Specification Comparison between CASIO WK-7600 and WK-7500

Differences are denoted by bold red text in the WK-7600 column. Additional comments are in blue text.

About this article:
Being a now 'ex-owner' of a WK-7500, which I quite like as a keyboard but fails miserably as a ‘Keyboard Workstation’, I was intrigued about what changes (and hopefully improvements) Casio may have made in the new WK-7600.

This document resulted after having gone to the Casio Australia web site and selecting the Compare Products option, to then discover that only the specifications for the new WK-7600 were shown. That made me a little suspicious. Below are the actual specifications from the respective product WK-7500 and WK-7600 manuals. From looking at the specs, one can quickly see why Casio might not be too keen to provide a side-by-side product comparison.

In the end, it all leaves me wondering what Casio pay their product engineers to do (or maybe they just outsource), and … whether they (said engineers) have any meaningful understanding of the multi-track recording process and particularly what a ‘Keyboard Workstation’ should be able to do.

Update: July 31, 2013 - After visiting the Casio International web site and again performing a comparison between the WK-7600 and WK-7500, I noticed there were a few inaccuracies (items that were left out) in the specifications quoted for the WK-7500. This might give the impression of a greater difference, that in reality, does not exist. So just to repeat, the information below is taken from the actual product manuals. Also, the Casio Australia web site still only provides specifications for the WK-7600 when trying to compare products.

Update: April 23, 2014 - It seems that over the last year Casio (or at least their marketing team) have had the good sense to ditch the "Workstation Keyboard" title in favour of the less specific title of "High Grade Keyboard". I suspect that the new title might sound considerably better and/or more impressive in Japanese than it does in English. At least it's more honest.

Summary / Editor's Opinion

In a nutshell – the WK-7600 is a largely and quite literally a cosmetic upgrade from the WK-7500. The single greatest difference is actually in the appearance of the WK-7600. This features a revised plastic molding and slight repositioning of some controls. In my estimation, the new molding makes the changes appear to be greater than they actually are.

Apart from some additional memory to hold an extra 15 ‘Audio Recordings’ (now 20 instead of 5), 20 additional Tones and 10 additional Rhythm Presets … there really isn’t anything at all to get excited about in the WK-7600.

The added Equalizer function (found under the Functions menu) is rather laughable (sorry Casio developer team, but really ... ?). The new EQ facility consists of nothing more than 5 (rather generic) presets that affect the overall output sound. The EQ cannot be customized, cannot be applied to individual tones, or (more importantly) cannot be implemented where it might actually be of some use (like on individual Sequencer Tracks or in the actual Mixer section). In its current implementation there's not much point to having an EQ at all.

One might make a case for the LCD display on the WK-7600 being slightly easier to read, having been angled up ever so slightly. Also moving the (very rarely used) Mic Volume control to the back panel is another very minor improvement.The WK-7600 is also 600 grams Lighter than the WK-7500 and ever so slightly smaller.

I can't comment on the Firmware and Menu Structure that makes the WK-7600 tick, however there is no suggestion (from either the manual or other reviews/comments) that any of the failings or built-in limitations mentioned in my article on the Capabilities of the WK-7500 have been addressed in the Casio WK-7600.

In fairness however, there is at least a brief disclaimer section in the WK-7600 user manual (see page 121 under Audio Playback and Recording Precautions), that does hint at some of the device's limitations (can't do's). Of course, the manual does not provide any real explanation or details ... you're essentially left to work out what it all means for yourself.

And of course, the WK-7600 manual is still about as non-user friendly as a set of How-to instructions can possibly get. But, at least you will still get it in five different languages :-)

BOTTOM LINE:

The Casio WK-7600 and WK-7500 are both excellent value as a Digital Keyboard, but not much use as a Workstation Keyboard. If you are looking to buy a keyboard, try to find a WK-7500 and save yourself some money.

If you purchase either the WK-7600 or WK-7500 via a retail outlet, you will get the full 5 year Casio warranty. I mention this because another web site claimed that to buy the WK-7500 now would mean getting a reduced (1 year) warranty. This should NOT be the case if purchased NEW, even if it is at an end of stock clearance.


Note to past readers / contributors - Thankyou for your comments and contributions. Greatly appreciated!

Your Comments (Closed):

Thankyou to all the visitors to this page who have taken the time to provide feedback since this page was created. The time has come however to call it a day. As of February 2014 the "Was This Page Useful?" form has been removed.



140205 - (Very Good) - WK 7600 and WK 7500 have the same quality of the piano sounds?

Editor's Note: Yes.


140130 - (Excellent) - I've seen a second hand WK7500 for €315, good as new they say. A new WK7600 is nearly €500 - it's the hammond sound I'm after, so i really want to know how important are the 0-8 instead of 0-3 steps on the drawbars? Is it exactly the same only they measure it more accurately? or are they actually good at getting that right hammond sound?

Editor's Note: (Background) The DrawBar (or Hammond) Organ sounds can be controlled using the nine (9) faders/sliders provided with both both the Casio WK-7500 and WK-7600. Unfortunately, on both keyboards the changes occur in noticeable steps (more like a switch, rather than the smooth and continuous variation of a real Hammond Organ drawbar).

On the WK-7500 there are only 4 steps per slider (0-3), whereas on the WK-7600 there are now 9 steps per slider (0-8). This is definitely a considerable improvement, as the changes in tonality are now more subtle. Whether this meets the standards of a discerning Hammond fan, that I can't say. Overall though, I think that Casio have done an exceptional job on both the Drawbar Organ sounds and the stereo Leslie Speaker effect. But that's just me.

On the older WK-7500 the drawbar changes really are noticeable when playing live and making changes on the fly. So this is really a case of try out a WK-7600 and see if you like (or at least can live with) the improvement in drawbar emulation.


140113 - (Very Good) - Thank you, I needed this. Jazzy


131125 - (Excellent) - Noticed that the drawbar on the 7600 has nine levels from 0 to 8 whereas the 7500 has only four from 0 to 3 (page E-51 on both manuals).

Editor's Note: Good contribution, I have added it in the comparison table above. Thanks for your help!


131120 - (Excellent) - Thanks! I also had a suspicion about the 7600 vs. 7500. You've just confirmed it.


131028 - (Excellent) - Exactly what I was looking for.


131023 - (Excellent) - Awesome review.


131021 - (Excellent) - Great information. But looking through the WK7600 manual I noticed one more improvement: You can now select which parts are affected by the sustain pedal (absolutely critical for those of us who play left-hand bass!).

Editor's Note: Good pickup. Though that information is not noted in the specifications, I have now mentioned it in the comparison table above. Thanks for your help!


131011 - (Very Good) - Good review side-by-side. I must add, the microphone feed better be from a dynamic, as there is no Phantom Power for a true studio style Condenser microphone. This suggests the maker knows what they are doing and is not trying to compete with the Pro "work station" makers (which are mostly themselves Useless as Keyboards (they maketh sound not), but good as Controllers for midi and synth production). Good luck to Casio for giving normal musicians/hobby musicians something worth the money. Rock on, fellow low-budget noisemakers, our Bach is worse than our byte.

Editor's Note: The specs do say "Standard jack (connect a dynamic microphone only) - Input Impedance: 3kΩ, Input Sensitivity: 10mV", so there is no support for balanced or phantom powered condensor mics. By standard jack they mean 6mm (1/4").


130925 - (Excellent) - The sound output from the WK-7600 is quite good giving a reasonable bass. I was wondering how the WK-7500 compares on a listening test and also the difference (if any) betwwen the 76 note and 61 note versions of both models. I am thinking of buying a 61 note version, being easier to carry around than my WK-7600. The WK-7000 is currently £100 cheaper than the WK-7200.

Editor's Note: I can't comment on the 61 key devices. You'd need to find a physical store where you can make a valid comparison. The WK-7500 / 7600 essentially share the same speakers and enclosure volume. Not surprisingly, they'll sound pretty much identical.


130916 - (Excellent) - It's a no nonsense explanation, very much to the point commentary of which there is not enough of in this world. You can very much depend on the light it shed's on the products. Thanks for your guidance!!


130807 - (Excellent) Very useful information, congratulations for the work.



Incept Date: Wizard - 130729
Last Update: Wizard - 160327