Casio PX-S7000HM review

Casio PX-S7000HM review: What is it?

Okay, we all know what a digital piano is supposed to look like. Rather predictably, most manufacturers opt to mimic their acoustic counterparts, resulting in a slew of black and brown oblong boxes dominating the market. Of course, there's a reason piano makers go down this somewhat dull route - it's what most people expect. That said, there are a few pianists out there that dare to break the piano-shaped mould. 

That's where the new Casio PX-S7000 comes in. This sleek and modern instrument is the latest addition to Casio's celebrated Privia range, and while it keeps a few elements Casio fans will recognise, it does deviate wildly in the looks department. 

Designed to complement your room's décor, these pianos not only offer a more contemporary aesthetic but are also intended to look great from all angles - meaning you no longer have to place them up against a wall if you don't want to.

Now, it's not all style over substance, as this piano more than delivers on playability and tone. Featuring Casio's Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard, the PX-7000 evokes the feeling of an incredibly responsive acoustic piano, while the Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source delivers 400 built-in tones, including acoustic pianos, electric pianos, organs, strings, and more - and in case that wasn't enough, this contemporary piano, also includes a range of voices specifically crafted to sound like well-known hit songs. 

Casio PX-S7000HM review: Performance and verdict

Design 

Let's start by taking a deep dive into this piano's most striking feature - its modern aesthetic. It won't surprise you to learn this slimline digital piano divided opinions. Family, friends and colleagues simply couldn't agree. Some thought this was a bold new look for Casio, while others thought it look like a toy. Now, while we could certainly see where the latter was coming from, personally, we actually really like the way this piano looks - especially the Harmonious Mustard finish.

If you've followed digital pianos for a while, you'll know that Casio isn't the first to attempt this sort of thing - far from it. Whether it was Yamaha's table-like Modus R01, Roland's high-end Japanese-built Kiyola KF-10 or Korg's inexpensive C1 Air, many manufacturers have attempted to bring modern design to a very traditional instrument. That said, we think the Casio PX-S7000 is one of the most successful attempts. 

Now, to fully appreciate how this piano looks, you really need to see it in its natural habitat. Seeing a cutout on a white background doesn't do the PX-S7000 justice. This instrument is designed to complement the style of the room in which you place it, and we think they've nailed it. Take our home, for example. We have a fairly standard living room with fairly standard tastes and the Casio blends in perfectly, like a piano-shaped chameleon. 

The warm natural hue of the wooden legs perfectly matches our wooden floors, with the mustard top complimenting the yellow accents from the cushions, rug and wall art, and the PX-S7000HM even goes one step further by including a grey textured speaker fabric on the rear, which matches our sofas. If you didn't know, you'd think this piano was designed specifically for this room - and we imagine that with the three colour options available, you'll be able to find one that suits the décor of your room just as much.

Overall the PX-S7000 feels incredibly sturdy and reliable. In fact, it may be the most robust stand we've ever seen on a piano of this style. The legs are reassuringly heavy, and when the stand is fully built, it feels extremely solid. The integrated pedalboard is attached with two heavy-duty metal bars, and again, it feels rugged and well made.

People who are short on space will most certainly enjoy the PX-S7000's impressively slim frame, with a front-to-back depth of only 242 mm. This, coupled with the neat and tidy back panel, means this Casio can go just about anywhere in a room and doesn't even need to be placed against a wall. This is something we very much enjoy and wish more piano manufacturers would take note of.

Playability

It's all well and good looking the part, but the piano must feel good to play, or it's pointless. At the end of the day, this is supposed to be an instrument, not a piece of furniture. So how does the PX-S7000 do in terms of playability? Well, we'd go as far as to say this is by far the best-feeling piano in the Privia range to date. 

Utilising Casio's Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard, this piano has a very satisfying key action to play. Not only do the keys feel expressive at all playing dynamics, but Casio has gone to great lengths to ensure the touch weight varies along the length of the keyboard, just like a real grand piano.

When comparing this new model to its more affordable counterpart, the Casio PX-S1100, the brilliance of the PX-S7000 becomes more apparent. Yes, we really enjoyed the feel of the PX-S1100, saying in our review that it has a "light, beginner-friendly action", but while the new PX-S7000 still feels unmistakably Casio, it most definitely doesn't feel like a beginner digital piano. 

Everything from the Smart Hybrid Hammer action to the wood/resin composite keys makes this a very enjoyable piano to play, indeed. 

Sounds and features 

As mentioned up top, the PX-S7000 uses Casio's Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source to produce its 400 voices. Among the standard piano, electric piano and organ voices, there are also 11 tones designed to sound like the pianos from hit songs, including Coldplay and Adele. This is a nice feature and it was a lot of fun to play around with. 

When it comes to grand pianos, there are three main voices to choose from - Privia Grand Hamburg, Privia Grand New York and Privia Grand Berlin - with each having its own sonic characteristics. 

Of course, with so many tones on offer, some of them do fall a little flat. That said, for the most part, they are all very useable. Yes, a few are a little too bright or too dark, but the core lineup of piano tones and accompaniments are very strong. 

A new 4-way speaker array is what delivers these tones to our ears, and we must say it's rather impressive. This piano is more than loud enough in a home setting and the frequency response is fairly well-balanced. At first, we did find the piano to be a little too present in the high frequencies, but this can be easily adjusted, and obviously, it will differ depending on your space. There are adjustable surround sound modes, which allow you to position your new piano against a wall, on a table or in the middle of a room, all without negatively affecting the tone of the instrument. 

All the voices and settings are accessible via the control panel at the top of the piano. If you are familiar with the PX-S1100 and PX-S3100 models, then you'll be familiar with this screen. It's very easy to use and incredibly intuitive, so you shouldn't have any problems navigating the menus. New for the PX-S7000 is an assignable control button which can be used as a modulation control and so much more, depending on which voice you are using. 

Lastly, we have Bluetooth compatibility. Now, Bluetooth is a feature that we've all come to expect from digital pianos - especially at this price point - and while the PX-S7000 does come with Bluetooth MIDI and Audio as standard, it isn't built directly into the unit. Instead, you need to plug in the WU-BT10 adaptor. Okay, this isn't too much of a big deal, but we don't understand why Casio can't build this feature directly into the piano, come on, Casio, it's 2022! 

Casio PX-S7000HM review: Hands-on demos

Casio 

Sweetwater

Merriam Music

Casio PX-S7000HM review: Specifications

• Keyboard: Smart Hybrid Hammer Action Keyboard 
• Number of Keys: 88
• Touch Response: 5 sensitivity levels, off
• Maximum Polyphony: 256
• Sound Source: Multi-Dimensional Morphing AiR
• Number of Tones: 400
• Speaker: [16cm x 8cm（Oval)] x 4 Speaker System：4- Channel /4-Speaker (Spatial Sound System)
• Dimensions: 1,340 x 242 x 102 mm (w/o accessories) 1,340 x 449 x 741 mm (w/fixed stand, w/o music stand）
• Weight: 14.8 kg (w/o accessories, batteries) 28.1 kg (w/fixed three-pedal stand, w/o music stand, batteries）
• Includes: Wireless MIDI & Audio Adaptor(WU-BT10), Stand, Fixed 3-pedal Unit, Key Cover, Music Stand, AC Adaptor(AD-E24250LW)
• Contact: Casio