Disklavier

The next generation of Disklavier ("Enspire") was announced at NAMM 
today, replacing the E3 series:

http://usa.yamaha.com/news_events/winter_namm_2016/yamaha_disklavier_enspire/

Here is another link with some pics of the new line. Expanding the pic of the controls is very interesting.

http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx

I like it.  What I don't like though is they've got rid of the optical drive.  I understand everything's going digital these days and it's more convenient but I like being able to buy the disks second-hand without the need to buy off Yamaha's store.  They're kinda doing what Apple's doing and tieing you into their ecosystem.  If it still had MIDI and a USB input I'm fine there but having no removable media when there's a lot of media out there on the market for sale means that all goes to waste with the new system.  I know things progress and all that but I think they should've gave us the option of an external drive if need be we don't all wanna buy another set of songs if we already own them on disc.

Sent from Windows Mail

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com<mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: ?Friday?, ?22? ?January? ?2016 ?19?:?06
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com<mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com>



Here is another link with some pics of the new line. Expanding the pic of the controls is very interesting.

http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx




http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx
A new streamlined design eliminates the control box of previous generations, while an intuitive app enables Disklavier ENSPIRE to be controlled seamlessly by Apple(r) iOS and AndroidTM devices, as well as PCs and Macs.


View on www.yamaha.com <http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx>

Preview by Yahoo

Still can’t see much but thanks.  Wonder if it will work with older disklaviers?

From: disklavier@yahoogroups.com [mailto:disklavier@yahoogroups.com] 
Sent: Friday, January 22, 2016 2:06 PM
To: disklavier@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [disklavier] Re: Disklavier Enspire
 
  
Here is another link with some pics of the new line. Expanding the pic of the controls is very interesting.  
http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx
 
	
	
 <http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx> http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx 
A new streamlined design eliminates the control box of previous generations, while an intuitive app enables Disklavier ENSPIRE to be controlled seamlessly by Apple® iOS and AndroidTM devices, as well as PCs and Macs.
			

 <http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx> View on www.yamaha.com 
Preview by Yahoo

Having the headphone jack on the bottom of the control box (pointing 
towards the floor) seems like a bad idea!  Depending on where this box 
is located, it could be easy to bump an inserted plug with your knee and 
damage the jack.

On 01/22/2016 01:05 PM, kassey22000@... [disklavier] wrote:
>
> Here is another link with some pics of the new line. Expanding the pic 
> of the controls is very interesting.
>
> http://www.yamaha.com/us/namm/2016/disklavier-enspire.aspx
>
>

Re: Enspire *new* PianoSoft Audio format

Pure speculation at this point until dealers and Yamaha tech support can share more .. but fun to speculate!

If I were YAMAHA, I would want a system that

• Enforces Digital copyright laws (and affords Yamaha ability to negotiate new contracts for old and new titles)

• Closes “leakage” whereby anyone could previously copy a PianoSoft Audio CD and make unlimited copies

• Eliminates the ability of copying titles *off* the new Enspire piano line onto other media (like Apple’s ITunes/iPhones/iPods are unable to be copied from) … similar to Mark IV, now once titles are downloaded onto Mark IV (I think this is the case, i.e., difficult for average user to copy downloaded content onto back-up media, etc. .. I am Mark II with DKC-850 so I can’t fully speak for MK-IVs)

• Provides greatly enhanced DK Radio capability vs. the somewhat cheesey MIDI synth sounds/recordings on many channels (very 80’s/90s)

• Eliminates CDs, FDs, etc. and goes strictly digital ... easier in some ways to lock down purchases to specific DK unit

It would seem possible that given what we know about DK Radio that DKC-850s and Mark IVs should be able to benefit from “Supports new PianoSoft Audio format that features stereo audio ensembles synchronized to piano performances” ... and hence the PR bullet point “New Premium Piano Radio channels stream PianoSoft Audio content”.

It would be truly wonderful to get NEW channels with PianoSoft Audio tracks streamed … and more NEW recordings, too, please! It seems our German and Japanese DK friends have additional channels which we don’t (beyond J-POP and Schlager)

Pure speculation at this point until dealers and Yamaha tech support can share more

Aaron in San Francisco

There is still very little information from Yamaha (even less at the dealerships) on the new models. While I realize they are trying to sell off as many E3's as possible, keeping so quiet about the new models just delays market and customer anticipation.

I'd like to know:

1. Will the libraries of all formats of DK music (CD,s + Floppy, Smart Pianosoft combos, midi files, and more) work seamlessly on the Enspire?

2. If so, how? There appears to be NO controller box present, but a large square box hanging down under the piano toward the back (may be a sub woofer or controller box).

3. While I enjoy using an iPad/phone/PC controller interface, where and how do we insert media for the piano to play?

4. How big is the storage device (big issue with DKC-850 and even MK-IVs)?

5. Really how much better is the fidelity and accuracy of the Pro models now?

6. Pricing and options.

The official Enspire web site has even less information and pics than posted after NAMM.

I'm very interested in upgrading my C5 MKIIxb Pro, but not if my media isn't easily transferable, and if the samples/syn sounds included are as poor as they are out of the DKC-850. The samples out of my MKIIxg module have much better sampled instruments/fidelity.

Hoping to see one in action soon!

Keith

Update October 2016

Dealers in the US are starting to receive and sell the new Enspire models: Home

More details at Yamaha's official site.

Sadly, I don't think Yamaha thought through the Digital Rights Management issues before introducing these new Disklaviers. For example I have hundreds of Smart Pianosoft albums with the matching commercial CDs I've purchased over years. Many of these titles are now out of print and many more aren't available for the Enspire as a download. None of the ones I have will play on Enspire pianos.

In addition, because the Enspire has NO CD player, there's no apparent way you can even play the "expensive" Pianosoft Audio CDs most of which have copy protection on the CDs. Again many of these titles aren't even offered for the Enspire on Yamaha's Pianosoft online store. While I get that CD players are so last century, Yamaha should have provided a migration path for all of our media to the new pianos.

While the piano does come with 500 songs, there is NO internal storage device on these new pianos. So the very few titles you can purchase online have to be saved to an external USB drive. Your .mid and .fil files should play fine once you move them to a thumb drive.

I'm very interested in upgrading because of the superior CX pianos offered on the larger models (with PRO only), but to loose hundreds of my favorite DK albums/songs is No Go! Maybe these were just designed for folks new to the Disklavier piano and not for the many current owners who would consider an upgrade.

Any solutions to be able to move my entire collection to the Enspire would be welcomed.

There may be some solutions:

    1. Smart Pianosoft tracks could probably be played by ripping the 
commercial CD tracks to MP3 format, then pairing them with the MIDI 
files from the Yamaha floppy disk, such that the tracks have
the same filenames and only different extensions (e.g. song1.mp3 and 
song1.mid), which is essentially the new Pianosoft Audio format.  
However, this would only work well for the simplest cases, where the 
Smart Pianosoft MIDI stream did not use SYSEX messages to adjust the 
pitch or synchronization of the CD track. A proper conversion taking 
those factors into account would be possible if Yamaha would document 
those SYSEX messages, or better yet, release an official tool for the 
purpose.  A low-cost migration path would be even better; seems crazy to 
require individual owners to perform the same semi-technical steps 
independently.  It would be rather labor-intensive for more than a 
handful of albums.

    2. Pianosoft Plus Audio CDs aren't copy protected, but there aren't 
any tools available to convert them to other formats.   I *think* 
Enspire has the ability to play Pianosoft Plus Audio tracks from digital 
files or the external audio input, provided they are stored in a 
lossless format such as WAV, FLAC, or Apple Lossless.

Mark Fontana

On 10/17/2016 03:18 PM, kassey22000@... [disklavier] wrote:
>
> Update October 2016
>
> Dealers in the US are starting to receive and sell the new Enspire 
> models: Home <http://www.disklavier.com/>
>
>
>
> 	
> image <http://www.disklavier.com/>
> 	
> 	
> Home <http://www.disklavier.com/>
> The intersection of artistry, craftmanship & technology.
> 	
> View on www.disklavier.com <http://www.disklavier.com/>
> 	
> Preview by Yahoo
>
> More details at Yamaha's official site.
>
> Sadly, I don't think Yamaha thought through the Digital Rights 
> Management issues before introducing these new Disklaviers.  For 
> example I have hundreds of Smart Pianosoft albums with the matching 
> commercial CDs I've purchased over years.  Many of these titles are 
> now out of print and many more aren't available for the Enspire as a 
> download.  None of the ones I have will play on Enspire pianos.
>
>
> In addition, because the Enspire has NO CD player, there's no apparent 
> way you can even play the "expensive" Pianosoft Audio CDs most of 
> which have copy protection on the CDs.  Again many of these 
> titles aren't even offered for the Enspire on Yamaha's Pianosoft 
> online store.  While I get that CD players are so last century, Yamaha 
> should have provided a migration path for all of our media to the new 
> pianos.
>
>
> While the piano does come with 500 songs, there is NO internal storage 
> device on these new pianos.  So the very few titles you can purchase 
> online have to be saved to an external USB drive.  Your .mid and .fil 
> files should play fine once you move them to a thumb drive.
>
>
> I'm very interested in upgrading because of the superior CX pianos 
> offered on the larger models (with PRO only), but to loose hundreds of 
> my favorite DK albums/songs is No Go!  Maybe these were just designed 
> for folks new to the Disklavier piano and not for the many current 
> owners who would consider an upgrade.
>
>
> Any solutions to be able to move my entire collection to the Enspire 
> would be welcomed.
>
>
>
>