Yamaha DGX 670
Pros
- Tons of features
- Pitch bend wheel
- 256 Polyphony
Cons
- Entry level key action
We all know Yamaha for its amazing digital piano products. This Yamaha DGX 670 is no exception. Keeping true to the DGX portable band features, this model replaces the DGX660.
If you are hunting for a new piano to add to your collection, this review is all you need. I will look at everything from the design to the features and everything in between.
Hopefully, by the end of our journey together, you will get to see why this new digital piano has tongues wagging.
Let’s get this concert on the road, shall we?
DESIGN
The look
Yamaha has tried to run away from the traditional digital piano look with this model.
The DGX-670 has been totally redesigned with a modern body that features curved edges, completely different from the traditional rectangular frame.
This gives it a stylish, modern and possibly attractive aesthetic. You have a choice between two colors; black and white.
While the style of the piano itself is rounded and curved, the L-300 furniture stand and the optional L-P1 piano style pedal have straight and rigid edges.
This makes the piano look a bit mismatched with the stands.
The overall look is slightly awkward and gives the impression that the piano is floating on top of the stands.
Other than that, the look is pretty average.
Music Rest
The DGX-670 has a music rest that is wide enough to accommodate electronic devices such as your iPad or tablet. It is made from non-slip plastic and it is removable.
Reading your music score sheet or sheet music is easier because of the wide music rest. There is nothing specific that stands out on the music rest.
It seems Yamaha was more focused on functionality over aesthetics on this one.
Control
The control board is where Yamaha went all out in their design and features. In my opinion, the DGX-670 features new and innovative controls that are geared at making your playing experience enjoyable and less strenuous.
The control button is the gateway to a myriad of entertaining features and functions that will certainly ignite a love for music making.
I will break down a few of the DGX-670 stand out control features.
The placement and functions of the control system are designed to make for an easy playing experience.
The DGX-670 features a 43-inch color LCD that has a score and lyric display function. The screen has a text viewer function available in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.
The LCD graphics have certainly improved from the DGX-660 however the screen display resolution is still backward and slightly pixelated. Yamaha could do with an improvement on this.
The color screen dashboard has controls for the microphone, style selection, tempo, mixer, recording and so many more.
The simple control button allows you to cancel any of the accompanying background instruments, and the grand piano room button leads you straight to the Yamaha CFX Voice.
The pitch bond wheel makes an appearance as well, and it allows you to change the pitch of the notes that you are playing.
Keys
The 88-note weighted Yamaha Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) keyboard has a weighted action that features a lighter touch on the high end and a heavier touch on the low end.
This effect mimics the hammers you find inside an acoustic piano.
This makes for a buttery and smooth transition when playing.
Size & Weight
The DGX-670 is a slightly large digital portable piano. It measures 139,7 x15,5 x 44,5 cm (55″ x 16″ x 17,5″) and it weighs about 21.4kgs alone without the stand.
It is however easier to lug around, unlike the DGX-660. This makes it perfect for live musicians.
KEY ACTION
This is where I’m not quite happy with the new DGX 670.
The key action is quite a disappointment for such an advanced and rich featured piano.
The GHS hammer action technology used for this model does not do justice to the new features that Yamaha added.
It is exactly the same key action you get from the entry level Yamaha P45, which is only half the price of DGX-670.
Add the fact that the keys are made from plastic and you have yourself a keyboard that is too light to the touch and not ideal for building up finger strength in beginners.
The general grip of the keys is solid, but as with the DGX-660, Yamaha has designed the white keys with a glossy finish.
This type of finishing has not yet addressed concerns over the loss of grip and control after several long practice hours.
SOUND
The crowning glory of the DGX-670 is the Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM). This is a fantastic fresh addition to the DGX series because the VRM mimics natural occurring resonances at the click of a button.
In an authentic grand piano, the strings are not only vibrating as they are being played the other strings react by ringing as well. This sound is perfectly duplicated by the VRM.
You can choose resonances like the echo of strings or harmonic overturns which this VRM technology can generate in real-time.
And of course, the DGX-670 includes the world-class converted concert grand piano, sound produced by the Yamaha 9″ CFX Voice.
A cool addition in the piano room function is the ability to choose different playing environments. You can choose to play in a concert or cathedral to name a few.
The piano will also change the microphone settings to match the environment that you choose.
Additionally, there is a function that simulates the closing and opening of the piano lid. This changes the tonality of the sound being produced.
The DGX-670 features a 12 cm two-way speaker system that offers an impressive, rich mid and bass and a clear tremble from the 5 cm tweeters.
One downside of the DGX-670 though is that it features a pretty substandard speaker system.
The 2 x 6-watt speaker amplifier is quite mediocre. Yamaha has added the built-in Intelligent Acoustic Control (IAC) in an attempt to improve this lack of amplification.
The IAC automatically adjusts and controls the sound quality based on the overall volume of the instrument.
This is not good enough for such an advanced digital piano. All the effort has gone into adding a lot of features and functions but the speaker system is still stuck in the dark ages. In my opinion this is a pretty big drawback for the DGX-670.
FEATURES
Perhaps the most overwhelming aspect of the DGX-670 is the many features and functions that it offers.
I cannot realistically list them all one by one in this article, but I have highlighted the most important of the features.
The entire purpose of the DGX-670 is to provide a multi-purpose playing experience. Whether for beginners, professionals, soloists or band players, this piano has it all.
The voice and style quality of the DGX-670 have their foundation in the Clavinova CVP-701. The combination gives it a wide range of quality style functions and Super Articulation Voices.
The DGX-670 has 630 authentic sounding instruments from various genres and categories of music. 49 of these are the converted super-articulated and expressive humanistic voices.
The piano also features wireless Bluetooth connectivity for the first time on a DGX.
This means that you can stream wireless audio, and this is great for computer connectivity.
It features a microphone input plug with effects and various mic settings that you can enjoy. If you love karaoke or if you are a vocalist, then this feature is for you.
It can record directly to a thumb drive in real time and produce CD quality recordings.
The DGX-670 comes equipped with accompaniment functions that allow you to explore different styles and accents. The Adaptive Style is one of these new functions.
It analyzes your playing in real-time and automatically arranges accompaniment music to suit the mood of the piece you are playing.
Another interesting feature is the Flowkey app compatibility that allows you to connect the DGX-670 to the Flowkey app on your mobile devices and teaches you to play different songs.
The app gives you access to many modern songs that you can download and input into your playing sessions. You can purchase the songs at YamahaMusicSoft.com.
Below I have a list of some features of the DGX-670
Here are some other features that you might find useful.
Sounds:
- 630 total
Polyphony:
- 256
Key sensitivity:
- Hard2
- Hard1
- Medium
- Soft1
- Soft2
Reverb settings:
- 58 Preset + 30 User
Chorus settings:
- 106 Preset + 30 User
Digital Signal Processing:
- 295 Preset + 30 User
Modes:
- Dual-mode (layered): allows two instrument sounds simultaneously
- Split mode: splits the keyboard to two different instruments
Internal recording:
- MIDI: 100 songs and up to 16 recorded tracks
- WAV: to USB
Connectivity:
- Microphone jack
- AUX in
- Headphones
- USB to Host
- USB to Device
- Pedal jack
App:
- Chord Tracker
- Flowkey
ACCESSORIES
The Yamaha DGX-670 comes with a music rest, matching stand and a FC5 sustain pedal. I would however recommend purchasing the optional LP-1 pedal, which you can use from the beginner stage all the way to the professional player stage.
It opens up more of the piano functions, unlike the L-300 stand that comes with the purchase.
You might need to buy a bench as well because they do not include it in the initial purchase package.
The headphones offer a Stereophonic Optimizer function. This allows you to enjoy the dispersed sound heard when sitting in front of an acoustic piano.
The Stereophonic Optimizer samples the acoustic voices and makes them appear like they are resonating from within the body of the piano.
This will remove any challenges that headphones can pose whilst perform.
WHO IT’S FOR
A live professional musician will enjoy this bad boy without a doubt. The beauty of the DGX-670 though is that it accommodates a wide range of competences.
I would say that if you are after a simple, purely piano playing experience, this product might not be for you. The bells and whistles will go to waste if you do not see yourself rocking out with a band at some point in your future.
CONCLUSION
Fantastic on stage and perfect in the home, this is a nifty design that has fantastic features. It is lightweight enough to move around and aside from the somewhat weak amplification of the speakers which you can remedy by buying an external speaker, this is a great versatile piano.
I think Yamaha did a pretty good job with this one. I only wish they upgraded the key action this time.
PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Feel free to leave us a comment; we can’t wait to know what you think about this Yamaha DGX 670 review. And if you have used the DGX 670 before, we would really love you to share your experience with the instrument.
am having issues playing MP3 with USB
mp3 come off internet and i download to usb stick anyone know why I am be having issues with DGX 670 to play the mp3 file
Hi Guido,
Maybe you could try to convert the format of your mp3 files to which Yamaha DGX 670 can recognize, which is stereo track and 16-bit.
There are lots of free software that can help you complete the conversion, such as audacity.
Hope this helps.
All I see is a Headphone jack.
How would one connect to external speakers!?
Or a subwoofer as another reviewer suggested?
Or to an external amp?
Love all the features!
But connectivity seems extremely lacking…no?
Please advise.
Thanks!
Hi Brad,
To connect to external speakers, I use a 1/4 in stereo jack lead to two 1/4 in jack plug connections on the left and right.
Only external audio (such as from a smartphone) may be played via Bluetooth on the DGX 670. However, the audio output of the DGX 670 cannot be sent wirelessly (e.g., to Bluetooth headphones).
FYI: Digital wireless audio systems, such as Bluetooth, typically have high latency which is more than 10 milliseconds, and makes playing live impossible practically.
Hope this helps.
if i want to have the ease of use, arranger functionalities but i also play a lot of piano should i go with this or the Roland fp 30x ( which lacks both ease of use and arranger functions , but has a superior keyboard ) or get casio px 560m ( which might get replaced soon , and hope it does get replaced before i purchase )
I guess it depends on how important an authentic piano experience is to you. I think the Casio might be a good middle ground. The PX 560 is a bit old, but you can check out the PX S3000.
I don’t only have interest in acquiring the piano but if I can get a teacher