Nord Piano 5 vs Yamaha CP88 - Stage Piano sounds Comparison

We put the Brand new Nord Piano 5 against the fantastic Yamaha CP88, to see which one we think has the best sound.

What do you think of both stage pianos? Let us know in the comments

Nord Piano 5 88 Stage Piano - £2549

Yamaha CP88 Stage Piano - £1699

[chrishill]

I just had a go with both of these in a shop, and I found the Nord keys have to be played much harder than the Yamaha. If played very softly, the Nord often fails to play all the keys. The Yamaha on the other hand, always played all the notes of the keys even when played very lightly. To me... the Yamaha keyboard was much nicer and miles more sensitive when played lightly. So... I bought the Yamaha. It was also about £1000.00 cheaper. The Nord sounds great, but so does the Yamaha. I also liked how much easier the Yamaha was to understand. I spent the saving on some amazing speakers .

[MrPianodueler]

I'm a 73 year old lifelong piano player.
My 2 cents worth?
Nord is warmer in sound however the Yamaha piano samples are more realistic and true to an actual piano.
Can't tell anything about feel from a video.
(Disclaimer here.
I'm a lifelong Yamaha guy.)
Guess I need to find a store with both instruments available to sample.
At 80 pounds the Kawai is not in consideration to lug around.

[MustBeDeleted]

I have the Yamaha SX90 s and it has been wonderful to play when on gigs… but now, retired from the road, I love to close my eyes and enjoy the great piano Sound from my Nord Piano 5… like playing on the real thing, regarding that I haven’t got the money or the space for a Grand Imperial…

[marvinkmooneyoz]

i give rhodes and clav to Nord, Wurli and Ac. Piano to yamaha, and action to yamaha. But the accessible library is something id hope all the competitors would be on.

[philburns]

When I close my eyes and just follow the playing, I sometimes realize that I can hear the single notes better. Like more "tone", also a bit warmer, less "digital". I watch to check and it's the Nord.

[bs]

For a older keyboard I was quite surprised how good the Yamaha sounded. And yes, it was better…congrats Yamaha!!

[DaringWin]

I LOVE Yamaha (Tyros 5 & P-250 are my main instruments), but I honestly didn't expect it to fare this well against the Nord. Nord's piano library captures the entire nuanced experience of the piano sound where TYPICALLY Yamaha (& most other manufacturers') piano/EP samples, while excellent, are a more idealized, very processed, and looped representation, which has been why I've preferred Yamaha in the past; you know a Yamaha is always going to cut through a mix, while previous incarnations of Nord (i.e., my ill-fated Nord Electro 3) just didn't stand out & sounded murky and unimpressive in practical applications. Modern Nords, however, are a COMPLETELY different affair, as they achieve the balance of authenticity & presence flawlessly, but this offering by Yamaha is closing the gap a bit in regard to acoustic piano; the EP is still VERY idealized, but, again, there will be no worry about it standing out. The free unlimited downloads for Nord sounds are an entirely different subject, though. I just wish Nord would consider an internal memory expansion or a USB storage option for storage of more samples that offers seamless access (like with any PC flash drive or external HDD) and no loading or special hurdles.

[ian]

It’s difficult to tell because the sound levels for the Nord - especially on the pianos is much louder and that creates skewed comparison

[דודקלדרון-כפ]

I owned a yamaha keyboards all my life. A month ago I purchased my new nord piano 5 (73 keys) and just now I realize how stupid I was all that years for not buying the nord as soon as it got out to the market... This machine is brilliant. In any aspect.

[stevec.]

Now in 2025 and viewing comparison videos of CP88/73 and Nord Piano 5/6- I like them both. However, for my gigging needs the CP73 could be a better choice because of quick adjustments on the fly during a gig when needed. A bit of a decision because both boards have wonderful sounds to my ears. 🎧🎹 Great demo and presentation. Thank You.

[benjaminsmith]

For me it's simple. When listening to the music, was I "standing next to a piano" or was I hearing a recording? I scrolled down, reading the comments while I listened. And when I felt like I was noticably "standing next to the piano" and scrolled up, it was the Nord.

And when it seemed I was listening to the radio, it was the Yamaha. Just sounded more flat, artificial, like a simulation.

Nord wins, it would seem. Full disclosure: I have a Nord Piano 5 and I love it!

[thenetworkmystery]

The Nord has all the nuances like key and pedal noise that the CP88 DIDN'T have. I say "didn't" because now the CP88 has Hamburg Grand, which IMO, with some tweaking with EQ, sounds pretty darn close to White Grand.

[ruudvincent]

Nord is natural. Love the piano's they are the best IMO

[andrechezlewis]

I have a Stage 3 compact and was trying to decide between getting Nord Piano 5 or Cp88. Decided to go with Cp88 because the Nord Piano 5 has the exact same sounds as my Nord Stage 3 Compact. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER! Nord beats the Cp88 in almost every department. The only thing I prefer on the Cp88 is the DX7 sound. Everything else is Nord by a long shot. Especially grand piano, upright piano, and synths.

[martinmilter]

I'm looking at buying one of these at the moment and so hard to decide. To be honest I like the Nord but only very slightly over the Yamaha. Point would be if it justifies an almost double price? I think that important to keep in mind. Also Yamaha have balanced out and a pitchbend / modwheel. Anyways, people are strong opinion whether they like Y or N, I wonder if linguistical influence have anything to say here. I'm Danish, so that's close to Sweden where Nord is designed - maybe an explanation...

[firehandszarb]

had the initial thought that the yamaha sounds better, but then after a while (and that is very short while) I think I may prefer the Nord. Yamaha sounds a lot more stereo/open, but the nord is more tasty. How much of that is my own preconceived notions I don't know. Would your opinion change after playing both for a month.

[LordOfSweden]

I prefer nord, I also prefer the look of Nord, but might as well go with any of them. Both great.

[debijohoffman]

Both sound amazing!! But, I'm Team Yamaha, so that's what I'd buy for sure!!!

[srallnutt]

What speakers were you running both pianos through please?

[followyourpassion]

Currently:
Korg Grandstage X 2400€ (improved RH3)

Yamaha CP88 2300€ (NW-GH3)

Nord Piano 5 88 2700€ (Fatar TP40)

The new Korg is probably the most interesting, the CP88 (action&sound) probably overall the best out of these three.

Nord White Grand XL 200MB download.

Yamaha Bösendorfer Montage 600MB download.

Korg Austrian Grand 6GB download.