Sheirin Digital Piano Review

The Sheirin digital piano is an economical full-sized digital piano that is marketed towards beginners. It concerns me that the company markets some models as beginner, and others as professional…and sometimes even describes the instruments as ‘beginner’ and ‘professional’…at the same time. This is usually a big red flag, or at least a sign that it was made by a non-name-brand company based out of China. 

While I’ll never knock getting an instrument that suits your budget, you can get an entry-level instrument made by a name brand for the same price. That being said, there are a surprisingly large amount of capabilities in the instrument, and some nice features. We ended up taking off several points off because we are not so sure about the longevity of the instrument. 

Sheirin Digital Piano: Overview

In this Sheirin digital piano review, we’ll check out a budget keyboard that ranks relatively high on Amazon. This particular Sheirin model (The half-cover piano/SR-CH80)  is an 88-key weighted hammer action keyboard with a set of 3 pedals, and MIDI capabilities….But is it really worth steering away from the name brands in order to get a deal? Let’s check out the features, specs, and weigh the pros and cons below. 

Features

DREAM 5 Series Audio

I’ll be honest, I’ve been researching pianos for quite a few years now, and I’ve never heard of this French DREAM audio chip the Sheirin posts until today. From the looks of it, the company has sourced a decent-quality sound chip for the instruments, and the piano tones sound reasonably realistic. 

You can check out some videos of Sheirin pianos in action on Malin Chen’s YouTube.

Built-in Speakers

Standard size speakers for an entry-level instrument -25 watt speakers, which is what this model has.  

It’s worth noting that the English in the manual wasn’t the best, this snippet from the manufacturer made me laugh “Equipped with 25W*2 speakers for sounding” 

The speakers are touted as having Thick bass, bright treble, and stereo sense- although I’m not quite sure what they mean by the latter. 

More notes: 

The instrument was also made to be a space saver and has MIDI capabilities and a surprisingly high-quality/ sturdy sheet music rest. 

Specifications

• Dimensions:  133 cm long, 35 cm wide and 76 cm high 
• Weight: 50 pounds 
• Speakers: 2×25 watt

Who is it Suitable for?

This piano is best suited for beginners who want a full-sized digital console piano without breaking the bank. It’s also possible to us it as a backup piano/ a temporary piano for intermediate platers. 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• It’s a space saver
• It costs a relatively small amount
• It has (surprisingly) good reviews online, and seems to be well-liked
• It has a dust proof flip-cover, which helps protect the keys 
• Has a full-sized keyboard that has some weight to it 
• Assembly tools included in the package
• Oftentimes, there’s an $80 coupon available for the item on Amazon 
• The polyphony is reasonable for a beginner

Cons

• It is for sale at Walmart, which is never a good sign for a musical instrument…unless it’s a kiddie recorder (then maybe…maybe)
• Built quality could be better – we’re not sure it will stand the test of time

Amazon Rating and Reviews

The keyboard was rated 4.4 out of 5 stars on Amazon, which is pretty good considering that the name Sheirin isn’t a very popular one. AI looked at all of the prior reviews on the product and came up with the following summary:

“Customers like the compactness, appearance, value, ease of assembly, and sturdiness of the keyboard instruments. They mention that it takes up little to no space, is well-built, and is a great option for small spaces. Customers are also impressed with the key response and sound quality.”

But because I wanted to check it out myself, I dove deep into the reviews as well. Here’s what I found. 

Positive reviews: 

• “Sleek, affordable, sounds good” 
• “Good key response”
• “I am an intermediate pianist and needed a piano for a short-term stay without breaking the bank. This one fits the bill! Great sound, lovely feeling keys, wonderful key response, lots of settings, and very EASY to assemble.”

Critical reviews: 

• The piano that is marketed as orange is actually brown
• Looks good but feels a bit cheap
• Weird color
• The buttons/instruments is really hard to navigate
• Waste of money
• Bad instructions (but a good instrument) 
• Easily scratched

There were a fair few reviews that said the color was weird or off, and several issues with the durability of the materials.

Comparable Instruments

The Sheirin piano seems to be in line with other entry-level digitals, such as the Donner 88, or instruments made by ZHRUNS. We feel that there are better choices…here are some name-brand Options:

• The Novation Launchkey 
• Yamahas- Such as the P45 (an intermediate keyboard for $500) or even the YPT-270 (an under-$200 entry-level keyboard) 

We feel that pianos like the Novation Launchkey 88 workstation (which you can get for around $380 or so) are a better bet. It’s a name brand, and it has more features. 

The Yamaha YPT-270 is another good option for a cheap entry-level instrument that’s also by a name brand…however, it does lack touch sensitivity. 

For intermediate players, or even for classroom use, the Yamaha P45 is an excellent choice:

Its sound bank is a bit small, but you can trust the quality and longevity of the instrument 

Even the foldable (non-name-brand) Cool Music keyboard (at only $120ish) makes a better instrument for those testing musical waters- it’s lighter/more portable and doesn’t require any assembly. Not to mention, the financial commitment is half what this one is. 

Quick View 

Sheirin: Conclusion

Thanks for sticking around until the end of our Sheirin Digital Piano review. It’s no secret that entry-level digital pianos like Sheirin don’t live up to the name brands- but this instrument may be the right choice for a certain demographic of people- those looking for a console-style digital with pedals, full-sized keys, and keybed and weighted touch- for a price that is under $500. 

Music quote of the week: 

“My music must reflect whatever’s going on in my mind, and my life needs to evolve for me to discover who it is I’m becoming.”

 -Shania Twain

7Expert Score

The Sheirin digital piano is an economical full-sized digital piano that is marketed towards beginners. It concerns me that the company markets some models as beginner, and others as professional…and sometimes even describes the instruments as ‘beginner’ and ‘professional’...at the same time. This is usually a big red flag, or at least a sign that it was made by a non-name-brand company based out of China. While I’ll never knock getting an instrument that suits your budget, you can get an entry-level instrument made by a name brand for the same price. That being said, there are a surprisingly large amount of capabilities in the instrument, and some nice features. We ended up taking off several points off because we are not so sure about the longevity of the instrument.

PROS

• It’s a space saver
• It costs a relatively small amount
• It has (surprisingly) good reviews online, and seems to be well-liked
• It has a dust proof flip-cover, which helps protect the keys
• Has a full-sized keyboard that has some weight to it
• Assembly tools included in the package
• Oftentimes, there’s an $80 coupon available for the item on Amazon
• The polyphony is reasonable for a beginner

CONS

• It is for sale at Walmart, which is never a good sign for a musical instrument…unless it’s a kiddie recorder (then maybe…maybe)
• Built quality could be better - we’re not sure it will stand the test of time