Yamaha digital piano DGX 670 is the successor of the previous super popular DGX 660. This Yamaha DGX 670 review will have a thorough look at the updated DGX digital piano.
Yamaha has completely revamped the DGX line, the Portable Grand Piano series, with the DGX-670. It has a totally new look with a beautiful curved design and a full-color high-resolution display screen. It also features a bunch of arranger functionalities with songs, styles, and recording abilities, just like the DGX-660.
What are the best features the DGX-670 offers? Let’s take a closer look at it.
Table of Contents
Yamaha DGX-670 Specifications
DGX670 Specifications |
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Design
The Yamaha DGX Portable Grand line is Yamaha’s attempt to create a hybrid from an 88-key digital piano from its PSR series keyboards. The previous DGX models were pretty much entry-level instruments.
However, the latest model of DGX-670 upgraded significantly from its predecessor. The DGX-670 is the best all-around digital piano arranger in its price range.
The fully new design of DGX-670 is attractive. The rounded back corners make the instrument stylish while offering a deeper casing for a better sound response.
Compared with previous DGX models, the DGX670 looks and feels significantly more premium and closer to the build quality of Yamaha’s flagship keyboards SX lineup.
The LCD screen display is bright, high in resolution, and thoughtfully laid out. It also offers the function to display scores and lyrics.
Even though the LCD screen is not a touch screen, the various ways make the selection easy.
The plastic chassis has a textured surface. The buttons are made from an excellent anti-slip rubberized material and are logically laid out.
Yamaha has done a commendable job of giving users multiple ways to maneuver around the operating system:
- The two rows of buttons below the LCD screen
- A four-way digital pad (D-Pad)
- A pitch wheel
Pedal
The DGX-670 comes with a single plastic footswitch to serve as a Sustain pedal. The footswitch is lightweight and tends to move around during use. I would recommend you upgrade the pedal to a Yamaha FC3A piano-style pedal. It is not only more solid and not slippery but also supports half-pedaling.
Yamaha also offers a three-pedal unit for DGX-670, which you must purchase separately. It can be connected to a designated port in the back of the instrument. Since the LP-1B (for black) or LP-1WH (for white) three-pedal unit features bars to be mounted on the stand, you’ll need to purchase the matching stand to use the three-pedal unit. The nice thing about this three-pedal unit is that it comes pre-configured depending on the mode and voice you select.
Matching Stand
Although Yamaha is marketing the DGX-670 as a Portable Grand, with its staggering 47 lbs, I doubt many people will bring this instrument anywhere.
For home use, you can purchase a matching wooden stand and a pedal unit as well, which makes it look gorgeous in any home. When you mount the DGX-670 on the stand, it is screwed in place, and it does not easily take it off.
However, if you still need to take the instrument somewhere regularly, it may be better to have a foldable X-style stand so both your piano and stand can fit into your car.
Sound
The DGX-670 features Yamaha’s signature CFX concert grand piano sound. It is the default piano sound you get when you switch on the instrument, and this is a multifaceted piano sound, nice and sparkly at the top but rich and vibrant in the bass. It is a true joy to play it.
Besides many excellent piano sounds that come with the DGX-670, Yamaha has also included their Piano Room feature that allows you to control various aspects of the sound and resonance, just like putting your piano in a different environment, such as a cathedral or concert hall.
In addition to the acoustic piano voices, the DGX-670 offers some nice electronic piano sounds. Electronic piano sounds do not really like acoustic piano; they are beautiful in their unique ways. Some of the e-piano sounds replicate the keyboards from the 70s and 80s.
Polyphony
The DGX-670 has a maximum of 256-note polyphony, a 30% bump from the previous DGX model. Polyphony on digital pianos is the maximum number of notes that a piano can sound simultaneously. Nowadays, it is pretty standard to have 192-note maximum polyphony for digital pianos at this price range; however, the DGX-670 goes above and beyond.
The 256-note polyphony allows you to play any music piece and gives a layer of multiple sounds without dropping any notes. It is enough for all levels of players.
Speakers
The Yamaha DGX670 has an excellent speaker system with four speakers, two on each side, just like its predecessor, DGX660. The total output power is 12 watts. The deep case provides an outstanding bass response. The instrument puts forward a delightful, full-bodied sound through its speakers.
Accompaniment Styles
The DGX-670 comes with over 260 accompaniment styles; moreover, you can download or purchase even more from Yamaha’s own music downloadables website.
On this instrument, you have a selection of different styles of music, from pop, rock, ballad dance, R&B, country, jazz, entertainment, Latin, etc. Each of these categories offers a set of different backings that you can use to play along.
Additionally, the backings can either be just drums or use the accompaniment function to add bass and guitars, plus other instruments to play along. This creates a more enjoyable experience because it makes you feel like you are playing in a band. Therefore, the DGX-670 can be used as an excellent arranger for you taking on the road to do some entertaining.
It is worth noting that every one of the 263 accompaniments has four sounds pre-assigned to them. Hence, it makes it easier to set the instrument up and play with outstanding sound combinations without too much effort of tinkering with the settings. Of course, if you prefer to set the sound your way, it is totally up to you.
Keyboard
The DGX-670 has Yahama’s Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) action keyboard. This means the keyboard delivers the graded, weighted touch keys required for building proper techniques for playing acoustic pianos. The keys are heavier on the left side (bass section) than on the right side (treble section).
While the GHS action is not the latest and greatest action from Yamaha, it is not as good as the tri-sensor GH3 action. However, the GHS action is still good enough for beginners to develop proper piano-playing techniques.
The matte finish on black keys further enhances the touch and feel. Unfortunately, the white keys have highly polished surfaces without the texture of the black keys.
Modes
While you get a lot of sounds, the DGX-670 also lets you layer any two sounds on top of each other, or you can split the keyboard with two different voices, one voice on the right and a different voice on the left.
For example, you can layer the piano sound with orchestral strings to produce alluring, rich music.
Connectivity
As part of the Yamaha DGX-670 review, let’s take a closer look at its connectivity. The DGX-670 features Bluetooth® Audio, USB-to-Device, USP-to-Host, AUX IN, headphones, and microphone connectivities.
Bluetooth® Audio
It is nice that Yamaha has equipped the DGX-670 with wireless Bluetooth Audio connectivity. It makes it much easier to stream songs from your mobile devices to the instrument for jamming or simply sounding out from the onboard speakers. The wireless connectivity is more convenient than using the AUX IN jack in the back of this digital piano.
Standard Stereo Jacks
Using headphones to play the piano allows you to avoid distractions or play quietly without disturbing others in the household. The DGX-670 has one standard 1/4″ headphone jack in the back.
Due to the fact the instrument only has 12 watts of output, it is no surprise that the DGX-670 sounds remarkably better with a pair of good headphones versus the onboard speakers.
Microphone Jack
Yamaha DGX-670 features a microphone input to sing along with whatever you’re playing.
USB-to-Host Connector
This USB Type B port allows you to connect to a computer to exchange MIDI data. You may also leverage this port to connect to your smart device.
USB-to-Device Connector
The USB Type-A port lets you plug in your USB flash drive. It is located in front of the keyboard and makes it convenient to connect to your memory stick, which can quickly expand the storage for your registrations or song recordings.
Pros & Cons
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
256-note polyphony | A footswitch as a sustain pedal not supporting half pedal and slippery |
Outstanding Yamaha CFX concert grand sound with Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM) | A weighty portable instrument with 47 lbs |
Full-color LCD | Headphones and microphone jacks in the back of the instrument |
Portable design with arranger functions | The tri-pedal unit can only be used with the matching stand |
Bluetooth Audio wireless connectivity | |
USB-to-Device and USB-to-Host ports | |
Nice sound output with four speakers | |
A microphone connector for singing along |
Yamaha DGX 670 Review Summary
4.8 out of 5.0
Through our detailed Yamaha DGX 670 review, we think it has unmatched value in the price range with its amazing functions and sound quality. Here are the five very compelling reasons:
- A very powerful digital piano features more than 600 tones. Additionally, the Piano Room function allows you to focus on piano playing in a virtual room.
- A full-color LCD screen makes selections much more accessible and provides a score and lyrics display ability.
- The DGX-670 offers a wide range of effects, especially the impressive 295 Digital Signal Process (DSP) effects, which enable you to shape your tone and give it a unique character effortlessly.
- The Registration function allows users to save the settings for each tone with specific effects. The DGX670 allows users to save an almost unlimited number of user settings because users can extend the storage via a USB flash drive.
- Not only does the DGX-670 offer more than 263 rhythms with variations for each rhythm, but every rhythm has a full accompaniment. Moreover, each instrument part in the accompaniment can be turned on and off.
The Yamaha DGX-670 has excellent sounds and powerful functions. At its price range, it is incredible to have many of these features you only find in more expensive digital pianos. It is a versatile instrument.
To wrap up the Yamaha DGX 670 review, I would say that the DGX-670 is a worthy choice for piano players at all levels. Besides, it can be used as an arranger for professional musicians.
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