Common wisdom proclaims that one should find the largest size and most expensive piano affordable. In reality, application, budget, furniture, and space individually considered go into selecting the appropriate piano to meet one’s need. All things being equal, which usually is not the case, a larger piano will outperform a smaller piano. Comparing pianos within an individual brand this advice typically holds true. A smaller high quality piano will very often outperform a larger lesser quality piano so this advice becomes suspect crossing brand lines.

Two major factors to consider are tone and touch.  A quality piano will have superior tone and touch. Along with superior tone and touch comes a higher price tag. Accomplished pianists might select a smaller piano because of a more responsive action rather than a larger piano with bigger tone but a mediocre action. On the other hand a hobbyist might prefer bigger tone since a mediocre action might be suitable for his or her skill level.