Kawai K-300 AURES 2 | Hybrid Piano Review | Play Silently with Headphones Anytime

 

Even before the onset of the 2020 and 2021 global lockdowns that saw much of the world spending much more time at home than usual, hybrid pianos, i.e. fully acoustic pianos augmented with digital piano features, were becoming increasingly advanced and increasingly popular.

With the onset of the events of 2020 and 2021, demand for these instruments went through the roof to the point that they were rarely ever in stock without being presold. After all, many people live in crowded households or in close proximity to neighbors making it hard to find a time during the day to make all kinds of noise on an upright or grand piano. Having the option to flip a switch and play your otherwise fully acoustic piano with headphones opens up all kinds of possibilities.

This brings us to the Kawai K-300 AURES 2 hybrid upright piano, which serves as an update to the first-generation AURES. There’s been a few critical upgrades, yet everything that made the first-generation AURES so popular and so well-liked remains in place.

With all of that out of the way, here’s our review of the new K-300 AURES 2.

 

Kawai K-300 AURES 2 - Background

AURES vs ATX

It’s important to clarify off the hop exactly what kind of instrument the K-300 AURES 2 is and how it differs from a standard K-300 or an ATX K-300. So, what we have here is a standard K Series Kawai K-300 Upright Piano augmented by the digital sound engine technology featured in Kawai’s premium NOVUS series hybrid digital pianos and Kawai’s Hybrid Soundboard amplification system which features nothing short of 4 high-performance transducers.

This means that in addition to being able to plug in a set of headphones and play without bothering others, you’re given full reign of the cutting-edge SK-EX Rendering Engine, and Harmonic Imaging XL engine (with 90 total sounds), both of which can be used acoustically via the transducer powered solid spruce soundboard speaker system. You can also stream music through the soundboard speaker system via Bluetooth Audio, giving you what amounts to a high-fi stereo setup.

The contrast here with the ATX-labeled instruments is that while they still have the silent functionality and tone generator, the transducer soundboard system is absent.

This is important to note because while the Kawai K-500 is available in an AURES 2 model, the Kawai K-200 is only available in an ATX format.

 

Differences from AURES 1 to AURES 2

Next up, many people will be wondering what the differences are between AURES 1 and AURES 2. While there are certainly more similarities than differences here, let’s get into exactly what the improvements are.

First of all, there has been an update to the transducers, though Kawai hasn’t been very specific as to what those improvements are. It seems like the placement of the transducers has been changed, and it sounds like there's also been an update to the mechanism of the transducers themselves.

While there seems to be some confusion online as to the amount of transducers with some people suggesting that the AURES 2 has more transducers than the AURES 1, this isn’t actually the case as the AURES 1 also had 4 transducers, so the differences really seem to be in the placement and the design.

The second big difference with the AURES 2 is the absence of the control panel on the left side. For most users, this will be a positive thing because many will agree that this improves the overall aesthetic of the instrument.

While not everyone was bothered by the constantly backlit control panel, there were plenty of users who felt it cheapened the look of an otherwise beautiful upright piano. The other advantage here is that by removing the screen, they’ve removed one of the components most prone to mechanical failure down the road.

This means that to get in and control all of the digital piano-related functions, you will do so from a smart device by connecting either through Bluetooth MIDI or through the USB port.

The last difference with the AURES 2 is that it features an updated version of the SK-EX Rendering engine, which happens to be one of the most advanced digital piano tone engines currently on the market available in any new piano.

Update to the K-300 Professional Upright Piano

In terms of the acoustic instrument portion, there has been a small update to the K-300 itself, which is the addition of the microcell dampening rest rail for the underfelted hammers (double felted hammers).

This takes the already great repetition speed of the exclusive Millennium III upright action (with ABS-Carbon composites, extended key length and textured key surfaces) and makes it even better. Kawai first deployed this microcell technology in the K-800 and K-500, and how it’s made its way into the K-400 and K-300.

When looking inside the piano, you can see that the mahogany core hammers have virtually no bounce at all when resetting.

Otherwise, this is the same high-quality upright piano that has won Acoustic Piano of the Year for consecutive years in MMR magazine with perks like a soft fall fallboard, heavy-duty back posts, steel reinforced keyslip and high-quality casters.

 

AURES 2 Functionality

Let's dive in now and still cover the bulk of what you get with an AURES instrument for people who are just exploring this technology for the first time, or for those who might be comparing the K-300 AURES 2 to an equivalent product from Yamaha or another piano company.

Given that the K-300 AURES 2 is a fully acoustic piano augmented by digital technology, there are multiple different playing modes to choose from, as we have alluded to throughout this review. Let’s get a little bit more specific about each mode.

Mode 1: Acoustic Piano

The first playing mode would of course just be as a standard acoustic piano. To have it play in acoustic piano mode, you’ll need to make sure that you have the electronics totally turned off or the volume knob set to zero, otherwise, you’ll still get sound coming from the transducers. You’ll also need to make sure that the middle pedal, which serves as the mute rail, is not engaged.

With many silent upright pianos of the past, the piano action was compromised as a result of the added technology. This is not the case with the last few K-300 ATX and AURES pianos where the acoustic piano experience is completely maintained. Pianists can rest assured that they’re getting a K-300 of equal quality, performance and craftsmanship to their non-AURES brethren.

 

Mode 2: Transducers Engaged

The next playing mode is when you engage the damper rail which stops the hammers from striking the strings and turns on the electronic components. The transducers engage and the sound generated via the digital sound engines actually plays through the K-300’s tapered soundboard. This is definitely one of the coolest and most unique aspects of AURES musical instruments.

Honestly, it’s worth visiting a piano gallery or showroom that carries Kawai products just to see this in action for yourself, or with your favorite music streaming through the soundboard via a smart device.

 

Mode 3: Acoustic Piano Layered with Digital Sound

The third playing mode is a sort of hybrid mode that adds the AURES’s tone engine to the acoustic piano sound. With the mute rail not engaged, simply turn on the electronics, adjust the volume, and you can layer any one of the AURES 2’s many sounds over the acoustic upright piano sound.

For example, an absolutely classic pairing is to layer some strings over the acoustic piano sound, but any of the AURES 2’s 90 sounds are available here.

 

Mode 4: Silent Mode

The fourth and final mode is commonly referred to as silent mode. This simply means you have the mute rail engaged and electronics turned on, but instead of playing sound through the soundboard, you plug in a set of headphones.

This of course allows you to practice anytime you’d like with a fantastic acoustic upright piano action without disturbing others.

 

Stu’s Advice to Present & Future K-300 AURES 2 Owners

When drilling down to do this review, Stu noticed that there are two or three notes on the piano that produce some odd acoustic effects when using the default SK-EX concert grand sound when playing with the transducers and soundboard.

An easy thing that dramatically reduces that effect was simply switching the Rendering Character to Classic 2. This odd acoustic effect will probably only be audible in certain rooms, if you happen to be noticing this, simply switching to Classic 2 fixes the issue.

 

Connectivity

Given the K-300 AURES 2’s digital piano components, it naturally has a number of connector ports built-in right underneath the keyboard.

There are dual headphone ports so two people can actually play or listen with headphones on at one time. There’s also classic 5-pin MIDI in and Out, as well as USB Type A and B.

Next, there’s a 1/8” stereo line in, and a 1/8” stereo line out. Rounding out the connectivity is the Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio connectivity. As we mentioned, having an AURES 2 is essentially like having a high-end stereo system. Being able to stream music and hear it played through the K-300s soundboard is a truly singular experience!

 

Closing Thoughts

Thanks very much for checking out our review of this truly special instrument. If you aren’t yet familiar with hybrid instruments or have been exploring the option for a while, the K-300 AURES 2 is a class leader through and through.

The post Kawai K-300 AURES 2 | Hybrid Piano Review | Play Silently with Headphones Anytime first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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Yamaha U1 vs Kawai K-300 | Upright Piano Review & Comparison

When it comes to mid-range professional-level pianos, there are of course many solid options on the market in this modern era of upright piano building. But, if there’s one particular rivalry that happens to stand out above all others, it has to be the Yamaha U1 vs Kawai K-300.

Sure, these two pianos companies have numerous directly competitive pianos; the Yamaha GC1 vs Kawai GL10, Yamaha C2X vs Kawai GX2, Yamaha CFX vs Shigeru Kawai SK-EX etc. But the fact is, the U1 and K-300 are the two best-selling professional upright pianos in many parts of the world, and as such, get the most attention in the marketplace.

We reference these two pianos constantly in our videos and reviews, so along with the companion video, we’re going to do a comprehensive head-to-head breakdown for you here. If you’re shopping for an upright, it’s pretty much impossible to avoid these two beasts.

 

Yamaha U1 Upright Piano

Yamaha U1 History & Background

Let's start with the Yamaha U1. The U1 is a 48” piano from Japan and is probably the best-known upright piano in the entire world, and perhaps even in the history of the piano industry.

The U1 really led the way in terms of the Japanese takeover of the North American piano industry starting in the late '60s, which then really picked up significant momentum through the late 1970s and into the 1980s. There were simply no new pianos of the U1’s craftsmanship and musical quality available at such a low price previously.

Kawai followed closely behind, and within a few years these two Japanese manufacturers had achieved market dominance for upright pianos in North America by the 1980s, and this continues to this day.

The U1 specifically became very well-known because Yamaha had the foresight to keep the model name the same since the inception of the U1 almost 60 years ago.

Alternatively, Kawai has gone through more than a dozen different series of upright pianos with each new generation, changing the name each time. The U1 has of course featured many design improvements over the years but without ever changing the name.

 

Yamaha U1 Musical & Design Overview

Musically, the U1 can be described in a couple of fairly simple ways. For one, it produces a good, clear and loud tone once you really get the soundboard activated. Many people over the years have described the U1 as having a sharper tone, and this is the result of a high-tension scale design.

The strings are a little bit shorter, and interestingly, the soundboard is not tapered. As a result, when you really start to push the instrument, there is a tendency for the piano to distort when you get into the upper register.

On the other hand, the fact that it's not a tapered soundboard has traditionally meant that the tuning stability can be a little bit better if you are in a climate where the temperature is all over the map.

The tighter, shorter bass string also gives the U1 a punchy attack down in the lower register, with the trade-off being less warmth at lower volume levels.

Ultimately, the U1's reputation as a reliable, albeit bright, piano is as true today as it was back in the 1980s. Some of the newer U1s and U3s are being shipped with softer voicing from the factory level, and this has certainly lessened the impact of the attack.

 

Yamaha U1 Upright Piano Action - Materials, Construction & Feel

Moving onto the action, and we have a traditional wood action with maple hammers. In terms of the key dip, it’s pretty much down the middle.

The weighting on most U1s tends to be right down the middle as well, though U1s have a reputation among pianists for having a lighter touch, we think this perception is due to the fact that the U1 gets very loud very fast, which creates the illusion of a light touch.

Whether this is a good thing or bad thing depends on your playing style, but for people who are into an Elton John or Billy Joel style of playing, you’re likely to really enjoy this action.

A big difference between the U1 and K-300 aside from the actions materials themselves which we’ll get into down below when discussing the K-300 is the key length. Yamaha has maintained a fairly typical length of key stick on their uprights that has been virtually unchanged since the 1970s.

The K-300 alternatively has a longer key stick, which offers the player greater control, especially at lower dynamic levels.

For somebody who's just starting out, this is probably not going to be a very big deal.

For somebody who is either a more advanced player, or somebody who's going back and forth between a teacher's grand piano and a practice piano, those longer key sticks on the K-300 may be something that is an important consideration.

 

Kawai K-300 Upright Piano

Kawai K-300 Series Information and Background

While there are many differences between the K-300 and the U1, there are a few obvious similarities too. For one, the Kawai K300 is also manufactured in Japan and is also 48” in height, both pianos have a soft fall fallboard and both pianos have very solid back posts.

The K-300 has developed just like the current U1 has where it’s essentially been evolving since the 1960s. Generally speaking, Kawai as a company tends to innovate their products very frequently, sometimes with mixed results, but since about the early 2000s, they’ve been cranking out a consistently stellar product.

Their most recent K-series update, which took their K3 (MMR magazine’s Acoustic Piano of the Year in 4 consecutive years) and upgraded it to the new K-300, the K5 to the new K500 and so on, incorporated many of the same design innovations that they first introduced with their GX professional quality grand pianos.

Besides the action, the K3 was actually quite similar to the Yamaha U1. There may have been some tonal differences, but from a general design standpoint, they weren't dramatically different beasts. The K-300, on the other hand, has really been quite a departure from what you would get in a Yamaha U1.

 

Kawai K-300 Sound & Design Overview

A key thing that differentiates the K-300 from the U1 is the scale design and string length. Even though both pianos are the same height, the K-300 actually has a lower tension scale and bass string which is several centimetres longer than what you get on the U1.

The result is more warmth and roundness in the bass register on the K-300, but this is true across the entire range of the instrument.

The second meaningful difference is the solid spruce soundboard and the fact that the K-300 has a tapered soundboard. Tapering allows the soundboard to become active with less energy by precisely thinning out the edges of the soundboard.

This means that if you had the same level of dynamic energy going into the soundboard, a tapered soundboard will activate more surface area than a non-tapered soundboard.

 

Kawai’s Exclusive Millennium III Upright Action

The biggest difference between Kawai and Yamaha that everybody really used to focus on is the wood versus plastic debate with regard to action parts.

This debate is essentially antiquated at this point because both pianos have good actions, but there’s no longer any dispute regarding some of the inherent advantages of abs-carbon composite actions, especially with regard to its superiority over wood when it comes to maintenance and long-term durability.

The biggest thing from a musical standpoint with the K-300's action is that it's geared to take advantage of the tapered soundboard. The geometry paired with the extended key stick length gives the player more control in the lower dynamic ranges.

On the U1, it's easier to achieve that forte and fortissimo with less effort. Depending on the style of music you're playing, you will probably have a preference for one style versus the other. The key surfaces are fairly similar on both pianos.

Other action-related notes have to do with the hammers; the K-300 is equipped with double felted hammers with a mahogany core (underfelted), which is considered a superior hammer material to maple due to its greater strength and density. For context, the premium YUS series of uprights have mahogany hammers.

 

Yamaha U1 vs Kawai K-300 - Other Differences

There are a few other, minor, let's say non-musical differences between the Yamaha U1 vs Kawai K-300. One of them is that the Kawai K300 is outfitted with a larger music desk that’s more accommodating to sheet music, especially four-fold and five-fold pieces.

Both pianos have a 10-year factory warranty, but while the U1 warranty is applicable to the original purchaser only, the K-300’s warranty is transferable to future owners within the warranty period. If resale is a consideration, this is a pretty critical difference.

The U1 is available in what Yamaha calls their TransAcoustic series, while the K-300 is available in an Aures version. Both of these additions have a digital piano component built in that gives you the option of playing the piano with headphones plugged in.

Both pianos have really high-quality brass casters and brass pedals.

  

Final Thoughts

We hope that this has helped to quickly clarify some of the most critical differences between these two very popular models.

Unfortunately, it can be tough to check them out side by side in the same showroom since Yamaha and Kawai are almost always sold through different dealer networks. But if you have an opportunity to try one and shoot across town to try the other, you should definitely do so.

There’s a very good reason these are the two dominant upright pianos of our day, and that’s highly unlikely to change anytime soon.

The post Yamaha U1 vs Kawai K-300 | Upright Piano Review & Comparison first appeared on Merriam Pianos

2359 Bristol Cir #200, Oakville, ON L6H 6P8

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(905) 829-2020