Compare:
$800 USD
$800 USD
In this article, I am going to compare the Yamaha DGX-670 against the Korg XE20.
In terms of price point, both of these digital pianos sell for the exact same price. I will be making an in-depth comparison between these two keyboards to help you make an informed purchase when looking to buy one of these keyboards
Key Actions
Both the XE20 and the DGX-670 come with 88 full-size weighted and graded hammer action keys but both these piano keys feel significantly different.
The DGX-670 has a heavier action while the XE20 has a lighter action. However, with heavier keys, the keys of the DGX-670 are audibly louder than the keys on the XE20. In my opinion, both key actions are equally good, and which digital piano you choose is a matter of preference and playing style.
Yamaha included a red felt liner at the top of the keys to keep out dust which the XE20 doesn't have. Also, the Yamaha DGX-670 has 5 velocity curves compared to the Korg XE20 which has 4 velocity curves.
DGX-670 red felt liner
Voices
The default piano voice for the DGX-670 features their flagship Yamaha CFX grand piano whereas the XE20 contains a German & an Italian piano. Both pianos have key-off samples but those on the DGX-670 are significantly more detailed as the volume of the key-off samples can be configured.
Yamaha has more detailed multi-samples for each note as the DGX-670 has 256 notes of polyphony whereas the Korg XE20 has just 120 notes of polyphony. One downside of the Korg XE20 is that the 120 notes of polyphony only apply to the Italian & German piano voices. The remaining voices on the XE20 are limited to 64 notes of polyphony.
Most of the piano voices on the DGX-670 come with Yamaha’s Virtual Resonance Modelling where you can configure the amount of string & damper resonance. Therefore, the sounds on the DGX-670 are more detailed and have greater depth.
The Korg XE20 has more than 705 voices and at least 100 more voices than the Yamaha DGX-670. The XE20 can also layer up to 3 upper voice layers whereas the DGX-670 gives me only two voice layers. However, on its own, the sounds in the XE20 which is from Korg’s legacy PA50 keyboards are not bad but the super-articulation and VRM sound on the DGX-670 from Yamaha’s flagship PSR-SX keyboards just sounds richer, thicker, and more detailed.
In addition, the DGX-670 has significantly more DSP effects and voice edit capabilities than the XE20. The lack of a pitch bend wheel on the XE20, which the DGX-670 has, will be a deal-breaker for those who play more than piano sounds.
DGX-670 pitch bend wheel
Styles
These 2 keyboards are arranger digital pianos and playing along with rhythm accompaniment styles should be a big reason why you buy these keyboards.
The Yamaha DGX-670 comes with 263 styles and the XE20 comes with 280 styles right out of the box.
Although the DGX-670 comes with fewer styles, you can download thousands of additional 3rd party styles from the internet onto a USB stick. In the same way, Korg releases hundreds of free new bonus styles every year which you can also load onto the XE20.
The XE20 has 2 rhythm fills whereas the DGX-670 has 4 rhythm fills. The additional intro, ending, and rhythm fills definitely give you greater flexibility when playing. Further, the DGX-670 inherits the adaptive, unison, and accent style features found on Yamaha’s flagship PSR-SX keyboards.
These features improve one complaint keyboardists have about arranger keyboards, and that is the accompaniment can sound like a repetitive drum machine. With Yamaha’s adaptive, unison, and accent style features, each bar of accompaniment can have small subtle differences adding to the dynamics of your playing which is something you will miss when playing on the XE20.
If you want a personalized style, the DGX-670 now comes with a Style Creator. You can easily edit existing styles or create from scratch your very own signature accompaniments which is a big selling point for the DGX-670.
Pedals
Both these pianos support half-pedaling as well as an option for a triple pedal unit but you can still plug in a single damper pedal if you do not want to spend money on a triple pedal system. The Korg XE20 uses a proprietary connector on the pedal while the DGX-670 uses a standard ¼” pedal input but to cater to the users, Korg has included an additional ¼” pedal input on the rear panel for use with an additional pedal.
KORG proprietary connector
For the Korg XE20, the pedal can only be used to sustain notes or act as an expression pedal, this is in stark contrast to the DGX-670. Every pedal on the DGX-670 can be configured to trigger more than 40 different functions. One feature I absolutely adore on the DGX-670 is Yamaha’s Piano Room. With a single press of the grand piano-shaped button, the DGX-670 isolates you from all its arranger bells & whistles, distilling the piano playing experience to only those features that matter.
LCD Screen
The Yamaha DGX-670 is technologically superior compare to the XE20. It has a large full-color display which is twice as big as the XE20 monochrome screen.
The DGX-670 display presents so much more information and gives you a highly visual representation of any parameters you need to tweak.
DGX-670 LCD Screen
XE20 LCD Screen
With a single press of the mixer button, you get an overview of every volume part making adjusting the volume mix an easy single-finger job. While on the XE20, you need both hands in order to adjust the volume of a voice. The XE20 also doesn’t show you a mixer view of all the part's volume.
XE20 Adjustment
DGX-670 Adjustment
Registration Memory
With hundreds of voices and rhythm styles, having adequate registration memory slots to store your own settings is important. The Korg XE20 gives you 40 registration memory slots, which sounds like a lot. Except the DGX-670 allows you to save and uniquely name an unlimited number of registration memory for quick recall both internally as well as onto a USB stick. While the Korg XE20 allows you to bulk dump the entire 40 registration memory as a setlist onto a USB stick, the process of loading and saving registrations is clunky.
DGX-670 Memory
XE20 Memory
Song Recorder
The XE20 has a 12 track MIDI recorder, however, one flaw this recorder has is, it doesn’t allow you to record one track at a time. You have to record the entire style playing all at once onto the 12 tracks and then tediously erase and overdub the voice layers which makes it not a true multi-track recorder.
XE20 Song Recorder
On the other hand, the Yamaha DGX-670 has a dedicated 16 track sequencer with advanced features such as punch-in, punch-out, quantization, and channel-level event editing. In addition, the DGX-670 has an audio recorder, which the XE20 doesn’t have.
DGX-670 Song Recorder
While both these keyboards can playback audio files on a USB stick, the XE20 only has a playback feature. The Yamaha DGX-670, on the other hand, can time stretch, pitch shift, and voice cancel the audio playback. Which are very useful features when playing audio backing tracks.
DGX-670 Audio Player
Notable features
The DGX-670 can also stream backing tracks via wireless Bluetooth, a feature that the XE20 lacks. Both these keyboards can transmit and receive MIDI and audio via the USB port, doing away with the need to buy an external audio interface if you intend to record audio to your computer.
DGX-670 Bluetooth Feature
The DGX-670 comes with microphone input as well as a whole bunch of mic effects to sweeten your vocals while the XE20 does not have a microphone input.
DGX-670 Microphone Feature
The Korg XE20 has 3 advantages over the DGX-670 if you intend to gig with it. You get stereo ¼” outputs on the XE20 whereas the only audio output on the DGX-670 is the headphones jack.
XE20 Back Panel
The XE20 is also half the weight of the DGX-670 while sporting amplifiers that pack 3 times more power. The speaker cover on the XE20 is fabric which is a dust and fur magnet but may get damaged easily if you are not careful while the DGX-670 has metal speaker covers
DGX-670 Speakers and Cover
XE20 Speakers and Cover
Conclusion
In conclusion, unless you are a hardcore fan of Korg’s sounds and styles, the Yamaha DGX-670 gives much greater value for the same price as the XE20.
I hope you found my review of the Yamaha DGX-670 and Korg XE20 useful! Do check out the links provided in this article for the latest and most updated information and prices of the Yamaha DGX-670 and Korg XE20. Do take a look at my other articles to find the best and most suited instrument for your personal need.