[boops boops]

I don't play piano (yet) but I sing, mainly classical. I'd like to have a piano around for learning self-accompaniment for practice purposes, and for occasional use by my singing teacher and several friends who do play piano well.

I was recently in an instrument shop and discovered one item that appealed to me for sound, responsiveness and price: a P140. But then I looked for reviews on the web and discovered that Yamaha's CP33 stage piano isn't that much dearer and, according to one reviewer, much better than the P140 in playability and sound.

Is the CP33 really much better than a P140? For me, potential expressiveness is paramount. If I were to buy a P140 I would probably use its 2x6w built-in amp and speakers a lot of the time. However, if I were to go for the non-amplified CP33, I have a 2 x20W amp and some hefty speakers which I could hook up to it. That would be less convenient, but it would be nice to have an instrument not too far beneath the contempt of my piano-playing friends. Of course I could equally well connect the amp to the P140 when the occasion demanded. Would that narrow the sound quality/dynamic range gap significantly?

I also wonder if the P140's built in sequencer (with its breathtaking 2 channels) could prove useful. At present I enter song accompaniments into a notation program using the computer keyboard - laborious but I get there in the end. Both the Yamahas have a midi interface so presumably I could hook either up to a computer with notation or sequencer software. Correct?

At first sight the P140 looks closer to what I need. But would I come to regret not spending that little bit extra while foregoing the advantage of built-in amplification? After all, it does seem a bit plasticky....

Unfortunately, I can't consider an acoustic piano or a CP300.

Any opinions gratefully received,
Boops boops.