Yamaha PSR-SX Forum • A short PSR SX900/920 Saga

Just for fun, here is the saga of my SX900/920 acquisition.

• In October, after months of research and watching far too many youtube videos and lurking here and on PSRTutorial, I finally decided to go for the PSR-SX900.
• There was a bit of agony getting myself across the line of ordering such an expensive board, and my wife and I had a few thoughts on this as well, but I place my order and track its progress in shipping...
• Finally it arrives, and I practice like mad, trying to help justify its purchase. 

• I do this in the knowledge that the PSRTutorials forums is a place for support and the site a place for training.
  Then the forum goes down (back up now, though there seems to be more lively discussion here for now)
  Eventually find this one and am glad for that.
• THEN, boom, the 920 is released, 5 weeks after my purchase. 1 WEEK after my Amazon return window has closed.
  I’m very disappointed, reading everyone’s thoughts about the incoming new 920, and feeling frustrated that I didn't wait just a few more days deciding what to get, before spending the same amount for the older version.
• Then, an online search leads me to reading that I can maybe persuade Amazon to take it back if I call and plead my case.
• I do that, talking to a nice person in India, I think, and I can return it but it will be a US$350 charge for returning it. I figure that’s less than sell/purchase loss, and say yes, figuring it's the price of avoiding years of buyer's remorse.
• But, I make the mistake of asking for the return to the card, rather than the instant return on Amazon, (because I wasn't sure that they carried it yet). So, instead of a quick turnaround, Amazon tells me it will take about a month for me to receive the refund.
• I hustle the box out of the attic, pack the 900 just as I received it, and send it along.
• Meanwhile, I borrow a friend’s Casio CTX 5000 to keep practicing. (And actually, the keyboard feels pretty good, if a bit clacky, and the piano sounds are better than Yamaha’s default.)
• Then instead of a month, I get my refund in two weeks, and they only charge me $44 for the return, not the 350, maybe because it was in pristine shape, repacked just exactly the way I received it, with manuals, etc.
• I order the new one, which requires thinking about the decision all over again. I consider other boards… I spend a lot of time thinking about the Korg PA 1000, but land back at the 920.
• Then finally, TODAY, I receive the new board, 3 and a half weeks since I sent the old one back.

So I begin my PSR adventure here, with a 920 in hand, and look forward to being part of the conversation here and over at the revived psrtutorial discussion board.

Very first thing I notice is that in fact, the piano voices on that Casio are better than those on the Yamaha, at least with default EQ settings, and that where the piano voices Casio sounded about the same on headphones vs. speakers (both good), the Yamaha is much better on headphones vs. speakers. Any suggestions? Are there other, better piano voices I can load, or perhaps EQ settings? (Other voices sounds pretty good, so it doesn't seem like it would be the master EQ. But, the Korg PA1000 has a rep of needing to be dialed in before it really reaches it's potential, so maybe there is something similar here?)

Thanks to everyone who contributes here, and for reading a longish post.

Cheers,
Scott

Statistics: Posted by ScottM — Fri Oct 18, 2024 1:10 am

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