Digital Pianos Review
Casio Privia PX-870 Review: Forty Watts and a Lid Simulator in a Slim Console
The PX-870 is the console Privia that solves the PX-770's main weakness with a four-speaker, 40 watt system and a lid simulator. This review looks at how much that changes the experience, what the 256-note polyphony and USB audio recording add, and where the Kawai and Yamaha alternatives pull ahead.
Our Verdict
Research Score 85/100The Casio Privia PX-870 is the best-sounding console through its own speakers in this price range. The 40 watt four-speaker system and lid simulator give it the projection of a small upright, 256-note polyphony is generous, and USB audio recording is a genuinely useful extra. The three-sensor action is good rather than exceptional, and the lack of Bluetooth is its most dated feature.
Editorial research score based on published specifications and documented features, not a customer rating or lab test.
Casio
Casio Privia PX-870
Best for: Home players who want a console that sounds full through its own speakers for well under four figures
Skip it if: you want Bluetooth or the most refined action under $1,000
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Listing verified: October 2026
Who Should Buy It
Buy it if
- The piano will be played through its speakers in a living room
- You want to record practice as audio without a computer
- You want 256-note polyphony for layered, pedaled playing
Skip it if
- Wireless streaming matters; look at the AP-S200 or Roland RP107
- Touch is the priority and the budget stretches to the YDP-184 or CN201
- You only practice on headphones; the PX-770 is the same touch for less
Key Specifications
| Key Action | Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action II |
| Sound Engine | Casio AiR with lid simulator |
| Voices | 19 |
| Polyphony | 256 notes |
| Speakers | 4 speakers, 40 W total |
| Bluetooth | No |
| USB | USB to Host (MIDI); USB flash drive audio recording |
| Pedals | 3 pedals built in, half-damper |
| Weight | 75.6 lb (34.3 kg) |
| Form Factor | Console with sliding key cover |
The Speakers Are the Story
Most consoles under four figures use two small downward-firing speakers. The PX-870 uses four speakers driven by 40 watts total, with two firing upward through grilles on the top of the cabinet and two from below. Casio adds a lid simulator that adjusts the tone to mimic a grand piano lid open or closed. Through the speakers it sounds like a bigger, more expensive piano than the PX-770, which is otherwise the same instrument.
If you plan to play through headphones most of the time, that advantage disappears and the PX-770 becomes the smarter buy. If the piano will be heard in a living room, the PX-870 is worth every bit of the difference.
Action
Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action II is shared with the PX-770: graded, three sensors per key, simulated ebony and ivory textures. It handles repetition well and feels natural through intermediate repertoire. It is lighter and less refined than the Kawai RHIII on the CN201 and lacks the synthetic-ivory solidity of the Yamaha GH3 on the YDP-184, both of which cost considerably more.
Sound Engine and Polyphony
The AiR engine delivers string, damper and key-off resonance, and the grand piano tone has a warm midrange with a clear top. Hammer response and lid position are adjustable. Nineteen tones, Concert Play orchestral recordings and a 60-piece music library match the PX-770.
Polyphony is 256 notes, double the PX-770 and ample for anything you will play on a home piano. Combined with the speaker system, held pedal passages have a depth that the smaller Privias cannot produce.
Connectivity
USB to Host carries MIDI to computers and tablets, and the USB to Device port takes the flash drive for recording and playback. Two quarter-inch headphone jacks sit on the front rail. There is no Bluetooth of any kind and no dedicated line output, so sending the piano to an external system means using a headphone jack.
Against the Alternatives
The Yamaha YDP-184 costs more and adds the GH3 action, full VRM and 60 watts of speakers; it is the better instrument for an advanced player. The Kawai CN201 at a higher price has the RHIII action with escapement and Bluetooth. The Casio AP-S200 is Casio's own step up with Bluetooth and a sleeker cabinet but a slimmer action.
At its own price, the PX-870's main competitor is the Yamaha YDP-146, which has Bluetooth and the CFX sample but the lighter GHS action and smaller speakers. The Casio is the better sounding piano in a room; the Yamaha is the better connected one.
Assembly, Placement and the Lid Simulator
The PX-870 assembles like the PX-770: side panels, back board, pedal unit, then the keyboard unit on top, about an hour for two people. The finished cabinet is a little deeper and heavier than the PX-770 to house the four-speaker system, with two drivers firing upward through grilles on the top panel and two firing downward. Place it on a hard floor with a few inches of wall clearance and the bass fills out noticeably.
The lid simulator has four settings that change the tonal balance as a grand's lid would when fully open, half open, closed or removed. It is a small thing that makes practicing through speakers more enjoyable, because you can brighten the sound for a Mozart sonata and close the lid for a late-night ballad without touching an EQ. Hammer response and string resonance are adjustable in the same menu.
Recording, Apps and Living With It
Audio recording to a USB flash drive is the feature owners use most. Insert a drive, press record, and the PX-870 writes a WAV file of whatever you play, which you can review on a phone or send to a teacher. MIDI recording to the same drive and a two-track internal recorder cover the rest. The Chordana Play for Piano app over USB adds notation and lesson tools.
Long term, the PX-870 is a piano that families keep. The 256-note polyphony and Tri-Sensor action do not become limits until a player is well into advanced repertoire, and the speaker system is good enough that most owners never add external speakers. The two things that eventually prompt an upgrade are the wish for a more refined action, where the Kawai CN201 and Yamaha YDP-184 are the next steps, and the desire for Bluetooth, which Casio added to the AP-S200 and AP-550 in the Celviano line. For a living-room piano at this price, neither omission is a reason to wait.
Strengths and Limitations
Strengths
- Four-speaker 40 watt system that projects up and out like an upright
- 256-note polyphony
- Records audio to a USB flash drive
- Same three-sensor textured action as the PX-770
Limitations
- No Bluetooth
- Cabinet is plainer than Yamaha and Kawai consoles at the price
- Action is a step below the Kawai CN201 and Yamaha YDP-184
How We Scored It
Scores reflect published specifications, documented features and value against the alternatives below. They are editorial research scores, not laboratory measurements.
Alternatives to Consider
Casio Privia PX-770
Students who want a three-pedal console with a three-sensor action at the lowest Privia price
Read the Casio Privia PX-770 review →
Yamaha Arius YDP-184
Serious students and returning adults who want the most capable Arius without stepping up to Clavinova
Read the Yamaha Arius YDP-184 review →
Yamaha Arius YDP-105
Families who want a proper three-pedal upright for lessons without portable-piano clutter
Read the Yamaha Arius YDP-105 review →Head-to-Head Comparisons
- Casio Privia PX-870 vs Yamaha Arius YDP-146 Compare →
Questions Buyers Ask
Casio Privia PX-870
See the current listing, price and included accessories.
About This Review
Mandrillis Team
The Mandrillis editorial team researches and compares audio and music gear using manufacturer documentation, verified specs and real buyer feedback, so you can make a confident purchase without wading through marketing claims.
Read our full research methodology.