius YDP-S55 overview: Fingers-on opinions
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Yamaha Arius YDP-S55 overview: Specification
- Keys: 88-note GH3 keyboard with artificial ebony and ivory textured keytops
- Dimensions: (W x D x H, mm) 1353 x 309 x 792 (Closed), 1353 x 317 x 976 (Open)
- Weight (kg): 40
- Sounds: 10
- Polyphony: 192
- Pedals: Damper, Sostenuto, Comfortable (Half-pedalling supported)
- Audio system: 2 x 20W, 12cm
- Contact: Yamaha (opens in new tab)
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