SX900 not wanting to give up on it

[vadesriux]

Hi.

Am waiting still to be able to afford this keyboard, although I could afford the SX700.

But after hearing so many examples comparing both keyboards, nothing convinces me anymore that the sounds each one produces are equal.

There's an airiness, space and sound fidelity in the 900 sounds that simply is not present on the 700. Not saying the 700 sound quality is bad, but it doesn't compare to the 900 sounds quality. And I'm not refering to the speakers.

The drawback is I'll have to spent an additional 700€ to get one, but I prefer to. I've had a Genos and lowering to the 700 would be a disappointment sound wise.

Feel free to convey your thoughts on this.

[lmederos]

Hi

I was in the same quandary.  I was lucky enough to find a store that had the units and allowed me to compare, also with the Korg PA700.

I've only had the SX900 for a few weeks, but one other thing that made glad I got the SX900 is the user storage capacity.  I wanted access to many of the expansion packs, and I don't think the SX700 would have been adequate for what I wanted.

Re the sound.   I wholeheartedly agree on the depth of sound from the SX900.   I did not want to spend the difference, but once I saw the SX900 I would not have been happy with the SX700.   If you downsizing from a Genos, the SX700 would be a hard pill to swallow.

Good luck!

[YammyFan]

My friend set up her SX900 about 2 inches from the wall in her house and was a bit unhappy about the sound quality. She moved it away from the wall  so that it is 12 inches from the wall is  very happy. I'm wondering if it can really make a difference where  a SX 900 is positioned in relation to walls.

[Bernie9]

I am sure that the projection from the SX900 speakers is altered by the distance from the wall.  I would assume that anyone comparing the two would use headphones or the same PA.  Vadesriux states that the comparison was made without regard for the speakers.

[johan]

Indeed, if you compare the keyboards by listening with the internal speakers, it is obvious that the SX900 will sound richer, since the SX900 has better speakers. Coming from an E463, the SX700 was a huge improvement for me but if you downgrade from a genos, the SX900 seems a far more logical choice. The voices that are on the SX700 to me are identical to the ones on the SX900 and also the DSP effects are the same. But the SX900 has much more voices (including revo "compatible" drumkits which are completely missing on the SX700): I think this mainly explains the better perceived sound on the SX900 versus the SX700.
Anyway, in Belgium you get a nice second hand price if you sell your SX700, so an approach could be to start with the SX700 and later "upgrade" to an SX900.

[EileenL]

The SX900 has speakers that project all round so you will hear sound from Front and back. This is great if doing small gigs because your audience also has a better sound.
  Of course it will never be a Genos because it dose not have SA2 or after touch but sound wise is very close. I do have both so can compare. You can of course add a SUB WOOFER to SX900 if you want to.

[Jeff Hollande]

I upgraded from SX700 to SX900 after 4 months, in early 2021.

I could sell my SX700 to a private enduser who was very happy with this keyboard that never left my house.

In January 2021 I have bought my brand new SX900.

The Yamaha SX900 is a jewel.
Super sound, great voices and a lot of ( new ) features.

For the time being, it seems, the SX900 cannot be delivered and will not be available before March 2022, they say unless a very few dealers have stock yet.

It has been confirmed the SX700 is not in stock either.

The price will be increased by approx 10% as of immediately, people say.

Apparently the Genos meets the same lead time and it's price has been increased ( + USD 1,500,-- compared to 2017/2018 ) recently.

We all know why prices have been increased drasticly.
( shortage of digital chips and shortage of containers to ship the goods ).

IMHO I think it is wise not to sell your Yami for the time being. Keep it and enjoy it. 😃

Nobody  - not even Yamaha  - knows when this present and terrible situation will be ended.

I think is hard to tell how the arranger keyboard market will look like in 2022 but I cannot believe new Yamaha successors will be available in 2022.

Only Yamaha can answer that question.
There will not come any answer soon, I guess.

Be happy and have fun, JH

[ton37]

Once I decided to sell the Genos and buy an SX900 and don't regret it in any way. But realize that this will always be a personal choice! They are 2 beautiful keyboards with their own qualities and characteristics. There is enough information on this forum to list things and make your own choice. But what one does not 'exactly' find out here is how something 'sounds' and/or 'feels'. You have to do that yourself. Just my two cents...

[EileenL]

Yes Ton you are of course right in saying this and it depends on the user as to what kind of keybed will suit. The Genos Keybed of course is much better than the SX900 which did have problems for some with excess movement on side to side off the black keys and some keys clacking. This was easily put right by having the grease replaced. It always boils down to trying for yourself if possible. 

[vadesriux]

This is exactly where the issue lies. Today its nearly impossible to try these two keyboards anywhere. The only choice is to order both (only possible for the few ones who can afford this) and return the one you dont want to keep.

Going to a store and try one (or both) keyboards, at least here in Portugal, in no longer an option. Its completely impossible, now and in the foresseable future. Also ordering one - return it - ordering the other - choosing which one you like the most.. etc, would be a nightmare, logistically wise. So all in all its very frustrating the current situation. You'll have to be (very) patient and control your anxiety 

In the end, you'll have to 'guess' which one will suit you better, based on all the differences between them, what you can listen to online, and also - of course - accordingly to your budget.

Not taking into account the speakers, it seems the SX900 is superior sound wise. But I agree it is a very subjetive topic this one. Not so much if you have good ears to tell the difference.

[Jeff_M]

Once I decided to sell the Genos and buy an SX900 and don't regret it in any way.

I'm curious as to why you did that; usually folks upgrade but you went in the other direction.  Was it for reasons of portability?  Complexity? 

As far as trying out new keyboards, that's unfortunately the exception rather than the rule these days.  When I bought my first keyboard about 13 years ago (PSR-S710) I was able to try it out in a music store and subsequently bought it.  Same thing for my next one, a PSR-S950.  Not so with the PSR SX900, although by this time I was familiar enough with these keyboards that I was pretty sure I'd like it.  As it was, I almost sent it back due to the changes in the OS which I had trouble adapting to.  Made it over the hump, though, and am very glad I kept it. 

[vadesriux]

In fact Jeff, the Genos was by far the most intuitive, realiable, better keybed and wonderful sounding keyboard I have ever had. Saddly I had to part from it for my finances required me to at the time (and today also  it's Super expensive). I ended up buying a much more affordable MODX7, only to quickly find out that everything from the sequencer to the menus were miles away from the simplicity the Genos offered with its straighforward interface and functions.

And dont get me wrong. I'm all for synthesized type of sounds and spacey ambients (not so for waltz, salsa, or other kind of styles), but 100% for the auto-accompaniment function and ease of use the arrangers give you. So selling the Genos was... a hard pill to swallow. I thought I would be more than okay with the MODX7 but I was wrong.

So I had to sell the MODX7 and now am saving for the SX900. In short thats my story. I am sure I am not alone on this 

[ton37]

I'm curious as to why you did that; usually folks upgrade but you went in the other direction.  Was it for reasons of portability?  Complexity? 

As far as trying out new keyboards, that's unfortunately the exception rather than the rule these days.  When I bought my first keyboard about 13 years ago (PSR-S710) I was able to try it out in a music store and subsequently bought it.  Same thing for my next one, a PSR-S950.  Not so with the PSR SX900, although by this time I was familiar enough with these keyboards that I was pretty sure I'd like it.  As it was, I almost sent it back due to the changes in the OS which I had trouble adapting to.  Made it over the hump, though, and am very glad I kept it.

FYI: About 2 years ago I swapped from Genos to SX900. I had the oportunity to try them out for several days, just side by side.  The soundquality of the SX900 is amazing and for me good enough! The Genos has a lot of functions I never gonna use. It is (for me) already hard enough to touch the right keys, without even have time to turn on various knobs. Even the sliders were 'too much' for me. I'm a hobby/home player and no giggin' !
It by far meet my needs. I think I will certainly enjoy it for many years, as long as the hardware and / or software of the SX does not let me down! I had the KN SX7000 for 13 years, if I keep the SX900 for as long as I am .... too old to worry about another    It must be the characters SX in both models which intrigues me 
It is of course a personal choice. My journey of discovery in the land of the Yammies ran from Tyros5-76, Genos, PSR S770, PSR S975 and finally the SX900. All excellent keyboards with a beautiful sound.! The Genos, a top keyboard, but just too big (+ 21 cm bigger than the SX900) for my homestudio. I don't need so many keys, 61 is enough!
So as people have/wants so many different keyboards i guess that is a prove that they enjoy making music, and that's the right attitude!

[LaHawk]

Also keep in mind, your personal settings, mainly EQ, reverb, compression, etc. has a lot to do with how a keyboard sounds.
Out of the box, the SX-900 is good. With a little tweaking it's great. I would think this would apply to all keyboards including the SX-700 and Genos.

[matrix1999]

I have ordered the SX900.  I have just been waiting for them to get some in stock.  They are out everywhere.  I'm on a waiting list and should get one at the end of the month.  It's really hard to wait lol.  I want to get my hands on it.  I will use my at home making styles and practicing.  If I have a chance to gig with it I will.  I play sax and guitar.  I am hoping to build the styles and tracks and play along with it.  I can't believe how far arranger keyboards have come since the mid 90's when I had the psr 510!

[ChrisH]

Funnily enough I had my S-550 for quite a while but deep down inside wanted an SX-900 .. when I had plenty of funds for any of the SX series there were none in stock!  I however found a poorly written local ad on Facebook with just a photo of the 900's display taken with a cell phone and of course no-one was too sure what the guy was selling ..It was worth the drive as it had hardly been used and the guy was selling it because "I didn't like the sound" REALLY??? I grabbed it for a mere 2/3rd's of the retail price and set it up correctly and it's my pride and joy now!   It's always worth checking local ads as someone with more money than sense just might be selling a hardly used one!!  Stock seems to be almost impossible to get at the moment