Casio has been meeting the highest quality standards with its musical instruments at a very affordable cost, to fulfill the wishes of middle-class families. The Casio PX-160 belongs to the affordable, highly functional, and portable Privia Line series from the Casio family. Musicians consider this model as an improvisation over the PX-150 carrying forward its features and concurrently correcting the imperfections. Its best features are its multi-dimensional AiR sound, redesigned speaker system, and Tri-Sensor Scaled hammer-action keyboard. Let us discuss this Casio in detail here peeking into its specifications closely.
Table of Contents
- Casio PX-160 Digital Piano Review 2023
- Quick Opinion by Larry
- Pros & Cons of the PX-160
- Best Features of the PX-160 Unveiled
- The Exteriors of the PX-160 – How does it look at the first glimpse?
- The Keys
- Sound Effects
- Play Modes
- Built-in Songs and Recording Features
- Casio PX-160 Connectivity Features
- How Best to Accessorize Your Casio PX-160?
- Alternatives of Casio PX-160
- Final Verdict on PX-160
Casio PX-160 Digital Piano Review 2023
| Features | Rating |
| Performance and sounds | 9.4 |
| Connectivity | 9.1 |
| Portability | 9.3 |
| Build Quality | 8.8 |
| For Beginners | 9.7 |
| Value for money | 9.4 |
Quick Opinion by Larry
The sound quality of the PX-160 is very good, although it does lack a bit when compared to some alternatives available on the market, still, It’s one of the best keyboards for beginners.
Pros & Cons of the PX-160
What’s Best in Casio PX-160?
- Lightweight and portable keyboard
- Features three sensors realistic hammer action
- Produces 18 sounds with 128-note polyphony
- Best speaker system and sound quality
- 60 built-in songs for practicing
What’s Lacking in Casio PX-160?
- Lacks display
- Keys are of plastic material
- Weak sustain pedal
Best Features of the PX-160 Unveiled
| Number of Keys | 88 |
| Piano Sound | Multi-dimensional Morphing AiR Sound Source |
| Weight | 25.5 lbs |
| Keyboard Type | Scaled Hammer Action II |
| Tones | 18 Built-in tones |
| Polyphony | 128 |
- Portable and lightweight model
- 88 full-weight keyboard with ivory and ebony simulation and touch sensitivity
- 128 note polyphony with morphing AiR sound source
- 60 present songs and 18 instrument sounds
- Three functioning modes – Split, Duo, Dual play
- 2- track MIDI recorder
- 2 x 8W speakers
- Lesson mode for practice
- Excellent connectivity features
The Exteriors of the PX-160 – How does it look at the first glimpse?
Musicians who are always on the move will love this piano, as it is lightweight, easily portable, and extremely compact. It weighs only 24.5 kg and its dimensions are, 52 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches, good enough to be carried by hand for your rehearsals and your stage shows. It is ideal for small apartments if you wish to stabilize them in one place.
The piano is made entirely of tough plastic of good quality and it is available in three colors, black, white, and gold colors. All three colors look fresh and contemporary. Its control panel looks simple and easy to navigate, good enough to understand, and be operated by an amateur pianist.
The controls are for volume, recording features, and main piano sounds including metronome. You can choose other different functions in the piano with the help of function+key, which you will master over time. The piano lacks a display, but we can’t expect that for a piano of this price range.
Related Reading: Best Budget Digital Pianos Under $500
The Keys
The PX 160 has an 88-key fully weighted keyboard band with keys that are of the same size as regular pianos. The fully weighted keys trigger the hammer action on the strings as that of acoustic pianos. You can expect a very realistic response on all the keypresses as they feature the most intuitive Tri-Sensor Hammer Action II. You will be amazed by the dynamic range of piano sounds with this key bed starting from the softest to the loudest sounds with all gradations possible in between.
Though the keys are made purely of plastic, their ebony and ivory simulations add excellent finish and grip over them. Even if you sweat a lot or if you are playing in humid conditions, there is no question of the fingers falling off the keys. The triple sensor system of the keys detects the intensity and velocity of the individual keypresses and alters the timbre and the volume of the tunes accordingly. Thus harder you play, the louder the song and vice versa.
There are 3 preset levels pertaining to the touch sensitivity feature of the keyboard, helping you to alter the velocity of the music according to your genre. You can also choose Off the touch sensitivity feature to help it sound the same for all key presses.
Sound Effects
The PX- 160 from Casio is known for its multi-dimensional AiR sound morphing technology. Its memory to store the sampled songs is thrice more than that of its predecessors. You will hear even small nuances of the acoustic piano, owing to the high quality of the sound samples. Also, the AiR sound makes use of audio compression technology, thus reproducing the sound without much distortion.
The piano can produce the sound of 18 instruments including grand pianos, strings, organs, E. pianos, bass, and harpsichord. It can mimic 5 different acoustic pianos with high-quality sampled sounds, with each sound differing from the other in terms of timbre and quality. There are also customization options available with these five piano sounds, as you can add different sound effects to them. For instance,
- The reverb effect helps in resonating the notes better and there are four variations to this effect, namely Small hall, room, large hall, and stadium.
- Also, you can use the chorus effect to get the sounds to get richer and louder and create an effect as though several sounds are playing at one time. Again, there are four choruses available such as light, deep, medium, and whooshing effect.
- Brilliance is another effect, that gets the instrument sound harder and brighter or softer and mellower.
The Casio Px-160 renders a 128-note polyphony, which is good enough to play different songs of all genres. The piano has 2 x 8W amp speakers to create a clear and detailed sound with excellent resonance. The speakers are good to fill medium-sized spaces without mandating external amplifiers.
Play Modes
The PX- 160 features all that it takes for ambient music production and entertainment. It can play in three different modes. The split mode divides the Casio into two portions at the split point to play two musical instruments on the left and right sides respectively. In the layer mode, you can layer two different sounds from the 18 samples to play simultaneously, so that they sound the same. In the Duo mode, you divide the keyboard into two small identical ones, to help two players sit side and by side and play their part.
Built-in Songs and Recording Features
This Casio comes with 60 built-in songs, you can use them for learning as you can also play along with them for practice. Its vast music library also allows the pianist to load up to 10 user songs to the instrument. You can also download songs in MIDI format (up to 10 songs) and transfer them into the internal memory of the piano with the help of a USB port.
The PX 160 has a multi-track recording capability and as you record your first track, you can play it in the background and record the second one. You can record only one song, and then you start the second, and the first one gets deleted. So it is better to save the recorded songs to the computer to avoid data loss.
Some unique functions of this piano help you in adjusting the pitch and enhancing the song quality to many folds. For instance,
- The transpose function helps to alter the pitch in semitone steps.
- The octave shifts change the pitch in octave units.
- The fine-tuning function helps to lower or raise the pitch in 0.1 Hz steps.
- You can play different styles of music like classical, Arabic, Indian, etc. by altering its temperaments.
- The metronome feature helps in altering the time and tempo of the song.
Casio PX-160 Connectivity Features
- There are two headphones mini jacks to plug in two pairs of headphones. This jack alone is available on the front panel of the Casio.
- On the rear, there is a USB port to connect to the computer.
- The plug-and-play feature helps you to play directly by connecting with the smart device without having to install any drivers.
- Line out/ Mono jack helps to connect the piano with external devices such as mixers external amplifiers etc.
- The sustain pedal jack comes with a ¼” plug to connect with the sustain pedal.
- There is also a pedal connector at the bottom of the keyboard to connect it with the three-pedal system, which you have to buy separately.
Also Read: Best Digital Pianos & Keyboards for Beginners
How Best to Accessorize Your Casio PX-160?
You can buy a stand for your piano separately if you wish to stabilize it in one part of your home. Or if you wish for more portability, then consider buying an X-type stand that can be collapsed and stored when not required. These types of stands are also great for musicians who shift the instrument frequently for performances.
Though the piano comes with an Sp-3 sustain pedal, it doesn’t offer the ambiance and functions of the real piano pedal. It is better to buy a real sustain pedal and attach it to it for more realistic performances.
Again, the Casio comes with a plastic carry bag, but it can wear out easily with frequent transportation, you can consider buying a padded keyboard bag to help transport the system effectively.
Alternatives of Casio PX-160
Here are a few top alternatives for Casio PX-160 that you can consider buying in 2023 if you have a limited budget.
Final Verdict on PX-160
The PX-160 piano does great for its cost and is one of the best entry-level pianos for a pianist of moderate skill levels. Its sounds are excellent and are close to an acoustic piano, and it is lightweight and portable at the same time. Its hammer action keys with simulated tops offer a natural and realistic feel to the players and its high-quality sound is good enough to create excellent masterpieces. We would recommend it to anybody with a keen interest to learn pianos and make it at a professional level.
