Yamaha Clavinova 2026: Every CLP Model Compared (and Where the Wooden Keys Actually Start)

Quick answer: The Yamaha Clavinova CLP-835 ($3,299.99) is the best Clavinova for most homes, because it has the same GrandTouch-S escapement action as the cheaper CLP-825 plus a display, 38 voices and bigger speakers. The CLP-825 ($2,249.99) is the cheapest way into a Clavinova, and the CLP-845 ($4,299.99) is where wooden keys start. According to Yamaha’s own spec table, the CLP-825, the CLP-835 and the $6,799.99 baby-grand CLP-865GP all use the same plastic-key GrandTouch-S keyboard, so the most expensive of those three buys a cabinet and speakers, not a better action.

Clavinova is Yamaha’s premium home digital piano line, sold through authorized dealers and sitting above the Arius console pianos covered in our best Yamaha digital piano guide. The current CLP-800 series has seven models, and the model numbers suggest a clean step-up ladder. Yamaha’s US spec sheet tells a different story: the action changes at only three points in the range, and two of the most visible upgrades, the grand-piano cabinet and the polished finish, don’t touch the keys at all.

We compared every current CLP model using Yamaha’s official US specification table and the advertised prices at three authorized US dealers (Kraft Music, Heid Music and Metronome Music), which matched to the cent on October 31, 2026.

Every current Clavinova CLP model at a glance

Specs come from the CLP-800 series comparison table on usa.yamaha.com; weights are for the standard finish. Prices are the matte or standard-finish listings at Kraft Music, Heid Music and Metronome Music on October 31, 2026 (the CLP-885 at Kraft and Heid, the GP models at Kraft and Metronome). All seven models share 256-note polyphony, the Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial samples, Virtual Resonance Modeling, Grand Expression Modeling, Bluetooth audio and MIDI, and three pedals with half-pedaling.

1. Clavinova CLP-835: Best Overall

The CLP-835 is the Clavinova we’d buy for most families, because it is the cheapest model that doesn’t cut anything you would notice in daily use. You get the same GrandTouch-S action as the entry model, but Yamaha’s spec table shows the 835 adds the things a growing player reaches for: a screen, 38 voices instead of 10, 20 rhythms, aux in and out jacks for an amp or mixer, and a USB-to-device port for recording practice as WAV files. The speakers are a real step up too, with 16 cm drivers and 50% more amplifier power than the CLP-825. Some dealers run it below list; we saw it at $2,899.99 at Micheo Music on the same day.

2. Clavinova CLP-825: Cheapest Clavinova

The CLP-825 is the right Clavinova if the action is what you’re paying for. It is the most stripped-down model in the range by a wide margin: per Yamaha’s spec table it has no screen, 10 voices, four reverb types against seven on every other model, and a recorder that holds one song. But the keyboard is the same GrandTouch-S with escapement that Yamaha puts in the CLP-835 and the CLP-865GP, so a student practicing classical repertoire loses very little. It is also the easiest Clavinova to fit in a small room, at 135 cm wide and 41 cm deep. The trade-off is sound: 20 W x 2 through 12 cm speakers is exactly what the much cheaper Arius YDP-166 has (see the comparison below).

3. Clavinova CLP-845: Cheapest With Wooden Keys

Wooden keys are the line most buyers think they’re crossing when they move up to a Clavinova, and on the CLP-800 series that line is the CLP-845. Yamaha’s spec table describes it as GrandTouch-S with “wooden keys (white only),” the only difference in the keyboard row from the CLP-835. The other $1,000 goes into sound: the 845 is the first model with a two-way speaker system and triples the amplifier power of the 835. If you’re choosing between this and the CLP-865GP because the grand cabinet looks more like a “real” piano, note that the 845 has the better keys for $2,500 less.

4. Clavinova CLP-875: Best Action Under $6,000

The CLP-875 is where the action itself changes a second time. Yamaha’s table lists the full GrandTouch keyboard with “88-key Linear Graded Hammers,” meaning each key’s weighting is graded individually rather than in zones, plus the GP Response Damper on the pedal. Every model below it lacks both, including the costlier CLP-865GP. It keeps the same 38 voices as the CLP-835, so the extra money is almost entirely action, pedal and speakers.

5. Clavinova CLP-885: Best for Advanced Players

Counterweights are the last action upgrade in the range, and Yamaha’s spec table lists them on only two models: the CLP-885 and the CLP-895GP. They lighten the initial touch of the key in the way lead weights do in an acoustic grand’s keys, which is why the 885 is the Clavinova we’d point a serious student or a pianist with an acoustic grand at school toward. It also adds spruce cone speakers and the expanded 53-voice set with General MIDI XG voices for song playback.

The three points where the action actually changes

Read the table from the top, and the CLP range collapses from seven prices into four action tiers. Every step after step 1 adds something to the keys; everything else between models is speakers, voices, display and cabinet. The black keys are never wooden on any Clavinova: Yamaha’s spec table says “wooden keys (white only)” for every wooden-key model.

The baby-grand trap: CLP-865GP vs CLP-835

The CLP-865GP looks like a step above everything up to the CLP-875: a polished ebony baby-grand cabinet, 106 kg, and a $6,799.99 price. Its keyboard row in Yamaha’s spec table is identical to the CLP-835’s: “GrandTouch-S keyboard: synthetic ebony and ivory key tops, escapement.” No wooden keys, no linear graded hammers and no GP Response Damper.

So the $3,500 gap between the CLP-835 and the CLP-865GP pays for a grand-piano cabinet that takes up 115 cm of floor depth instead of 46, and for a stronger speaker system. That can be worth it if the piano is the centerpiece of a room. If you want a better-feeling Clavinova, the CLP-875 has the stronger action for $1,100 less. If you want both the grand shape and the top action, that is the CLP-895GP at $9,499.99.

Clavinova CLP-825 vs Arius YDP-166: what the extra $500 buys

Yamaha refreshed its Arius line in 2026: the US Arius page now lists the YDP-105, YDP-146, YDP-166 and YDP-184, and US dealers announced the YDP-166 and YDP-146 in June 2026. The YDP-166 matters here because it closes much of the gap to the cheapest Clavinova.

Both columns come from Yamaha’s US spec pages. The two pianos have the same amplifier power, the same speaker size, the same 10 voices and the same Bluetooth audio and MIDI, and both now have escapement. The $500 buys the higher GrandTouch-S action, the Bösendorfer sample and binaural CFX for headphone practice, full VRM instead of VRM Lite, 256-note polyphony, and Clavinova’s 5-year in-home warranty (see below). For a beginner, the YDP-166 is the better value; for a student who will practice daily on headphones for years, the CLP-825’s action and sound engine are the reason to stretch.

CLP, CSP or CVP: which Clavinova series?

The CSP and CVP series are not “better CLPs.” The CSP-255 uses the same plastic-key GrandTouch-S action as the CLP-835 but costs $900 more, because you’re paying for Stream Lights, LED guides that move toward the keys to show which note comes next, and an app-driven song library. The CVP series is an ensemble instrument with accompaniment styles; buy it if you want a band behind you, not for a better piano action. Per Kraft Music on October 31, 2026, the CSP line runs to $12,899.99 and the CVP line to $19,999.99 for the CVP-909GP.

What the price doesn’t tell you

• Finish costs more than features. Polished ebony adds $400 on the CLP-825, $700 on the CLP-835, CLP-845 and CLP-875, and $800 on the CLP-885 at the dealers we checked, with identical internals. Matte black, rosewood and white birch cost the same as each other.
• Dealer sales are common. Micheo Music listed the CLP-825 at $1,799.99, the CLP-835 at $2,899.99 and the CLP-845 at $3,999.99 on October 31, 2026, $300 to $450 below the advertised price elsewhere.
• Delivery matters. At 87 to 135 kg, the CLP-885 and both GP models are a two-person delivery. Kraft Music’s listing included a matching bench and a free-delivery promotion when we checked; Yamaha’s spec sheet says the included bench “varies by area,” so confirm both in writing.
• Headphones and a bench. Every Clavinova has two headphone jacks. If the included bench doesn’t adjust, see our best digital piano bench guide, and our best headphones for digital piano guide for low-impedance pairs that suit a piano’s headphone output.

Warranty and buying used

Authorized dealer Kraft Music lists a 5-year Yamaha Clavinova limited warranty with in-home service. Yamaha’s own Clavinova warranty announcement (published in 2007, with the same 5-year term dealers still list) says the warranty is granted to the original owner on models sold through authorized Yamaha dealers in the 50 US states and DC, which is worth knowing before you buy from an unauthorized seller or a private one: the coverage does not follow the piano to a second owner.

If you shop used, check the power adaptor. On May 8, 2025, the CPSC announced a recall of about 37,400 Yamaha PA-300C AC adaptors manufactured from July 2010 through May 2012, after four reports of adaptors burning or smoking. The recall covers adaptors sold as service parts and adaptors built into certain CLP-430 and CVP-601 Clavinovas; for those pianos, Yamaha offers an on-site technician inspection and a free replacement adaptor. Current CLP-825 and CLP-835 models also use a PA-300C adaptor, but the recall is limited to units made from 2010 to 2012. We found no CPSC recall for any current CLP-800 model.

How we chose

We started from the CLP, CSP and CVP series pages on usa.yamaha.com as of October 31, 2026 and used Yamaha’s CLP-800 comparison table for every keyboard, speaker, voice, weight and power figure in this guide, plus Yamaha’s YDP-166 spec page for the Arius comparison. Prices are the advertised listings at authorized US dealers Kraft Music, Heid Music and Metronome Music, which matched exactly for every model they shared; sale prices are from Micheo Music. Warranty terms come from Kraft Music’s product listing and Yamaha’s own warranty announcement, and the recall details from the CPSC recall notice. For Yamaha’s portable P-series and Arius consoles, see our best Yamaha digital piano guide; for how a Clavinova compares with the wider field, start with our best digital piano rankings, and if you’re cross-shopping consoles from other brands, see our best Kawai digital piano and best Roland digital piano guides.

The bottom line

Buy the CLP-835 if you want the Clavinova that does everything most homes need, the CLP-825 if the action matters more than the extras, and the CLP-845 if wooden keys are the reason you’re looking at a Clavinova at all. Move up to the CLP-875 or CLP-885 for linear graded hammers and counterweights. Skip the CLP-865GP unless the baby-grand cabinet is the point, because its keys are the same as the CLP-835’s.