Buy an E373 or E473?

[--tmy--]

Hello community!

I own a PSR E323. I am a guitar player, but I like to play Keyboard for myself as well and have done so since ~2012. (Piano voice, sometimes I use other voices like the Electric Piano or the Organ, when I have learned a song I like to play along to a style).

The new generations offer more styles and improved voices, especially the improved piano voice. Therefore I would like to upgrade, because I am pretty sure, I will like the new features.
Unfortunately, my local dealer switched to Casio and I want to stick with Yamaha (not that Casio is bad, I wear their watches, but in this case I would like to buy what I am familiar with).

I have some questions regarding E373 vs. E473. Maybe you can answer from experience:

• Speakers: The E473 has more powerful speakers, but I only play for myself at home. Sometimes late in the evening or early in the morning (after work, before work). I then turn the volume down very very low. Is the E473 generally louder or can you also play at a very low volume comfortably like with the E323/E373?
• Keypad: Is there a significant difference between the quality of the keys from E373 to E473 (and the touch sensitivity)?
• Live control knobs on the E473: Do I always have to turn them back to a zero position or is there an option to ignore the current setting of the live control knobs? If I want a standard piano sound and a standard 8 beat style to play along, do I have to fiddle with the knobs in order to get the "standard" sound or can the piano ignore the filters from the knobs, regardless of their current position?
• I currently prefer buying the E473 over the E373. Firstly, because the speaker has metal grills, like my E323. And secondly, because I'd like to buy it at Thomann and they are currently out of stock for the E373.

Thanks!

[SciNote]

Welcome to the forum!

I have owned a Yamaha PSR-E433, which is a predecessor to the E473, for about 9 years now, and I have been very happy with it.  While I don't yet play professional gigs, I have been playing keyboard for over 44 years, so I am no novice.

I always tell people that, unless money is a concern, to get the E473 over the E373, because you get so much more, including the live control knobs, more effects options, more registrations and better access to them while playing, and a USB-to-device port.

So, to answer your questions the best I can...

Speakers -- I see no reason why you would not be able to turn down the volume as low as you want on either keyboard.

Keypad -- I believe the key feel of both of these keyboards is similar and of decent quality, though it has been a while since I actually played them.  This is one area where there is a kind of consensus that Yamaha put a superior keyboard on the E433, but then put slightly "degraded" keyboards on their later models, and that is one of the reasons that I've kept the E433 so long.  But the newer keyboards still feel fine and, in my opinion, feel better than any of the recent Casios that I've tested.  However, I have yet to play the newer Casio CTS-500 and CTS-1000V models, so I cannot comment on those.

Live control knobs -- You do not have to worry about those.  They are read in a digital fashion and will not affect the sound unless moved/changed.  So, for example, you can select a sound, set the knobs to control the filter, and then set some extreme cutoff and resonance points with the knobs to get some crazy synth sound.  But then if you select another sound on the keyboard, that sound will load up with its default, factory settings and the keyboard will NOT apply the knob settings to that sound unless and until you actually adjust a particular knob.  Similarly, you can save a combination of sounds (main voice, dual voice, split voice) along with various knob settings and DSP settings to a registration.  When you then call up that registration, it will play exactly as you saved it, regardless of what the current settings of the knobs are, and the knobs will not affect that sound, again, until you physically change the position/setting of one of the knobs.

I will say that those knobs are worth their weight in gold, as they really help you easily customize a sound and bring synthesizer-like features, such as a filter, to such a relatively low-priced keyboard.

Feel free to ask any keyboard related questions here!

[--tmy--]

Thank you very much for your answer! This is very helpful. Especially thanks for explaining how the knobs work.

[Divemaster]

Just sold my virtually brand new E473.
It's a very function filled instrument, and the features are probably a good buy for you if you play more synth type music.
What killed it for me was the SO SO small screen, which  was difficult to decipher, having so much information displayed. I have eyesight issues anyway. Add to that the headphone socket which for some inexplicable reason Yamaha have buried in the back panel, and it just wasn't for me.
It plays well, but the keys are cheap and tacky..
It has Mega Boost for speaker volume, so it's adequate for the fitted speakers.
For the money it's reasonable, but if I'm honest, I think if you wait a few months, you'll pick one up for a lot less than they cost now.
For what you've got in mind, it will probably suit you just fine.... But check out that screen. It really is very difficult to decipher, and as there are no leds, it's very difficult to see what you have selected.
Hope that helps. 🙂

[SciNote]

Divemaster brings up an important point.  For a while, Yamaha was shipping E473's with defective displays that were difficult to read.  I believe that the consensus was that it wasn't the display itself, but the controller feeding power to the display that was causing the problem.  I have never seen one of these personally, but from what I've read, it looked like an LCD display on a typical battery powered device where the batteries are getting weak, where you get faded segments and elements on the display.

I do believe Yamaha has now solved the issue, but in any case, if you buy an E473, I would make sure you can exchange it if necessary, then open it and test it in the store before you leave to make sure it works properly.

Now, if Divemaster simply means that the design of the display on the E473 does not allow for showing much information at once, making it difficult to determine the status of the various features, then that is valid.  As the keyboard sounds great, one of the concessions of an inexpensive keyboard is a limited display.  However, the same would be true for the E373, as well.  The next step up in these keyboards (other than the PSR-EW425 -- essentially a 76 key version of the E473 with a few extra features) is the PSR-SX600, which costs nearly three times the price as the E473.

I'm not entirely convinced that the price of these keyboards will drop significantly in the used market, because I've been regularly checking my local Craigslist for certain Yamaha Keyboards, such as a back-up for my E433, and I'm amazed at the prices that people ask for these older keyboards.  Right now, there is a Yamaha PSR-E453 on there for $250, and that's about what they cost brand new back in 2016!  Granted, just because people ask these prices, doesn't mean they're actually getting these prices, but I don't see a lot of great values out there, and that's been the case for some time.  This is also true on Ebay, as well.  But then again, I just checked Ebay, and curiously, there are about ten listings for E473's for only about $295 with free shipping (at least in the US).  These seem to be customer returns to a business.  I'm wondering if maybe these are units that were returned with the defective display, but I have no idea.

[Divemaster]

Hi Bob

Please don't get me wrong. The E473 is a pretty decent buy for what it is, but I would just add that there was no problem with the screen on the one that I owned.
It's just far too small for the amount of data displayed on it at any one time. That was my main disappointment.
One of the main reasons I now have an SX700 (my second) is because the led's display most playing information instantly. So say for Accompaniment, an led lights up.
On the E473, Accmp shows on the screen, but I've often had to look several times to ensure it's still on or off.

The scat voices on it are amazing......something missing from the SX700.  I almost kept it as a second keyboard, just for that. So not all bad.

[--tmy--]

These are very helpful tips.

I get the feeling that it might be worth it to favor the E473 over the E373.

The possibility of a defective display unit is a gamble, but I hope that now that the issue is public a repair or replacement can be negotiated, if my keyboard should be affected. Although I really hope they have sorted things out now for new keyboards.

[--tmy--]

The Yamaha E473 arrived today.
This keyboard feels completely different from the E323.

The keys are sort of clicky, especially the black ones. With that feel it's a challenge for me to get a feeling for the touch sensitivity.
At the moment when I play it does not sound good at all.
I have a hard time hitting the notes at an euqual volume. Something that I usually don't struggle with on the E323 or the Yamaha E-Piano I sometimes get the chance to play on.

Also, I am not sure if I like the new piano sound. With the sustain pedal pressed it rings out noticably less than the old piano sound (which is still available at no. 2)


It is my impression that playing this keyboard has a completely different feel compared to the old one. Has anyone else experienced this?

I will have to see, if I can learn to like it.



EDIT: I have read now that @Divemaster has also noticed the feel of the keys.
Screen is fine. No defect there. The size is what it is, I guess. The piano voice shows in big letters, but the many effect options are indeed written very small.

[pjd]

As to touch response, I recommend checking out page 62 of the Owner's Manual and choose one of the four settings to match your hands: Soft, Medium, Hard, or Fixed.

As to ringing out, either increase the Main Voice Reverb Depth or Release Time. Both are described on page 62, also.

Hope this helps -- pj

[--tmy--]

Thank you very much for the tips.

I have been using the keyboard for a week now and I am getting aquainted with it. I found the touch sensitive settings a few days ago.

I have not tried the reverb depth and release time. There's really a lot of settings and options available. This is brilliant!

[--tmy--]

After a few weeks I have gotten used to the new keyboard (e473). Also and especially the keys. I guess the fact that I am not a very experienced piano player contributed to the situation, that it took me a bit of time to get a feel for the keys, because they are actually pretty great.

And the production quality is outstanding. It's a solid keyboard all around, the knobs and buttons, the speakers, the connectors, the keys. It's really good. (Display is fine, I guess that was bad production run, mine came in stock shortly before I bought and whatever the display shows is as sharp and even as on my old e323).

What makes me lough is the proud position of the articulation button, highlighted in blue. Is that really such an important button? :-D. It's more a gimmick for the standard piano sound IMO.

[Franck Simplement]

interesting to read.
I have an old psr630 that I take to my Christian assembly a few times and as soon as finances allow me, I will take an E473.
I find it really good, you can put a microphone there too and it is more powerful.

[SciNote]

Don't sell your PSR-630 short!  As long as everything is functional on it, that is a very nice keyboard.  I once had a PSR-520, which is part of the previous generation, and I'm kind of sorry I got rid of it as it would make a nice auxiliary keyboard for me today.  Make no mistake, I'm very happy with my PSR-E433 and love the synthesizer features on it that the 520 did not have, but the 520 (and I would assume your 630) has some very nice features as well.  At the very least, I know the 520 had 32 banks of registrations (4 registrations per bank) instead of just eight banks.  It has a complete set of DSP effects, which they have now finally more or less implemented on the E473 (the E453 and E463 also had DSP, but only 10 effects), whereas my E433 only has reverb and chorus.  And I'm pretty sure that the PSR-630 has the full XG voice set, not just XGLite.

But, as these keyboards are around 25 years old, there are certainly some disadvantages.  I know the 520 didn't have USB, and I don't think the 630 does, either -- I think USB was just being introduced on home computers around that time.  Therefore, external storage was done on a floppy drive (and my 520 didn't even have that).  And I know on my 520, there was no internal flash memory, so I had to make sure the batteries in it were kept fresh otherwise all of my registrations would be lost when the AC adapter was disconnected -- and in fact, that eventually happened to me, and I never really was able to completely recreate what I previously had stored on it.  And of course, those newer synth features like filter and envelope generator!  That was not available on those older keyboards, and they really help in creating customized sounds.

[Franck Simplement]

Oh no ! I don't intend to sell it.
But it is heavy and cumbersome for me to take it out of the house every Sunday so I hope to be able to take an E473 which will remain at the assembly.
And actually I would have to find the battery because I can't save any settings.
it's also fun to hear styles on new keyboards that are also in my old keyboard.
my dream would be to have an sx900 but if I can already have an E473 that would be great.