The Kawai ES-520 is the kind of piano that makes people feel smart — you get ivory-feel keys, 30 watts of speaker power, and Bluetooth connectivity for $300 less than Yamaha's flagship portable. The honest question is: what does that $300 buy you on the P-S500, and does it matter for how you actually play?
Neither of these is an entry-level instrument. The ES-520 is a capable mid-range portable that earns genuine forum praise; the P-S500 is Yamaha's most advanced portable, engineered to punch into console territory. The gap between them is real, but it isn't uniform — it matters a great deal to certain players and almost nothing to others.
The Keyboard Action Is the Most Significant Difference
The ES-520 uses Kawai's Responsive Hammer Compact II action. It's a weighted, graded keyboard with ivory-feel surfaces, and it's good — genuinely good, not just good-for-the-price. The ivory texture helps fingers grip the keys, the weighting is natural, and intermediate players use this action happily for years. Don't let anyone dismiss it as entry-level.
But the P-S500's GH3 action is measurably more capable. Each key runs three sensors instead of two. That third sensor exists to detect when a key hasn't fully returned to rest before it's pressed again — which is exactly what happens in fast trills, rapid repeated notes, and demanding passages. For someone working through intermediate repertoire, the GH3 is a genuine upgrade they'll actually feel, not just a spec sheet win. For a true beginner who doesn't yet push the keyboard's limits, the difference is largely invisible.
This is the most technically significant difference in this comparison, and it deserves a direct answer rather than a vague hedge.
The ES-520 Wins on Speaker Volume
Here the tables turn. The ES-520 has 30W of speaker output compared to the P-S500's 20W. In a home listening context where you're playing through built-in speakers rather than headphones, the ES-520 will fill a room more fully. A direct side-by-side at room volume will often favor the Kawai on raw output.
The P-S500 counters with four speaker drivers versus two, and better DSP processing, so the comparison isn't as simple as wattage alone — but if your primary listening mode is speakers in a living room, the ES-520's advantage here is real.
Sound Count Is Not the Story
The 34 vs. 660 gap looks enormous on a spec sheet and means much less in practice. The ES-520's 34 sounds are curated essentials: acoustic pianos, electric pianos, organs, strings, choir. For a practicing pianist, that covers everything. The P-S500's 660 include those same core voices plus a wide range of accompaniment styles and genre patches — which matters if you want that variety, and doesn't if you don't. Both instruments have excellent acoustic piano voices. Don't let the count drive the recommendation.
Stream Lights Has a Real Dependency
The P-S500 offers Stream Lights, Yamaha's key-illumination system that guides you through any song from your music library. It's a genuinely motivating practice tool in the early learning phase. But it only works through the Smart Pianist app on a compatible phone or tablet. Without that device, the feature doesn't exist. If you're comfortable with app-connected setups, this is a meaningful P-S500 advantage. If you prefer a piano that works fully standalone, the ES-520 is the cleaner choice.
The Long View
Year one, both instruments serve a beginner or returning player well. By year three, a player who has grown into intermediate-level repertoire will start noticing the RHC-II's limits in fast passages. Not unhappy with the ES-520, but possibly eyeing an upgrade. The P-S500 has more headroom at that level; the GH3 doesn't become a ceiling the way the RHC-II might. That said: if casual enjoyment is the genuine goal — playing for pleasure, not advancing technique — the ES-520 serves that perfectly and the P-S500 premium is hard to justify.
Save the $300 If...
...you're a true beginner who doesn't yet know whether piano will stick. Spend $900, discover whether you love it, and upgrade with full information later. The ES-520 is a real instrument that won't hold you back at the beginner level, and $300 saved is meaningful. Also save the $300 if room-filling speaker volume matters more to you than headphone quality, if you want a focused instrument without a large sound library to navigate, or if app dependencies feel like friction rather than a feature.
Spend the Extra $300 If...
...you already know you're committed to playing long-term and want the keyboard that grows with you. The GH3 action's three-sensor responsiveness pays dividends over time that the RHC-II cannot match. Also spend it if late-night headphone practice is your primary mode — the P-S500's headphone optimization is a class above — or if Stream Lights genuinely excites you as a learning tool and you have a compatible device to run it.
The ES-520 is the stronger choice for budget-conscious players and anyone who prioritizes room-filling speaker output. The P-S500 is correct for anyone committed to developing technique over the long term — the $300 buys a meaningfully better keyboard and a better headphone experience, which are exactly what serious practice depends on.