The CT-X700 is a 61 key entry level keyboard, one of 4 that Casio introduced at winter NAMM 2018. It is currently available at a MSRP of $174.99 USD. While it is currently in short supply, it would not surprise me to see this keyboard start to appear at Best Buy and Wal-Mart, as the supply chain fills.
What makes this keyboard different is that it is the first keyboard to market featuring the new Casio AiX sound engine; and I will admit, it does sound amazingly good. It actually sounds like it should be selling in the low thousands - say, somewhere around $1,000 to $1,500.
To this point, the only videos available have been Casio demo videos, and I am always suspicious that such videos have been so highly polished as to mask the deficiencies of the keyboard. But now, we're starting to see unboxings and demos of the keyboard right in the homes of, you know, normal people. And the keyboard still sounds great.
This is the first one I've found:
This is a demo from a Casio rep, Mike Martin. It looks like he's pulling audio out of the headphone jack (which is actually the preferred way to obtain the audio, as it eliminates the shortfalls of a microphone on a camcorder). It gives an idea of what the keyboard is capable of in the hands of an ordinary player.
The keyboard has 600 voices, and a 48 note polyphony (24 with some voices, but Casio doesn't specify). It also has 195 rhythms, and other stuff - arpeggiators, split keyboard, layered keyboard, special effects, auto chording. All the stuff that you'd expect to find on a keyboard aimed at the general market.
I don't think the keyboard will be a good fit for anyone here; I think most users of this forum would want more from a keyboard than the CT-X700 can deliver. It is, after all, an entry level keyboard for the mass market.
But what I find really interesting is a chance to evaluate the new sound engine. I think it's amazing, but perhaps I am easily impressed.
But truthfully, I think that if Casio rolls this sound engine out across all their keyboards, they will catapult to the front of the line. This sound engine in a Casio WK-7600 would easily eclipse anything that Yamaha offers in the same price bracket. Or even considerably higher. I thought it was shockingly good.
Anyway. Pardon my drooling. Give it a listen, and see what you think.
Peace - Charlie
What makes this keyboard different is that it is the first keyboard to market featuring the new Casio AiX sound engine; and I will admit, it does sound amazingly good. It actually sounds like it should be selling in the low thousands - say, somewhere around $1,000 to $1,500.
To this point, the only videos available have been Casio demo videos, and I am always suspicious that such videos have been so highly polished as to mask the deficiencies of the keyboard. But now, we're starting to see unboxings and demos of the keyboard right in the homes of, you know, normal people. And the keyboard still sounds great.
This is the first one I've found:
This is a demo from a Casio rep, Mike Martin. It looks like he's pulling audio out of the headphone jack (which is actually the preferred way to obtain the audio, as it eliminates the shortfalls of a microphone on a camcorder). It gives an idea of what the keyboard is capable of in the hands of an ordinary player.
The keyboard has 600 voices, and a 48 note polyphony (24 with some voices, but Casio doesn't specify). It also has 195 rhythms, and other stuff - arpeggiators, split keyboard, layered keyboard, special effects, auto chording. All the stuff that you'd expect to find on a keyboard aimed at the general market.
I don't think the keyboard will be a good fit for anyone here; I think most users of this forum would want more from a keyboard than the CT-X700 can deliver. It is, after all, an entry level keyboard for the mass market.
But what I find really interesting is a chance to evaluate the new sound engine. I think it's amazing, but perhaps I am easily impressed.
But truthfully, I think that if Casio rolls this sound engine out across all their keyboards, they will catapult to the front of the line. This sound engine in a Casio WK-7600 would easily eclipse anything that Yamaha offers in the same price bracket. Or even considerably higher. I thought it was shockingly good.
Anyway. Pardon my drooling. Give it a listen, and see what you think.
Peace - Charlie
