Kawai CA49 | Digital Piano Review | Kawai Concert Artist Series Digitals

 

 We've got another in-depth piano review for you here today as we dive into the Kawai CA49 digital piano - the follow-up to the popular CA48.

Like the CA48 before it, the CA49 is one of the most affordable home digital pianos with 88 wooden keys and offers up a beautiful sample of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano.

For folks primarily focused on great action and tone without the need for a ton of features, the CA49 is a very compelling option for the price. Let's start with some more general information about the CA49.

 

Piano Background

The CA49 replaced the popular CA48 in 2020 as the base model in Kawai's Concert Artist (CA) series. Since it was released during a time with super high levels of piano demand, it actually took us quite some time to get our hands on one.

The CA series also consists of the Kawai CA59, CA79, and CA99, all with increasing levels of sophistication. But of course as the sophistication increases, so does the price.

The CA49 is one of the top sellers in the lineup though due to the level of the key action Kawai is making available here - the Grand Feel Compact action - for an MSRP of $2,800. The only other keyboard action available for around the same price that can compete is Roland's PHA-50 action.

As such, the CA49 occupies a pretty unique place in the broader digital piano landscape.  With that little bit of context out of the way, let's dive into the sound engine first.

 

Kawai CA49 Collaboration with ONKYO High-End Audio

Looking through the spec sheet on the CA49, you would be forgiven if you thought that you were actually looking at the CN29 spec sheet because many specs overlap between the two. In fact, we often describe the CA49 to our showroom customers as an upgraded CN29. since the parallels are many. At the same time, there are some crucial differences as well.

Let's start with some similarities. Both the CA49 and CN29 have 192 notes of maximum polyphony. That's becoming fairly standard for an instrument in this price range, with 256 notes as the highest you generally see unless you get into modeling engines.

For a breakdown of what polyphony actually means, feel free to check out our video all about polyphony on our YouTube channel.

Both the CN29 and CA49 also use Kawai's Progressive Harmonic Imaging sound technology (PHI). This is one of their more recent sound engines, but it's not their most complex sample-based engine as that would be the Harmonic Imaging XL engine. But the PHI engine is still a very good quality engine, and one of the best available at the price point.

The other interesting thing about most of Kawai's recent products, including the CA49, is Kawai's collaboration with Onkyo. Onkyo is a well-respected, high-end audio and stereo gear manufacturer out of Japan. Onkyo brings more sophisticated signal processing, speaker, and amplifier design to the table.

With that, the main motherboard on the CA49 instrument has been co-developed with Onkyo. The improved signal processing delivers a cleaner, punchier amp than what we were getting in the CA48.

Lastly, the speakers have the same power output, but the CA49 is using a 4-speaker system for better clarity than the CN29. At this point, you might be asking if it's worth springing for the CA49 over the CN29 if you'll be playing with headphones a lot of the time since the speakers are the only sound-related advantage, and both pianos have the spatial headphone sound headphone optimizer?

Well, the big reason is of course the action which we will get to below, along with a few other things. Now to some specifics about the sound engine.

The core of the PHI sound engine is the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX and the Kawai EX concert grand piano sample set. The EX is an older concert grand and thus serves up a less refined playing experience, while the Shigeru Kawai grand piano is widely held as one of the top concert grands currently in production.

Each piano has been sampled with 88-note individual sampling at multiple dynamic levels to produce a super honest recreation.

There are a number of other acoustic piano presets on built-in, but these two are the crown jewels, and what most people will spend most of their time playing with.

There are actually 19 sounds in total, a good chunk of which are acoustic piano patches, so this reinforces the fact that the CA49 is built for someone looking for an acoustic piano substitute.

That said, there are some electric pianos, organs, as well as a harpsichord patch, vibraphone, strings, slow strings, synth pad, and choir.

Paired with the Virtual Technician app you can take the SK-EX and EX concert grand piano sounds and modify them with quite a few parameters such as string resonance, damper resonance, key-off effect, and touch curve. 

That about sums up our discussion on sound. Let's move on to action.

 

Grand Feel Compact Piano Action

The CA49 features Kawai's Grand Feel Compact action (GFC). Why do they call it compact? Well, it's a shorter key stick, but the general configuration is very similar to what Kawai has been running in their CA series and a few other models for a while, which is their Grand Feel action (the latest version is Grand Feel III).

Grand Feel actions feature 100% wooden-key keyboard action, counterweights, grade-weighted hammers, triple sensor key detection, and ivory touch key surfaces. Where the Grand Feel III has an extended length key stick approaching that of an acoustic piano, the Grand Feel Compact has a shorter length key stick in line with the typical key stick length you'll find in most digital piano actions.

Despite the normal key length, the GFC is a remarkably good action that really does feel a lot like an acoustic piano action. The micro-texture on the white key feels really nice, as does the matte finish on the black keys.

The key dip feels really good as it's a bit softer on the bottom than some other digital pianos out there, specifically Roland. Roland tends to have one of the harder-feeling key beds. Either way isn't good or bad, but rather comes down to personal preference.

The triple sensor means that you're going to get really great accurate MIDI output and it also symbolizes the fact that this action is built to accommodate some higher-level classical playing. If you've got some really fast repeated sections or percussive sections, sometimes the dual sensor can throw out some wacky MIDI information and you get some odd spikes. The odds of that happening with a triple sensor are greatly reduced.

In our opinion, this is the single best action available at this price point, and more than justifies the price increase over the CN29. This action alone makes the CA49 a unique offering in the market, and it's very popular in our showroom among high-level pianists who need a cost-effective digital practice instrument.

 

Piano Features & Connectivity

Let's move on to connectivity and some of the other features on this Kawai digital piano that we haven't discussed yet.

In terms of connections, the CA49 is a little bit light compared to what you're going to get in some of the higher-level CA series, as well as some of the upper-tier Yamaha and Roland stuff. Since the CA49 is designed to keep the price point as low as possible while still delivering a full wooden key action, some areas are going to be sacrificed.

What we do have is two headphone jacks, USB to host, MIDI In and Out, as well as Bluetooth MIDI, but no Bluetooth audio. Please keep in mind that Bluetooth headphones are not compatible with the CA49, or any digital piano as of yet. There is no line out, so you will have to mess around with the headphone jack if you need an output.

That's it for connectivity. Moving on to other features and there is a basic internal song recorder where you can save up to 3 songs, which can actually be a pretty handy practice aid.

There are also some popular lesson books, as well as etudes stuffed in here including some Alfred stuff, Czerny stuff, Beyer, and Burgmuller. Of course, obvious things like a metronome, transpose, and concert magic are available as well.

Also worth highlighting is that Kawai has greatly improved the control panel from the CA48 with a new and easy-to-read OLED screen. Getting around this musical instrument is much easier than before.

The CA49 is available in three different finishes from Kawai - Premium Rosewood (the most common, CA-49R), Satin Black, and Satin White which has been becoming more popular with the latest trends in interior design.

It also happens to feature Kawai's Grand Feel Pedal System with damper, sostenuto, and soft pedals, and a new modern cabinet design with an elegant music rest which is much more robust cabinetry than what you're getting with the CN29.

 

Closing Thoughts

We hope you've enjoyed this look at the Kawai CA49. It's already a big favorite of ours here at Merriam Music due to the musical experience it offers for the price. In fact, we think it's one of the best-value digital pianos on the market right now, period.

Be sure to check out the companion video if you'd like to hear how it sounds!

The post Kawai CA49 | Digital Piano Review | Kawai Concert Artist Series Digitals first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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Kawai CA48 Digital Piano Review & Demo - Kawai Concert Artist Series

Introduction

Today we're tackling Kawai's CA48, the little sibling of the whole Concert Artist (CA) series, but a piano that absolutely packs a tremendous value. From the action to the sound to the cabinet, not to mention a couple of really cool apps that work with a wireless connection.

Let's dive into why this is one the most value-packed home digital pianos on the market.

Product Discontinued: The Kawai CA48 has been replaced by the Kawai CA49 digital piano on May 15, 2020. You can watch our review on YouTube here.

 

Kawai CA48 Background

The Kawai CA48 Digital Piano is the entry-level model of the CA series, but it's by no means an entry-level digital piano. The remainder of the line consists of the Kawai CA58,  CA78, and CA98.

For people who are familiar with the Kawai lineup, the relationship between the CA48 and CA58 can actually be compared quite accurately to the CN29 and CN39 because the 29 and the 39 have the same piano actions, but the major difference comes down to the tones that they offer, speaker systems, connectivity and some of the features.

The differences between the CA48 and CA58 are essentially the same. For starters, the CA48 interface is very similar to the CN29 interface, and the CA58 interface is virtually identical to what you get on the CN39.

The action is the same between the CA48 and CA58, but the 58 features a more powerful speaker system, a higher fidelity sound engine, more sounds, more connectivity options, and an upgraded cabinet.

Now, these extra features come with a price premium. Some folks don't need any of these extra features, and for the folks, the value that the CA48 offers really starts to shine through.

The fact is, the 48's Grand Feel Compact wooden action is arguably the best piano action available for the price. For folks who need a good practice instrument with a great touch and aren't worried about other features, the CA48 becomes a compelling option. Let's dive into that further.

 

Kawai CA48 Grand Feel Keyboard Action

Kawai's Grand Feel keyboard action has been out for years now and is notable for its full wooden construction and extra-long key-stick resembling a real grand piano.

The new Grand Feel Compact is a version with a shorter key stick, but when we compare the original Grand Feel and the Grand Feel Compact, they actually don't feel all that different, doing a great job of replicating the touch weight and feel of an actual grand piano action.

This wooden-key keyboard action also has Ivory Touch key surfaces on the black and white keys to help with playing for longer periods of time, center rail pivot point just like an acoustic piano, and real felt here to cushion the bottom of the keybed. There's also simulated let off or escapement, bass region counterweights, and of course, a triple sensor key detection for really accurate MIDI technology output.

You can't find this style of action with this good of a physical feel at this price range really anywhere else in the market. If touch is your number one priority and you're working with a budget that would allow for the CA48 and its GF compact action, we think it's probably the best option from an action standpoint.

 

Progressive Harmonic Imaging Sound Engine

Moving on to the sound portion of our discussion; the CA48 is outfitted with Kawai's Progressive Harmonic Imaging sound engine (PHI). This engine features full 88-key sampling to provide the discerning player with high-level digital piano tonal quality, and those samples are coming from their beautiful SK-EX concert grand, as well as the EX concert grand.

The Shigeru Kawai SK-EX is easily one of the top grand pianos on the planet, and this sound engine does a remarkable job of capturing the realism of the instrument. Even the sostenuto pedals of a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand are faithfully recreated.

The default concert grand piano sounds warm, dynamic, and colorful, and all of this can be manipulated through the Virtual Technician Smart Mode which allows the user to edit ten preset sound-related parameters to further customize the sound to their own liking. Things like damper resonance and touch curve are just two of the editable settings, and you've also got some different reverb and brilliance settings you can play with as well.

Polyphony is strong with 192-notes, but the other sound-related highlight has to do with Kawai's collaboration with Japanese audio maker Onkyo. Onkyo helped design the amplifiers and speakers so that the sound is cleaner and more well managed, meaning no woofyness or distortion in the sound. They also contributed to the CA48's Spatial Headphone Sound feature which creates a more immersive experience when playing with earphones.

The speaker system itself consists of two mains, as well as two small 5-centimeter tweeters at the front that is facing you as the player. We found the tweeters to be slightly brighter than we would normally like, but you can adjust this in the Voicing settings to correct the issue. We didn't notice this issue when using headphones or when plugged into an amplifier.

In terms of the other sounds that are included in the CA48, there are 19 sounds in total. There are several acoustic piano options, including the SKEX and Kawai EX concert grand piano we mentioned, then an upright piano and several studio grands. From there we've got some electric piano and organ sounds.

In fact, the left pedal by default is set up to activate a rotary speaker effect for organ sound, so you can get a pretty authentic organ sound going. Other sounds include church organ, harpsichord, vibraphone, string ensemble, and synth pads.

For people who are looking for a much wider variety and selection of sounds, the CA58 will be a better option as it bumps the sounds up to 42 in total.

 

Features/Connectivity/Miscellaneous

As we've alluded to, the CA48 is outfitted with an excellent integrated triple pedal array with Kawai's Grand Feel Pedal System. The subtle effects of a real acoustic playing experience come through nicely with this pedal system as it recreates the individual weighting of the damper, sostenuto, and soft pedals.

The CA48 features some built-in music lesson books and classical etudes as well, including Alfred Lessons Basic Piano, Beyer, Burgmuller, and Czerny. This lesson function and built-in course books will be very helpful to newer players.

Staples like a metronome, concert magic, and transpose are of course covered as well.

In terms of connectivity, the CA48 is a bit light compared to the CA58 in that it has now discreet line outputs, so if you need a piano for a church or performance stage, you'll be better off with the CA58.

That said, it does have modern Bluetooth connectivity. Wireless technology makes for hassle-free connectivity to Smart Devices for using the Virtual Technician app and of course, fun 3rd party apps as well.

The modern cabinet includes a large music rest and is available in both premium Rosewood and Satin Black finish, and the cheekblock control panel blends in nicely without ruining the classy aesthetic.

 

Closing Thoughts

The CA48 is a value-packed instrument with an excellent action and wonderfully rendered sound technology.

It's primarily aimed at folks who need a convincing piano experience without certain additional features like lots of sounds, top-of-the-line speakers, and discreet line outputs.

If this sounds like what you're after, you'll want to add the CA48 to your wishlist. Shop more digital pianos by Kawai here.

Thank you for reading!

The post Kawai CA48 Digital Piano Review & Demo - Kawai Concert Artist Series first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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Kawai CA58 Digital Piano Review

Hello and thanks for joining us! If you'd like to read an in-depth review of the Kawai CA58 digital piano, you've come to the right place.

The Kawai CA58 essentially sits in the middle of the pack as far as Kawai's Concert Artist series (CA series) is concerned, as it's certainly a professional quality instrument built for serious institutional use, but it doesn't have all of the latest technology like the top CA series instruments do.

So, for the purposes of this review, we'll not only cover all of the relevant details of this instrument, but we'll also identify who might be served from bypassing the CA48 and coming up to the CA58, without jumping ahead to the CA79.

  

Background

As mentioned above, the CA58 is the second entry in the Kawai CA series lineup, which starts with the CA48, and ends with the very advanced CA79 and CA99.

Despite being an instrument with a lot to offer, it seems as though the CA58 is sometimes a bit overlooked as it can get lost in the mushy middle, and perhaps doesn't have as specific a value proposition as the CA48 or CA79 does.

While these concerns about value are probably true, the fact of the matter is, though, there are certain users out there for who the CA58 will be the perfect instrument.

For those users, the spec upgrades over the CA48, including a superior sound engine with more polyphony, a better speaker system, and discreet line outputs are well worth the extra cost.

With that out of the way, let's take a closer look at the sound engine.

  

Piano Sound

The sound on the CA58 is produced by Kawai's Harmonic Imaging XL engine (HI-XL). This is an upgraded, more complex sound engine than what you'll find in the CA48, as well as the CN series.

It features 256 notes of maximum polyphony and is based on an 88-key stereo sample of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX and Kawai EX concert grand pianos. It's also a multidimensional sample set which means different microphones were placed throughout and around the piano, rather than just doing a basic left-right stereo image.

The result is an extremely detailed sound engine producing beautiful grand piano sound, and that's coming at you through 100 watts of speaker power, which includes two tweeters on top, and two mains on the underside of the keyboard.

Something that sometimes throws people off is that the control panel on the left-hand side looks the same as the control panel featured on the CN39. Otherwise, it doesn't really resemble any of the control panels throughout the rest of Kawai's entire digital panel lineup, as it's actually a remnant from a couple of generations ago.

The touch screen on the CA79 and 99 is much more advanced and modern, so this old version sticks out a little bit like a sore thumb.

That said, navigating the remaining patches (of which there are 42) and features of the instrument is extremely easy, as each sound category, such as piano, electric piano, or organ, is represented by its own button.

A quick note on the organ tones; pressing the left pedal on the CA58 triggers a rotary speaker effect, so this is a pretty great effect for use with organ tones.

You can tell that the CA series has a pretty big audience in the Worship community because of how much attention Kawai has put into their organs patches, which are exceptional.

Kawai has also incorporated their Spatial Headphone Sound feature, which improves the experience when playing with headphones plugged in.

The control panel also gives you access to Kawai's Virtual Technician, which allows you to go in and edit all kinds of sound-related parameters, such as damper resonance, key volume, and minimum touch, as well as different effects settings like Reverb.

So, there you have it with regard to the sound system here. The Kawai CA58 is producing some great sound, with a higher fidelity engine than what you're getting on the CA48, with more than double the speaker power too.

  

Action

Moving over to the keyboard action portion of our discussion, the CA58 is equipped with Kawai's Grand Feel Compact Action. The Grand Feel Compact actually features a very similar design to the original Grand Feel action, which has been replaced by the longer key sticks of the Grand Feel II and Grand Feel III actions.

This is a wooden key action with let-off, triple sensor key detection, and bass region counterweights. Being a wood-based action, you'll find that the dynamic behavior of the keys ends up skewing more towards that of a real acoustic piano action since those are obviously wood as well.

We also need to mention the ebony and ivory touch key surfaces. These textures provide a nice tactile sensation and grip for your fingers, while also absorbing moisture during more intense playing sessions.

All in all, we're left with very good action, and the only real competitor from the action playing experience perspective at the price point is Roland's wooden PHA4 action. Yamaha doesn't really have a direct competitor model at the price point.

Since the CA48 also has the same action, if the extra upgrades on the CA58 don't appeal to you, and you're only really focused on action, the CA48 suddenly becomes a super compelling option instead.

  

Features & Connectivity

Let's start with the connectivity. The Kawai CA58 is equipped with a Bluetooth MIDI connection, which allows you to remote control the piano via Kawai's sound museum app.

You can also control the Virtual Technician app this way which adds a nice visual component, and you can connect to apps like GarageBand and Logic, as well as any sort of DAW software, which is Bluetooth MIDI compliant.

The Kawai CA58 also has quarter-inch outputs with independent output volume control, which is why it would be an ideal solution for folks who need a performance digital piano that can connect to an amp or PA system.

It also has a stereo mini-jack line in, dual headphone jacks, traditional MIDI In and Out, as well as USB Type-A and B.

In terms of features, standards like Layer, Split, and Four Hands mode are all covered, as is a fun Concert Magic feature. There are also some preloaded music books like Alfred and Czerny as well.

There's also a built-in recorder that allows you to record, overdub, and playback WAV and SMF files.

The cabinet is built like a tank, which again, adds testament to the fact that this is built equally for the home and serious institutional use. It has a nice built-in key cover and is available in both Premium Rosewood and Satin Black finishes.

Something that will appeal to classical pianists is the presence of Kawai's Grand Feel Pedal System. In addition to the damper (capable of half-pedal), sostenuto, and soft pedals, the spring tension of the pedals has also been matched to that of a typical acoustic grand piano.

Closing Thoughts

As we said at the start, while the CA58 may not scream value as strong as the CA48 or CA79, it certainly has a strong value proposition to the right buyer.

If you're looking for a piano with a great sound engine, wooden action, and line outputs, so you can connect to an amp or PA system, the CA58 becomes an obvious choice over the CA48, and still costs a lot less than the CA79.

As we've said, in the sub $4,000 CAD price point, Kawai CA58 is probably one of the most compelling options for a music school, or especially a church, given the excellent organ sounds.

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Kawai Digital Piano Series Overview Review & Demo

 

Kawai Digital Piano Series Overview Review Video Transcription

As one of the 'Big 3' digital piano manufacturer's on the market today, Kawai has an extensive product line, with products ranging from under $1,000 CAD, all the way up to $20,000. In this article, we're giving you an overview of almost every single Kawai digital piano that's currently available in the market in 2020. We'll go series by series describing exactly what the major components and characteristics of each series are and, who they're intended for. When you're doing research and finding yourself on the manufacturer websites, the product descriptions sometimes contain coded language that can be hard to decipher, and you might be left wondering who a given product is actually intended for. Hopefully, this article straightens some of this out. This article will cover the CA, CN, KDP, ES, and MP series instruments below.

CA Series

 

Kawai CA Series Digital Pianos

Let's start with the flagship CA series, which stands for Concert Artist series. The name really says it all. This is a set of digital pianos which Kawai has designed for professionals, for teaching studios, and users that are looking for a premium digital piano experience in a mid-price range, relatively speaking. All of the CA series pianos have elements in common and when you look at the total package from cabinetry, sound engines, speakers systems and piano actions, this is the very best that Kawai makes with the exception of the Novus 10 and Novus 5. The Novus instruments sit in a totally different category so we're going to cover those in a separate article.

What are the aspects of the CA series which are all in common you might be asking? Well, for one, they all use Kawai's top cabinetry, with finishes such as premium rosewood, satin black, satin white and polished black available depending on the model. This means really high-quality hardwoods and fiberboards for the cabinet which results in great durability, which isespecially important if your piano is going to sit in a church, school, or teaching studio. The CA series instruments are built to stand the test of time, not just in terms of their musical instruments/components, but the furniture itself. Another thing the CA series instruments have in common is that they all use wooden key-actions, with ivory touch keytops. That being said, there is a difference between the top two pianos of the line and the bottom two. You can think of it as two subcategories within the CA series line. The 49 and the 59 use Kawai's Grand Feel Compact Keyboard Action. This action is very similar to what Roland has done with their PHA 50 action. You've got wooden key-sticks, but in kind of traditional balanced hammer action, whereas the CA99 and the CA79 use Grand Feel III, which utilizes extended full-length keys that look and operate a lot more like a grand piano action versus a digital piano action.

Looking at the tone generators on the CA series, every model features an Onkyo amplifier. Onkyo is a totally separate and distinct company from Kawai, but they're also a Japanese-based manufacturer who build high-end audio equipment. They've been doing amplifiers and signal processing for a wide variety of vendors for many years. This partnership between Kawai and Onkyo has raised the bar in terms of what's possible for piano tone out of a digital instrument without getting into tens of thousands of dollars' worth of expenditure. All four CA series pianos also feature discrete headphone amplifiers with spatial processing. This is a beautiful feature for anyone whose going to be playing with headphones for any length of time. Between the Onkyo amplifiers and spatial processing for headphones, every CA series is a essentially a hi-fi stereo.

At this point you might be wondering why someone would spend more on the Kawai CA99 versus the Kawai CA49 for instance? Here is the major difference as you step from the top down; the CA99 uses a real soundboard speaker system. As the only instrument in the series that features this, in addition to the main speakers and the tweeters, you actually have a spruce soundboard on the back of the instrument which is magnetically activated and actively contributes to the resonance of the instrument. It creates a powerful acoustic effect that results in a dramatically different playing experience than the rest of the series. The CA79 is virtually the same as CA99 except for that soundboard, and a few minor details. This means that if you're somebody that's gonna be using the instrument almost entirely with headphones and occasional speaker use, then you don't have to worry about the CA99 and can go straight to the CA79 without sacrificing musical experience. Another upgrade Kawai's includes with the 99 and 79 is the beautiful color touchscreen panel on the left side that's replaced the button based control panel from older generation models.

When we get down into the Kawai CA59 and 49, we lose the touchscreen, but the interface is still intuitive and easy to operate. The CA59 comes with tweeters and main speakers, with the same power output as the CA79 at 100 watts. When we drop down to the CA49, the control panel is further simplified, there's only 2 speakers with a power output of 40 watts, but, of course, we still have that great wood key-action. Regardless of which instrument you're looking at in the CA series, you're getting an instrument where the objective has been to deliver the very best touch and piano tone for the price that you're going to find anywhere within the market.

CN Series

Kawai CN29 Digital Piano

The CN series sits just below Kawai's CA series and functions as another home-based series of instruments. The CN series instruments are not particularly portable for gigs or rehearsals, but, for people who are looking for a stationary digital piano in a reasonable budget range, you can think of the CN series as being Kawai's "Pro-Sumer" grade digital piano. Folks who are used to shopping for cameras, televisions or audio equipment will know the term "Pro-Sumer" as a product that bridges that gap between high-end pro-level stuff entry-level products. Every aspect of the CN series screams that they're not entry-level instruments, but Kawai has been able to keep the costs contained to a reasonable level. This area of the market is where the CN series really takes its stand and has done incredibly well in North America over the last five or so years. The series has been out for much longer, but we've really seen a jump in popularity first with the CN27 and 37, and then more recently, with their replacements in the the CN29 and 39.

Just like the CA series, the CN series also feature Onkyo processing on board that dramatically improves the the structure of the tone. Both the CN29 and 39 feature the SKEX, Progressive Harmonic Imaging sound technology with 88-key digital piano sampling sets for their main and primary acoustic piano. The polyphony is very high with 192 on the CN29 and 256 on the CN39. Both the CN29 and 39 also feature the Responsive Hammer III action, which is widely considered one of the top plastic actions available on the market. It's fair to say the CN29 is one of the absolute best values in Kawai's lineup if all you're looking for is a fantastic action with good sound. It's not an instrument that would be recommended for serious classical practice in the 3-4 hour a day range, but it's definitely one of the most authentic, most interesting and overall most satisfying acoustic grand piano sounds that you're going to find in the market in and around that $2,000 price range. But, that's about the only thing that the CN29 does as it's pretty lightweight in terms of the number of tones that it's got on board and really just covers the basics in terms of features. There's 19 total on-board sound so there's some versatility, but relatively limited compared to some other instruments on the market in this price range.

So, what do you get when you get up to the CN39? For starters, the CN39 has four speakers instead of two speakers with the 29.  The other big jump is that you get 355 sounds on the CN39 compared to the 19 sounds with the CN29, not too mention a lot more external connectivity with the 39. Factoring in these upgrades, you can think of the CN39 as the institutional commercial-use version of the CN29. All of this is to say that the CN39 is intended for professional applications, whereas the 29 is more intended for home use.

KDP Series

Like the CN series, the KDP series consists of two models, the KDP-70, and the KDP-110. These two instruments constitute Kawai's entry-level home digital pianos. Its worth noting that even though the KDP series is considered entry-level for Kawai, in the industry as a whole, the KDP series pianos are viewed as a mid-range level instruments, so don't be turned off by the "entry level" tag. You can think of the KDP-110 and the KDP-70 as representing where the CN series was about five years ago. If you buy a KDP-110 or a KDP-70 today, you're getting about the same quality of instrument as you would have if you'd spent about twice that amount of money four or five years ago.

So, what are the differences between the KDP-110 and the KDP-70? 3 key things - speaker size and wattage, the action, and the Bluetooth radio. The KDP-70 doesn't have Bluetooth, has smaller speakers, less powerful amplifier and a slightly less sensitive action. The KDP-110 boats a substantially more powerful amplifier, Bluetooth radio and upgraded action. For that few hundred-dollar difference, if you can see yourself making good use of the Bluetooth MIDI connection and extra speaker power, it's well worth it. If you know for sure that you're going to be using your piano in either in a relatively small space or frequently with headphones, then the KDP-70 should be a fantastic choice for you.

ES Portable Series

Kawai ES110 Portable Digital Piano

Kawai makes two series of portable pianos - the ES series and the MP series. We'll start with the ES series, which is comprised of the Kawai ES110 and the Kawai ES8. Kawai is constantly evolving and coming out with new models, but at this moment, ES8 and the ES110 are still current. The easiest way to think of the ES110 is that it is an ultra-portable version of their Kawai KDP110. Its no accident that they both use 110 in the name because they share many of the same components even though the KDP-110 is slightly more up-to-date than the ES110 as it has a second generation version of the action, whereas the ES110 has the first generation of that Responsive Hammer Compact action. The ES110 is known for a couple of things in the industry, one of them is just how super portable and lightweight that instrument is. We have a lot of customer's who use the ES110 professionally for performance situations and rehearsals simply because of how light and compact it is.

The ES8 is a different beast. Even though both instruments are part of the same series, they retail at very different price points, with the ES8 being more than twice the price of the ES110. The ES8 features a totally different action with the Responsive Hammer III action, has a much more powerful speaker system, has onboard intelligent accompaniment, and has USB digital audio recording capability. The ES8 is really an all-in-one unit designed to compete with models like the Roland FP-60 or FP-90 or the Yamaha P515, whereas the ES110 is designed to compete more with Roland's FP-30 or the Yamaha P125.

MP Portable Series

The MP series is a much more focused and less generalized product and is also comprised of two models with the MP7SE and the MP11SE. I believe the SE stands for Second Edition because there was a first generation MP7 and an MP11 that the SE models replaced. These instruments are both designed exclusively for professional applications and fall into the stage piano category. These are instruments that are primarily designed to be used in live performance settings or live studio settings. Certainly we do have some hobbyist users who really love audio, and use an MP series piano in their home piano setups as they enjoy the extra level level of control and high fidelity in terms of sound production, but otherwise, these are instruments that are exclusively built and marketed to professional musicians.

The MP11SE is more of a piano-centric instrument. It actually has the same extended wooden key action length with an actual hammer in it as some of the CA series and is popular in recording studios where a digital piano requiring super authentic touch and MIDI output is required. The MP7SE uses the Responsive Hammer III action and is set up more like a stage piano ala a Roland RD-2000 or Yamaha CP4.

Thank you very much for checking out our article on Kawai digital pianos. I hope it's been helpful and I hope you have a better understanding of exactly what series fits into what price point and who it's been made for. Please don't hesitate to give us a call or visit one of our showrooms for more information.

The post Kawai Digital Piano Series Overview Review & Demo first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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