Comparing the Casio CT-S400 vs the Yamaha PSR-E373: my opinions and experience

[Shad0wfax]

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently bought a Casio CT-S400 keyboard, so I’ve had the opportunity to personally compare it against the Yamaha PSR-E373, which I purchased about year ago. Both of them are good products (I’d say excellent, considering their price tag), and show that we are living good times regarding entry level keyboards, as they have sounds and specs which were unthinkable of just a few years ago for only about $200. I think that both are well worth the price, with an outstanding value for money, and you cannot go wrong with any of them. But which of them could be considered as the best one?

In order to make a comparison and giving my opinions, I’m going to highlight what I consider the good and the bad (or not-so-good) points of each model.

YAMAHA PSR-E373

Good points:

·     -   The price, at least in Europe, is slightly cheaper than the Casio’s. Not a deal breaker unless your budget is really tight.

·      -  I like very much the keybed. It does not feel cheap; in fact, it’s better than those of some of the much more expensive keyboards that I’ve played. The matte finish of the black keys is a nice touch, too.

·       - The acoustic piano sound is really good for this price category. It is the same as the one found in the PSR-SX600 or the Tyros 3, only to mention two much more expensive models from Yamaha. It sounds rich, full and expressive, and you have to spend much more money if you want to get a better piano sound from the same brand.

·        -Also, some of the SA-lite sounds, such as the acoustic guitars and the flute, are great, as they’ve been inherited from high-end keyboards such as the first series of Tyros keyboards. Nevertheless, not all SA-lite sounds are excellent or even good, contrary to what could be expected (for instance, I consider the sax or the strings sounds as rather poor).

-The inclusion of a USB midi and audio interface is great, as it is the standard USB port connector (not the tiny, flimsy and rather dated -as the trend is now USB type C)- micro-USB port). You can use the keyboard as a controller for software synths. Kudos also for using a standard size jack for headphones/audio output. To have independent L/R connectors would be incredible in this price point, but at least at this moment this feature is not present in any model.

- The DSP FX section is nice and it’s good that you can assign any effect to any sound, although it’s not possible to configure the effect’s parameters (such as the level of distortion, for example). At least, though, the effects are not ‘hardwired’ to the sound.

Weak points:

·        - In theory, the keyboard has over 600 different sounds, but actually most of them are the crappy XGLite sounds, which have no comparison in terms of quality to ‘panel’ sounds. The total number of sounds is rather fictitious as in fact there are about 240 really useable sounds.

·        - For some reason, despite the keyboard responds to 16 midi channels, the keyboard sounds (upper 1, upper 2 and lower) are not controllable via MIDI. It seems that this ‘feature’ is common to all PSR-E series, and it’s a shame, as controlling keyboard’s sounds through MIDI would be very useful, for instance to send program change messages to select different sounds according to different parts of a song, or for controlling modulation, expression, filter, etc. in real time while performing on the keyboard. This limitation also implies that you cannot assign DSP effects to any midi channel, as those are reserved for the keyboard sounds.

·        - It does not have a USB ‘to device’ connector for storing and recalling styles, registrations or songs.

·        - No pitch bend wheel (let alone modulation), which would provide more flexibility when performing, especially on certain types of sounds.

·        - The LCD screen looks dated, as it’s very similar to previous models from several years ago.

CASIO CT-S400

Good points:

·        - I love the form factor: slim, light, compact, easily transportable, and its clean lines are nice and elegant.

·        - I regard the speakers’ sound to be slightly better than Yamaha’s, which is a great achievement considering that they are significantly smaller.

·        - The quantity and quality of the sounds. On paper, there are less sounds (600 vs 622 in the Yamaha), but in general terms, all sounds in the Casio are of a similar quality (even the GM ones, which is remarkable, as they tend to be poor in all brands), whereas over 300 sounds in the Yamaha are the XGLite rubbish. The AiX sound source deserves praise, as for this price level it provides very good sounds. Certainly, there are better sounds out there in more expensive keyboards, and some of the sounds are better in the E373, but the price-to-quality ratio is amazing. The acoustic piano is very good (again, for the price), and although I wouldn’t consider it superior to Yamaha’s (it’s just different), there are many more to choose from. The E373 has one very good piano sound but the rest of the acoustic pianos are so-so. If you pay attention, you can detect the sample loops more easily in the Casio than in the Yamaha, but this is negligible when playing. The drums are very good are more varied in the Casio also, and the acoustic sets sound more… ‘acoustic’ 😉. Some of the SFX sound even better than their equivalents on the Yamaha Genos… Another great point is the inclusion of the ‘versatile’ sounds (the equivalent to Yamaha’s ‘mega-voices’, which are absent in the PSR-E series), although the versatile brass sounds a bit cheesy (but brass sounds only sound good in very expensive keyboards, anyway).

·        - The LCD screen is clearly superior, as the E373’s pales in comparison.

·        - It has a pitch bend wheel, that, contrary to what the user manual states, it also transmits MIDI data 😊, so it’s perfect for using the CT-S400 as a controller also.

·        - It includes not only a USB “to host”, but also a USB terminal “to device” (Yamaha should learn from that 😉).

·        - There are many more different chord fingering modes than in the E373.

·        - I like also the fact that you can trigger a fill-in without changing the variation in the accompaniment. In the Yamaha a fill-in automatically activates a variation change, and to avoid that you have to push two buttons.

Weak points:

·        - The price is slightly higher (at least in Europe).

·        - Although I like the aesthetics of the keys, with their textured and matte finish, the touch feels quite springy and spongy. I specially dislike the fact that there is a big difference in pressure between the bottom and the top of the keys. If you have to play a key near to its top, it feels much stiffer. This is a common problem in light, synth-like keybeds, but it’s more evident in the Casio than in the Yamaha.

·       -  Again, keyboard sounds (upper 1/2 and lower) are not controllable via MIDI (as in PSR-E series), with all that this implies.

·        - There are no assignable FX, as they are “hardwired” to the presets, but moreover, you cannot even set the reverb/chorus levels from the panel (only through midi CC data, so it’s not possible to change those levels for upper 1/2 and lower).

·        - There seems to be not just one, but at least two DSP units in this keyboard. If you listen for instance to some of the accompaniments of the “rock” section, you can hear a DSP distorted guitar, while you can select at the same time a keyboard sound with a built-in DSP effect. But when you use the CT-S400 as a sound generator through MIDI, there is no way to assign DSP effects to any of the 16 channels. I requested the sysex information to Casio in order to know more about the synthesis engine but they say that it’s not available (more likely they do not want to share it for some reason). It seems as if Casio (also Yamaha, to some extent) wanted to prevent any “serious” use of the keyboard for music production.

·        - Instead of a normal USB port for MIDI, they’ve used the flimsy and outdated micro-USB port. There is no built-in audio interface, also.

·        - I don’t like at all mini jack ports for audio output, or even for headphones. Perhaps it’s too much to ask for a proper pair of line out jacks, but at least use a normal stereo jack, please.

·        - The CT-S400 has a quite odd behaviour in sounds with key off samples (e.g., some harpsichords and clavis) when using damper. The key off sound is always triggered when the key is released regardless the status of the damper pedal, so you can hear the “click” sound of a harpsichord’s key being released, while the sound is still sustained because the sustain pedal is being used.

·        - The drum sounds do not seem to respond to filter/resonance messages, or at least I haven’t been able to do it through their respective MIDI CC commands. In the Yamaha they do respond, just like any other sounds.

In sum, both models are excellent for the price, despite their problems and limitations. We must keep in mind that these are cheap keyboards not intended for “professional” use. Nonetheless, if I had to choose only one, IMHO the Casio CT-S400 is slightly better and it would be my choice.

I attach to this post two versions (one for each model) of an original song of mine, so you can hear the differences and make your own opinion.

David

[BillErickson]

Nice review.  Two of your complaints about the CT-S400 are exactly why I decided to upgrade to the CT-S500 -- better control of the DSP functionality and line-outs (of course, it's also more expensive 😉 ).

 

 

[vbdx66]

On 2/3/2022 at 6:58 PM, BillErickson said:

Nice review.  Two of your complaints about the CT-S400 are exactly why I decided to upgrade to the CT-S500 -- better control of the DSP functionality and line-outs (of course, it's also more expensive 😉 ).

 

 

And likewise, some of the shortcomings of the PSR E373 are solved with the PSR E473/EW425, namely the pitch bend wheel and the USB to Device connector. 

[Steve F]

Contrary to what's stated here, you can control the CT-S400 reverb and chorus from the panel by pressing "Menu", then horizontally scroll to select "Sys FX".

[Shad0wfax]

16 hours ago, Steve F said:

Contrary to what's stated here, you can control the CT-S400 reverb and chorus from the panel by pressing "Menu", then horizontally scroll to select "Sys FX".

 

Well, not really. All you can do from the panel is to select the type of reverb and chorus, but not the amount (send level) for each channel. The only way to to that is by using midi CC commands 91 and 93, respectively. As the keyboard channels are not MIDI controllable, there's no way to set the amount of chorus and reverb for upper 1/2 and lower, which is a serious limitation.

Edited February 7, 2022 by Shad0wfax
typo

[Pravito]

No doubt, all Casio keybopards has the BEST GM sounds. GM sounds in Casio is actually the same sample as their panel equivalents. 

 

For example, GM Piano 1 is the same as Stage Piano on AiX models, or Stereo Piano on AHL/HL models 

[lynn]

does casio's optional BT adaptor add functionality that Yamaha's 'built-in' audio interface does not?

 

For basic recording/DAW functions using Garageband on my M1 MBP, which is more seamless, the Yamaha PSR E373/EZ 300 or the Casio CT S400? Also, reading NEWS today that APPLE iOS 16.5 update renders the apple  USB 3 Camera Adapter useless for the midi connection feature on the Casio

 

I am decidedly leaning toward the CASIO CT S400 for learning piano and doing basic 'baby' production using garageband w or w/out audio interface like futurerite.... WOULD PREFER the CT S1 for keybed/keys and sound quality but feel it limits exploration of all the other fun stuff avail on the PSR 373 or CASIO's CT S400.  Compact size of Casio is hugely appealing, as well, over Yamaha, as my apartment storage space is very restricted

[Brad Saucier]

5 minutes ago, lynn said:

does casio's optional BT adaptor add functionality that Yamaha's 'built-in' audio interface does not?

 

Casio's Bluetooth adapter allows MIDI, or it allows audio streaming to use the keyboard as a Bluetooth speaker.  On the CT-S500 and 1000V, it also allows audio sampling over Bluetooth from any audio streamed over Bluetooth.