This is a beautiful instrument, with a full sound. I would say it sits somewhere between a guitar, a harp and a banjo in terms of sound, and it has the oriental flavour, especially when using some specialized techniques like right hand trills, and some left hand bends and vibrato. If you like simple music, and traditional oriental ("zen") music, this instrument can give you many hours of relaxing time I believe.
The pipa may be a bit more expressive (can bend notes further and trills can be more expressive I think) but it is also a higher pitched instrument in general. If pipa was female, this would be the male counterpart.
Anyway, if you like the sound of this intrument, and enjoying exploring new soundscapes and especially traditional oriental music, than this is a good buy. It is well made also. I presume there are better quality, or more elaborate ones, but still this is still a beautifully crafted and perfectly suited instrument, especially for the price. When people see it and hear it they all say it is beautiful and it sounds good spontaneously, so this must be a good thing!
Case is also nice. Not hard but still provides good protection. Comes with finger picks and also a plectrum. I got the extra string set as well to keep as replacement, as I presume I would need them at some point.
