Roland has announced the new LX700 series, which aims to recreate the experience of playing a beautiful grand piano at a world-class venue.
The flagship LX708, mid-range LX706, and entry-level LX705 all deliver superior performance for the discerning player, with innovations in sound generation, keyboard action, ambience modeling, and design.
Unlike typical digital pianos, which create their sound by sampling, the LX700’s PureAcoustic Modeling technology emulates the way that acoustic pianos produce sound, including the hammers striking the strings and the sound resonating through the piano’s body. This approach enables a choice of completely realistic, but tonally distinct, grand piano models—one for European tastes and the other with an American feel—offering the LX700 player two supremely playable-yet-customizable pianos in one. Roland’s PureAcoustic Ambience technology then recreates the sound space around the piano by convincingly emulating the acoustic properties of world-class concert halls, studios, and even cathedrals, which is especially impressive when using headphones.
The keyboard and pedals in the LX700 series respond faithfully to every nuance, so even highly accomplished pianists won’t need to adapt their playing or compromise expression. Roland’s new Hybrid Grand keyboard (LX708/LX706) features longer key actions than those on typical digital pianos, so the player doesn’t need to press harder the further up the key they play. The LX708’s keyboard even reproduces the vibration from the cabinet resonance when playing a grand piano. In addition, the LX708 comes equipped with newly designed Responsive Damper Action for the most authentic pedal expressions.
Apart from the differences in keyboards, the above technology is standard across the range. Convenient features like Bluetooth audio, Twin Piano mode, a metronome, and the option to use headphones for private practice are also standard, along with a unique C-shape aperture on the piano’s front that enables natural sound projection. The user interface is designed to be inviting to play, with minimal distractions, elegant backlit buttons, and sophisticated rotary knobs.
Each model offers a different combination of graceful cabinet designs, keyboards, pedals, and Acoustic Projection speaker systems. The flagship LX708 has a tall, commanding cabinet and a lid that opens for optimum sound projection, as well as a powerful eight-speaker sound system. The midrange LX706 offers a shorter cabinet, closed-lid design, and six-speaker system, matching its pro-level performance with a budget-conscious price. The entry-level LX705 has the most compact cabinet, a four-speaker system, and Roland’s expressive PHA-50 keyboard, yet still shares technology with the flagship and premium models. Depending on the model, finishes include polished ebony, polished white, charcoal, dark rosewood, and light oak.
Piano Every Day
Launching alongside the LX700 series is Piano Every Day, a unique smartphone app that encourages regular playing.
Once installed, LX700 owners can browse and purchase from Sheet Music Direct’s online library of over 70,000 music scores, before trying the “Timeline” program to track and display progress when learning a new piece, complete with exercises if required.
Piano Every Day for iOS and Android is available for free from the App Store and Google Play.
More information: Roland
