Kawai CA99 vs Casio GP 510 | Hybrid Digital Piano Review & Comparison

 

The high-end digital piano market is more popular than ever. The level of musicality these pianos are now capable of combined with the convenience and inherent advantages of a digital instrument have made Hybrid digital pianos are a legit option for folks who would have previously only considered an acoustic piano, whether you’re a beginner or experienced pianist.

Today, we’ll be comparing two of the most popular hybrid digital pianos currently available, the Kawai CA99 vs Casio GP 510. The GP510 is the flagship model of the Celviano line and the big brother to the Casio GP 310, while the CA99 is the top model of the CA series and big brother to the CA79.

We’ll be discussing the differences in action, tone and features, and giving our thoughts on which one might be better for you, based on your needs and musical preferences.

Both of these pianos are probably known for their key actions most of all, so we’re going to start there and spend more time discussing action than we normally do.

 

Kawai CA99 vs Casio GP 510 - Hybrid Digital Piano Action

Casio’s 88 Wooden Key Natural Grand Hammer Action Keyboard Designed by C. Bechstein

If there's a centerpiece to the Celviano Grand Hybrid GP-510, it is the action. The big thing that catches people's eye is the fact that this action was designed in collaboration with German piano maker C. Bechstein.

C. Bechstein is known for building some of the most accurate and finely-regulated actions available anywhere in the world. They're fanatical with their tolerance and attention to detail.

And what’s interesting here is that they’ve gone for an action that greatly resembles a true grand piano action with full-length wooden keys. It's not on the same level as a Kawai NOVUS 10 or Yamaha Avant Grand which both feature genuine acoustic grand piano actions, but both of these instruments cost substantially more than the GP-510 or CA99.

 

Improvements Over the Previous Generation Action

One of the things that we thought needed some tweaking with the previous version of this action found in the GP-500 was some additional regulation at the factory - the touch felt a little bit loose which was a shame since the concept was clearly so great.

We’re happy to report that this new version really does feel like an acoustic piano. Casio has done a really great job of creating the right weight and getting a great repetition speed. The key bed has nice cushioning and everything in general feels quite authentic.

Real Hammers

A very cool feature of this action is the fact that it actually uses real hammers, and the cabinet is designed in such a way that you can actually prop open the top lid the see the hammers in action.

 

Textured Keytops

The white keys feature a polished plastic that is different than the exaggerated key texture most of their other digital piano actions have. This one actually provides a little bit more grip than we prefer, though that should get better with time as the natural oils from the player’s skin get worked in.

 

Casio GP 510 Action Wrap-Up

This Casio Grand Hybrid is offering a super authentic action overall with very believable dynamic weight. We think that for the price point, this has got to be one of the top two or three actions available, and some folks will definitely find the touch response superior to the CA99.

 

Kawai’s Grand Feel III Action

The Kawai CA99 digital piano is an instrument that we have reviewed in quite a few contexts on its own in comparison to a few others on our YouTube channel, so we’ve talked a lot about the Kawai Grand Feel III action (GFIII), which is also featured in the Kawai CA79.

This is the first time we’ve done a head-to-head with the CA99 vs the GP-510 and of course, the action is the biggest point of comparison. The GP-510’s action boasts a unique touch that for certain types of playing actually feels more natural than the GFIII, which may sound surprising given how much we love the GFIII here at Merriam Music and the fact that many people consider it the top action the class.

 

Extended Length Key-Sticks

The Grand Feel III action actually uses the same key stick length as what you are going to get on an upright piano as opposed to a grand piano. Even though it's called Grand Feel III, the dynamic and the static resistance actually feels closer to what you might find on a Kawai K200 or K300 upright versus what you'll get on a Kawai grand.

Now, it does still deliver a fantastic playing experience, and the longer keysticks offer the player a ton of control.

 

Triple Sensor Key Detection, Counterweights & Let Off Simulation

A couple of features worth highlighting on the GFIII are the triple sensor, counterweights and let-off. Triple sensor key detection means the GFIII is capable of very accurate MIDI output and a wide range of dynamics. This is as good as it gets before getting into the advanced optical sensor technology found in the NOVUS series.

Counterweights ensure that the weighting of the action is as close to an acoustic piano as possible, and let-off simulates the sensation the player gets when playing a grand piano.

 

Ivory Touch & Ebony Touch Key Surfaces

The GFIII has very nicely textured keytops out of the box on both the black and white keys, which we definitely prefer to the GP510’s action as they provide just the right amount of grip and glide.

 

Kawai CA99 Action Wrap-Up

Kawai’s Concert Artist series digital pianos always feature great action, and the GFIII is no different. We think both actions are going to be satisfying to just about everyone, but if you have a chance to play both the GP510 and CA99, odds are you will prefer one action over the other based on your playing style.

Kawai CA99 vs Casio GP 510 - Hybrid Digital Piano Sound

Shigeru Kawai SK-EX Resonance Modeling Engine with Multi-Channel Sampling

There are many aspects of the tone on the CA99 which are noteworthy and worth exploring. When you fire the CA99 up, it defaulted to ‘Piano Mode’ which features Kawai’s latest SK-EX Rendering engine which complexes with multi-channel 88-key stereo sampling with advanced modeling technology.

This acoustic rendering approach is very similar to what Roland has pioneered in the digital piano space with their SuperNATURAL and V-Piano engines.

The piano tone here is simply stunning - a truly impressive capture of Kawai’s flagship SK-EX concert grand piano.

 

Unlimited Polyphony

When you’re in Piano Mode, you get unlimited polyphony to work with. That means we could play hundreds and hundreds of notes, and the instrument is going to continue to be able to sustain and render, and create those tones without ever running out of memory. And it's one of the first times Kawai has released an instrument that has that type of technology.

 

Harmonic Imaging XL Engine

When out of Piano Mode, Sound Mode engages, and this utilizes Kawai’s Harmonic Imaging XL (HIXL) engine. There are additional acoustic piano patches available with this engine, along with all of the non-piano tones which can be navigated via the LCD touchscreen. It’s very interesting to toggle between both modes to hear the very clear differences.

There seems to be much more detail around the edges of the notes and in the space between the notes with the Rendering engine engaged, though the HIXL is no slouch either.

 

Kawai’s Virtual Technician Feature

With Kawai’s Virtual Technician feature engaged, the user gets access to a whole bunch of editable sound-related parameters beyond things like reverb. string resonance settings and getting into the touch curve, voicing, damper resonance, damper noise, string resonance, undamped string resonance, cabinet resonance, key-off effect, fallback noise, hammer noise, hammer delay, top board, decay time, release time, minimum touch, and more.

Soundboard Speaker System

One of the highlights of the CA99 and the one feature that firmly establishes it as a Hybrid instrument is the real solid spruce soundboard. Even without the soundboard, the 6 speaker system is already impressive with top speakers plus speaker diffusers and 2 dome tweeters, but the magnet-driven soundboard with 360-degree diffuser panels takes things to a whole different level.

Audio company Onkyo has provided the amplifiers and signal processing, and there’s a whopping 135 watts of output power available at your disposal here. With that kind of power being driven through a real soundboard, you can be assured that the CA99 sounds incredible.

There’s also a separate headphone amplifier and their Spatial Headphone Sound feature when playing with headphones which is a really nice bonus.

Casio’s AiR Grand Sound Source

Casio is using the most advanced version of their AiR Sound Source in the GP-510BP, which stands for Acoustic & Intelligent Resonator. This engine also features the most sophisticated version of their Multi-Dimensional Morphing technology which serves to facilitate the smoothest possible transitions across various dynamic levels.

Three core acoustic piano samples make up this engine - the Berlin Grand which is based on a C. Bechstein D282 concert grand, the Hamburg Grand which is based on a Hamburg Steinway Model D concert grand and lastly the Vienna Grand which is based on a Bosendorfer Imperial concert grand.

All three patches sound fantastic, with the Berlin offering the most clarity and color, the Hamburg delivering the power, and the Vienna coming across as more mellow with a very intimate tone.

 

256-Note Polyphony

The AiR Grand Sound Source features 256 notes of maximum polyphony across its 35 total presets. You might be disappointed seeing this in comparison to the CA99’s limitless polyphony on piano tones, but you really shouldn’t be.

256 notes of polyphony is more than enough for the vast majority of applications, especially for acoustic piano playing which the GP510 is made for.

 

Acoustic Simulator

Casio has their own version of user-editable sound-related parameters, which they refer to as the Acoustic Simulator.

The Acoustic Simulator features String resonance, Damper resonance, Open string resonance, Aliquot resonance, Damper noise, Pedal action noise, Key on action noise, Key off action noise, Hammer response and a Lid simulator.

 

Grand Acoustic System (Speakers)

Casio refers to their speaker set up here as the Grand Acoustic System. They’ve given the speaker system this fancier name to show their intent of specifically configuring the speakers in such a way that they recreate the 360-degree experience of playing a real acoustic grand piano.

The 6-speaker system is then strategically positioned to achieve this overall goal, which they pull off very well. There are 100 watts of total power here which is very good.

 

Sound Wrap-Up

Both pianos bring advanced, high-tech sound engines and speaker setups to the table. At the end of the day, individual preference is simply likely to go to whichever core grand piano patch you happen to prefer, though we could see those in the Worship community prefer the Kawai CA99 due to how fantastic the organ sounds come across thanks to the soundboard speaker system.

 

Additional Features & Connectivity

Functions

Both pianos offer a pretty standard array of functions with things like Layer, Split, Duet, Transpose, Metronome, Drum rhythms etc.

Both pianos also have a variety of built-in songs and music, as well as built-in audio recorders for saving on-board or via a USB flash drive and playback (SMF, WAV files.)

The CA99 has some built-in lesson books from Alfred, as well as repertoire from Chopin and classic works from Bach and others.

The GP510 offers Casio’s much-loved Concert Play feature and Music Library which allows you to play along with a full orchestra.

 

Cabinet

The GP-510 is available in a gorgeous polished black cabinet with brass accents that is set to be a show stopper in any room, especially with the gold Bechstein logo. The lid height is also adjustable. The CA99 is available in a variety of finishes - Premium Rosewood, Satin White, Satin Black as well as Ebony Polish for a premium. Kawai also incorporates their slow-fall fallboard as well.

 

Pedals

Both pianos feature built-in 3 pedal systems (damper, sostenuto and soft pedals) with half-pedal support. In the CA99’s case, it features Kawai’s Grand Feel Pedal System which is weighted exactly the same as a grand piano.

Connectivity

Both the CA99 and GP510 have a pretty similar set of connectivity jacks, with the exception of the fact that the CA99 has both Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio, with APTX support.

This is actually a huge add-on, especially Bluetooth Audio, as it allows you to stream music directly from a smart device (iOS, Android) to the CA99, which then plays through the CA99’s fantastic soundboard speaker system.

The GP510 alternatively doesn’t offer any connectivity which is definitely somewhat of a disappointment from Casio considering even some of their inexpensive Privia models feature Bluetooth. That said, the GP510 has a pretty full complement of connectivity otherwise as does the CA99 with L/MONO, R line inputs and outputs, USB Type A and B and MIDI. The Line Out is especially important if you’re considering either piano for some type of institutional setting.

Closing Thoughts

It’s fair to say that we’ve got two highly compelling flagship pianos from two of the world’s leading digital piano manufacturers. Warranty coverage is great on both, as is the overall aesthetic effect each piano possesses.

They’re both designed to offer a similar experience, and both pianos pull this off very well.

The Kawai CA99 may have some extras like the spruce soundboard and Bluetooth connectivity that will be deal breakers for some folks, but at the end of the day as we often say around here, you should really try both and see which combination of touch and tone you prefer, all things being equal otherwise.

Thanks for reading!

The post Kawai CA99 vs Casio GP 510 | Hybrid Digital Piano Review & Comparison first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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Kawai CA99 Digital Piano Review & Demo - LCD Touchscreen, Grand Feel III, Concert Artist Series

Welcome to another digital piano review over here at Merriam Pianos. Today, we'll look at the flagship model of Kawai's Famous Concert Artist series (CA series) as we check out the Kawai CA99 Hybrid Piano.

The Kawai CA99 has 100% wooden keys, a real solid spruce soundboard, and the SK-EX Rendering sound modeling engine. In other words, some very advanced modern digital and acoustic piano technology.

We'll cover everything and more in this review, and also look at who might benefit from making the jump from a good Digital Piano to a true Hybrid instrument.

Kawai CA99 Piano Sounds

One of the main reasons to consider a CA99 is the sound. The Kawai CA79 actually has the same sound engines, but the way the sound is ultimately presented to the player is very different.

Twin Drive Soundboard Speaker System

 The fundamental difference here is the CA99's advanced multi-speaker array, which also includes a real solid spruce soundboard functioning as the main speaker, referred to as the TwinDrive Soundboard Speaker System. Magnets act as transducers to capture the soundboard energy and turn that into sound.

The CA79 certainly sounds great too, but it simply lacks the depth and realism of sound that we're getting from the CA99 courtesy of the soundboard.

In addition to the soundboard, there are 6 other speakers, including 4 top speakers with diffuser panels and 2 dome tweeters, strategically placed around the instrument, all of which are being driven by 135 watts of Onkyo amplifiers.

You can also tweak the speaker settings depending on how close you have the CA99 to a wall or what type of flooring it's resting on, as well as Kawai's Spatial Headphone Sound feature, and new Headphone Type feature, which allows you to adjust the sound according to what type of headphones you're using.

 

Two Sound Engines: SK-EX Rendering Engine and Kawai's Harmonic Imaging XL engine (HIXL)

 Now let's look at the sound engine itself, or in this, engines, as the CA99 actually has two. The first engine activates while in Pianist Mode (the default mode when you power the instrument on), and Kawai calls this engine the SK-EX Rendering sound engine with Resonance Modelling. This engine combines a multi-channel sampling of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand combined with cutting-edge algorithmic modeling.

The SK-EX Rendering engine consists of 10 piano voices and gives us unlimited polyphony. This means, we could play hundreds and hundreds of notes and the instrument is going to continue to be able to render and sustain those tones without ever running out of memory.

The second engine is Kawai's Harmonic Imaging XL engine (HIXL), and this is a stereo sampling-based engine built around 88-key stereo samples of the SK-EX, SK-5, and EX grand pianos.

If we go back and forth between the default tones of each engine, you can really hear that the Rendering engine produces a more detailed sound, especially around the edges of the tone.

 

Personalized Piano Adjustments by Virtual Technician Function

In addition to the greater detail, the other advantage of the Rendering engine is that the user is given direct access to edit the various parameters of the algorithm courtesy of the Virtual Technician function.

Inside the Virtual Technician, you can edit things like the Touch Curve, Voicing, Damper Resonance, Damper Noise, String Resonance, Undamped String Resonance, Cabinet Resonance, Key-Off Effect, Fallback Noise, Hammer Noise, Hammer Delay, Top Board, Decay Time, Release Time, Minimum Touch, and more. You can even get into Key Volume, Half Pedal Adjust, and Temperament. Really, you're given the keys to go in and customize a piano experience to your unique preferences.

You can also control effects like Reverb and Ambience across a variety of settings as well.

 

Harpsichord

The harpsichord patches are very nice as well, and this will be especially appealing to musicians who play a lot of Baroque music.

 

Wrap Up

To circle back on the soundboard - the presence and the warmth that the soundboard brings to the lower half of the EQ range of the piano is something that we've never heard a speaker do on a digital piano. Simply extraordinary.

Navigating the other tones offered by the HIXL engine (90 in total) is much improved on the CA99 from the CA98, and the e pianos are particularly nice. The organs are great too, with a super-rich low-frequency response courtesy of the soundboard that imitates a real air-driven pipe organ.

That about does it for the sound, which as we've said, is seriously impressive. If you primarily play with headphones you won't be missing anything by going with the CA79 since the soundboard only activates when the instrument is played acoustically, but if you do usually play acoustically, the CA99 is definitely delivering a superior musical experience.

 

Kawai CA99 Piano Action

Grand Feel III 88 Wooden Key Keyboard Action

Both the Kawai CA99 and CA79 have incorporated the brand new Grand Feel III 88 Wooden key keyboard action. We can say right away this the GFIII is a wonderful upgrade to the already great GFII. The update between Grand Feel I and Grand Feel II was relatively minor, but the Grand Feel III has totally changed the back of the key stick and how it connects to the hammer and the capstan.

We found that under very heavy use, such as in an institutional setting, the slip tape on the back of the key was wearing out on the GFII actions, and some warranty work was required.

The new Grand Feel III has totally and completely up the engineering on that key to the point where the action is now virtually indestructible. The repetition speed has improved, and with the improved durability, we don't anticipate any issues through 10, or 15 years of ownership on these instruments moving forward.

 

Additional Features

Other features you can expect on the Grand Feel III are let-off simulation (escapement) which replicates the feel of a grand piano action, triple sensor key detection, 88 graded counterweights, and ivory touch and ebony touch key surfaces, which absorb moisture from your fingers.

The repetition speed has improved from what we were getting out of the CA98, and this is likely due to better individual weighting on the keys, as well as the improvement at the back of the key.

The bottom of the key bed is also spongier than the CA98, which is exactly how their acoustic grand pianos feel as well. This will be a huge plus for folks tackling demanding classical repertoire on this action.

We can safely say this is easily one of the very best digital piano actions available, and really, the only thing better is jumping up to the Kawai Novus series and their 100% acoustic piano actions.

 

Features/Connectivity

Display

 As mentioned above, Kawai has really improved the touchscreen display interface here with the CA99. The CA98's screen had some issues in terms of how it responded to commands, but fortunately, that has been totally rectified here.

Many of the most commonly used features rather than being buried in menus or alternate screens now have shortcut keys so they can be reached must faster, such as the Metronome function example.

 

USB Audio

There's a built-in USB Audio recorder that allows you to record and playback MP3, WAV, and SMF files.

 

Music Books

There's also an offer of 200 pre-loaded pieces of music which can be looked up by the Composer. Feel like checking out some Bach? Simply look up his name and you'll find hours of music.

It's also loaded up with well over a dozen different lesson books, which will be quite helpful for beginners.

 

Bluetooth MIDI

The connectivity list is certainly quite extensive as well. For starters, the CA99 has both Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio with APTX support, which essentially turns your CA99 into a powerful Bluetooth speaker. Odds are, the CA99's speaker/soundboard system will outperform your stereo unless you have a high-end audiophile setup going on.

From there we've got dual headphone jacks, MIDI In and Out (if you still want a wired connection when accessing apps for iOS and Android), 1/4" L/MONO, R line outputs, an 1/8" stereo line-in, as well as USB to Host and USB to the device.

 

Pedal System

The Kawai CA99 also includes Kawai's Grand Feel Pedal System, which offers damper, sostenuto, and soft pedals, while replicating the weighting of an acoustic grand piano's 3 pedal system.

 

Cabinet and Key Cover

The cabinet design has also been improved with some more substantial carpentry and a contemporary upright piano slow-close fallboard.

 

Finish

 In terms of finishes, the CA99 is available in Premium Rosewood, Satin Black, Satin White, and Ebony Polish.

 

Closing Thoughts

Kawai has done a masterful job once again with the CA99. And despite the fact that the CA98 was already a great instrument, the improvements here are very meaningful, and we're not just talking about the new and improved GFIII action.

The touchscreen issues were actually one of the most frustrating things about the CA98, so the fact that Kawai addressed and cleaned that up is huge.

So, we're left with one of the top hybrid pianos available for under $10,000 CAD. It's an absolute home run in terms of sound, touch, and features.

With a competitive field that also includes Roland's LX models, it's a good time to be shopping for a hybrid Digital Piano.

The post Kawai CA99 Digital Piano Review & Demo - LCD Touchscreen, Grand Feel III, Concert Artist Series first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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Kawai Novus NV10 vs NV5 | Hybrid Digital Piano Comparison

Digital pianos have been around since the 1970s, and while they’ve been very popular for a long time among beginners, hobbyists and students, they’ve never really been considered a viable option for a discerning pianist.

Thanks to recent innovations in Hybrid digital piano technology, that’s no longer the case. In today’s video and article, we’ll be looking at two of the most advanced hybrid digital pianos currently available as we compare Kawai’s flagship models - the Kawai Novus NV10 vs NV5.

We’ve already done individual reviews for each piano, so if you’d like to see a hyper-specific deep dive into each piano, be sure to check those out. This article is instead designed to answer one question - which one should you choose?

We’ll be covering the exact differences between these two industry-leading instruments in the event that you’re in the market for a top-flight hybrid digital piano, whether as a replacement for an acoustic piano or simply due to the inherent perks of a digital piano, you’ll be able to determine which instrument will be a better fit for you.

 

Background Information: Kawai NV10 vs NV5

Our individual reviews of the Kawai Novus NV10 vs NV5 are among the most commented-on videos on our YouTube channel - there's no doubt that these pianos have elicited a ton of interest and excitement from prospective piano owners and enthusiasts. A detailed comparison between the two then should not only be useful but is probably necessary.

First, let's get into a general overview of the Novus series in the event that this is your first time coming across these pianos.

The Kawai Novus NV10 hit the market first and the whole idea here was this would be the first time Kawai would be incorporating a full acoustic piano action - the Millennium III Hybrid Grand piano action no less - into a digital piano, officially earning the designation of being a hybrid instrument.

This is the same acoustic grand piano action you’ll find in Kawai’s GL, GX and even Shigeru Kawai series instruments (the Shigeru’s of course receive a much higher level of refinement.) The only difference is that this version of the action has a synthetic felt hammer that passes through an IHSS optical sensor as opposed to a wooden hammer that strikes strings.

This action features ABS carbon fiber and extended-length wooden key sticks for maximum control.

It was around this time that their partnership with Onkyo began, which elevated their sound processing, amplifiers and speaker configurations to new levels of sophistication.

The NV5 followed more than a year later, and the reception seemed to eclipse the already highly regarded NV10 - our President and resident piano reviewer here at Merriam Pianos, Stu Harrison, actually has one at his home.

The NV5 uses a full-scale upright version of the Millennium III action - the same one you’ll find in acoustic upright pianos such as the Kawai K Series uprights like the K300 and K500.

 

Kawai Novus NV10 vs NV5 - Similarities & Differences

In both cases, we have modern acoustic piano actions interacting with advanced optical sensors which then send information, such as how hard or fast the key has been played, to a tone engine. In both cases we also have an Onkyo designed amplification technologies (including headphone amplifier) and speaker system delivering superbly clear tone and a room-filling 135 watts of speaker power.

The speaker systems themselves however are far from the same. On the NV10, Kawai has gone with a multi-speaker system consisting of four top speakers two dome tweeters on the top of the instrument, and two large woofers underneath the keyboard.

The NV5 has 4 top speakers and 2 dome tweeters as well, but instead of the woofers, it has the Kawai TwinDrive Soundboard Speaker System - this is a real solid spruce soundboard on the back of the piano with two Onkyo magnets driving it!

Due to these speaker differences, even though the power rating on these two instruments is the same as the tone engines, the playing experience is very different - excellent in both cases, but different.

Before we get too far into that, we need to devote some time to a discussion of the sound engine that both instruments share.

Kawai Digital Piano Sound - Speaker System & Sound Engine

Both the NV10 and NV5 are actually equipped with dual sound engines, the more intriguing of the two being Kawai’s new Pianist Mode SK-EX Rendering engine. This rendering piano sound engine combines multi-channel sampling (88 key individual) of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX Concert Grand Piano with cutting-edge resonance modelling technology.

What this means is that Kawai has meticulously recorded their SKEX via multiple channels at a variety of dynamic ranges in every single note to generate a sample, which is then combined with acoustic rendering to recreate other sonic artifacts such as cabinet resonance and damper resonance.

With this sound engine engaged, the polyphony is unlimited courtesy of the modelling technology, which adds credence to the fact that this is Kawai’s most advanced sound engine yet. There are also 10 different Rendering Characters to choose from with different presets.

Kawai also makes their Virtual Technician feature available which allows the player to go in and edit adjustable parameters related to the tone, from minor tweaking of things like reverb to large-scale changes of hyper-specific parameters including things like aliquot resonance, key volume and undamped string resonance.

The secondary sound engine Kawai makes available here is the Harmonic Imaging XL engine, and this playing mode is referred to as Sound Mode. This engine offers you a large selection of tones such as ePianos, strings, organs, some very nice harpsichords and various other instruments.

This engine also offers 88 individually sampled notes but with 256-note max polyphony. While that may sound like quite the drop-off from the unlimited polyphony of the Rendering engine, in practice, 256 notes of polyphony are going to be enough for virtually all applications.

 

Convenient Features & USB and Bluetooth MIDI Connectivity

As we’ve mentioned, the brains on these two pianos are the same. Both pianos have a host of built-in piano music, as well as a large array of lesson songs. The cheekblock LCD touchscreen display is exactly the same and very easy to navigate.

In terms of connectivity, both pianos are USB to device as well as USB to host which lets you record locally (SMF and WAV files). There’s also Bluetooth audio as well as Bluetooth MIDI. Bluetooth Audio lets you stream and playback music from your smartphone or tablet directly through the piano’s high-end speaker system, dwarfing the sonic capabilities of anything outside of a legit audiophile home stereo setup.

Dual headphone jacks along with a 1/4” line in and a 1/4” line out round out the connectivity.

Both pianos have all of your expected functions such as dual, split, four hands mode and transpose as well as a metronome and a host of built-in drum rhythms.

 

Which Hybrid Digital Piano Should You Choose?

Why would somebody choose an NV10 over an NV5 or vice versa? Although, this question can probably be further distilled to be; why spring for the NV10? There is a significant price difference between these two despite many features being the same.

The first reason would be the action - while both are authentic acoustic piano actions, the NV5 has an upright piano action, while the NV10 has a grand piano keyboard action.

The geometry of an upright versus a grand piano action is of course quite different, and as such, these two actions do behave and feel different. If you’re looking for a true grand piano experience and substitute, the NV10 is going to be the better option for you. Dovetailing with this is the true grand piano damper mechanism you get with the NV10 with authentically weighted soft, sostenuto and damper pedals.

If on the other hand you really enjoy playing on a great upright action, you’re probably going to prefer the NV5 as your digital instrument hybrid.

The second big difference is how the sound is actually reaching your ear. These differences may not be pronounced in the video, but in person, they’re quite significant. That’s not necessarily to say that one sounds ‘better’, just different.

The sound on the NV10, as with a real grand piano, sounds more distant in a sense and there’s a large sense of room ambience as well. The treble also seems a little bit more dispersed.

Over on the NV5, the sound is much more direct, likely due to a set of tone ports located on top of the piano. This more immediate sound is really going to appeal to some players.

Of course, another reason they sound different is the presence of a solid spruce soundboard on the NV5 versus woofers on the NV10. The NV10 has a punchier bass, but the soundboard delivers a warmer bass on the NV5, and at a lower dynamic range, the bass response sounds much wider on the NV5.

So ultimately, this question really comes down to whether you prefer the immediate and more intimate tonal response of the NV5, versus a more distant sound with more ambient room tone (like a 6-foot grand piano) that the NV10 provides.

The upright versus grand action and the big tonal differences are probably the biggest reasons anyone would choose one over the other, but there’s another interesting consideration as well; the touch curve.

In our opinion, the NV10 requires a little bit more tweaking inside of the Virtual Technician function versus the NV5, which right out of the box has a more authentic touch response. This is likely due to differences in the factory settings.

 

Final Thoughts

Without question, these are two of the most advanced hybrid instruments available on the market today. Despite similar-looking specs sheets, however, they really do offer divergent musical experiences.

The Kawai Novus NV10 hybrid digital piano is really tough to beat if you’re looking for a true grand piano replacement without the maintenance requirements of an acoustic piano, while the NV5 is going to hit the nail on the head for people who love a great upright piano experience.

Both available in a striking ebony polish finish with slow-fall fallboard and large music rest, along with great warranty coverage, the piano shoppers of today are truly fortunate to have such incredible options to choose from.

The post Kawai Novus NV5 Hybrid Digital Piano Review first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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Kawai Novus NV5 Hybrid Digital Piano Review

 

With the release of Kawai’s NOVUS NV10 hybrid digital piano, Kawai completely raised the bar in terms of what was possible as far as touch is concerned with a fully acoustic action in an otherwise digital piano. The main drawback of the NV10? The price.

When the Kawai Novus NV5 hybrid digital was announced, the hype and anticipation absolutely exploded. The NV5 being the upright piano entry in the NOVUS series that was set to cost several thousand dollars less than the NV10.

In today’s video and article, we’re finally taking a look at this new instrument that has been instantly met with rave reviews upon its release.

We’ll of course be covering the state-of-the-art action, sound engine and advanced speaker system, as well as the additional features and connectivity. Thanks for joining us - let’s get right into it.

 

Background

The NV5 hit the market in some other jurisdictions several months before arriving in North America, such as Japan and Europe. Needless to say, everyone over here at Merriam Music was keeping a close eye on new review videos and articles as they came out with extreme jealousy.

The first few shipments to finally arrive were all presold so it took us even longer to get one on the floor to try out. But when we finally did - wow!

But before we get into that, let’s cover some reasons why we were so excited about this piano in the first place. For starters, the level of hype and fanfare the NV5 immediately received, including many proclamations that it happens to be the finest digital piano ever produced, was really pronounced. Any successful new release garners a lot of hype, but the NV5 took this to a whole new level.

Our President and resident piano reviewer Stu Harrison was especially interested in trying the NV5 for personal reasons, namely that due to having a young baby at home, he’s been unable to spend much time playing his acoustic upright piano. This led him to ask - is the NV5 good enough to consider as a replacement for his beloved high-end German upright piano?

 

First Impressions

After his first couple hours on the NV5, Stu described his feelings as a mix of shock and surprise - the most musical experience that he’s ever had on a digital piano, bar none. He would ultimately end up trading in his German upright for an NV5 in the ensuing months.

Now, it’s important to note that we’re not saying that the NV5 is a superior instrument to a high-end German piano. But depending on your living situation, the flexibility the NV5 provides is ultimately more suited to a lifestyle with small children, and the NV5 delivers enough musical potential to be fulfilling.

Getting to play on a great acoustic piano action while being able to adjust the volume, and of course, playing with headphones can be a real motivator for certain people. And there’s a level of closeness and responsiveness that you wouldn’t normally expect to get out of an instrument that plugs into the wall.

At Merriam, we think this is the way of the future - eventually, we'll get to the point where most digital pianos are delivering a high-level experience like this because the world is heading towards a situation with increasingly smaller and smaller living quarters, thus necessitating a greater level of sound control and management that only a digital piano can provide.

Let’s move our discussion over to the sound engine.

 

Kawai Novus NV5 Sound

Pianist Mode: SK-EX Rendering Engine

The NV5 is outfitted with the same sound engines as the NV10 - SK-EX Rendering with multi-channel sampling while in Pianist Mode, and the Harmonic Imaging XL engine while in Sound Mode.

Multi-channel sampling with the SKEX engine means a Shigeru Kawai SK EX concert grand piano was recorded with more than just two channels as is the norm, meaning several microphones were used to capture the SKEX. After this, a variety of rendering characters and resonance modelling parameters are applied to the sample to simulate natural acoustic phenomena, such as damper resonance, cabinet resonance, aliquot resonance and even undamped string resonance.

 

Virtual Technician

There's so much colour and detail with this acoustic rendering sound engine, and you can actually go into the Virtual Technician mode and edit the parameters to further customize the sound to your own liking.

Parameters like the touch curve, soft pedal depth, key volume, stretch tuning, reverb, ambience and even the temperament key among many others.

 

Polyphony & Amplification

Polyphony is unlimited when playing in Pianist Mode, which means you’re going to play even the most complex classical works and never have a concern that notes will drop away.

There are 135 watts of amplification, which is a serious amount of power. 75% seems to be the optimal max volume you’ll want to play it, and that’s going to be plenty loud for home use.

 

Sound Mode: Harmonic Imaging XL

Over in Sound Mode with the Harmonic Imaging XL mode and we have a more conventional digital piano sound engine. There are a number of acoustic piano patches here including another SKEX recording, as well as all of the non-acoustic piano tones.

Despite a number of acoustic piano patches in the HIXL engine, it’s tough to see anyone spending a ton of time playing these patches instead of pianist mode unless you plan on doing a lot of layering.

Moving onto the electric piano tones, and many of these are very compelling, as are the nice selection of church organs.

Solid Spruce Soundboard System

Now, we need to address what’s happening with the speakers here, as this is a really big deal. We mentioned the amplifier wattage, but what’s really remarkable is that in addition to 6 traditional speakers (4 top speakers and 2 dome tweeters) is the presence of a real solid spruce soundboard speaker system driven by dual Onkyo transducers.

Because of this full soundboard on the back, the acoustic effect and sheer presence of sound, especially in a lower frequency register is just wild. Especially on organ patches, the power coming through the soundboard delivers a remarkable playing experience. We’re betting the NV5 will be hugely popular in the worship community due to how good the organ patches sound with this soundboard.

Sound Wrap Up

To summarize, the NV5 is delivering a truly singular sonic experience for a digital piano hybrid instrument. From the cabinet design to the sound engine, to the Twindrive soundboard speaker system, the NV5 will surprise even the most staunch purists when it comes to sound.

 

Piano Action

Millennium III Hybrid Upright Piano Action

Connecting you with all of that great sound is Kawai’s Millennium III Hybrid Upright Piano Action, and this is the first time a Kawai digital instrument has featured an acoustic piano keyboard action.

The only modification between this version of the action and what you would get with say a K200 is that instead of a hammer that has wool wrapped around it that strikes strings, this hammer crosses an IHSS optical sensor to determine the speed and how hard or soft you’re playing the keys.

Solid Spruce Extended Length Keys

When looking at the key sticks, these are solid spruce wooden keys that are also equal in length to what you’d find in a K200, offering an excellent level of control. The action is made of carbon fiber reinforced ABS so from a maintenance standpoint, this action is built to last.

The danger with the NV5, just as it is with the NV10, is setting the volume too low, which gives the perception that the action is quite heavy. Now, the NV5 manages this better than the NV10, but keep this in mind if you have the volume set to a low level.

The repetition speed behaves like a midsize upright, and there is a micro-texture on the keys for glide. As far as the regulation is concerned, there’s nothing to complain about as the action is clearly receiving a good amount of regulation at the factory.

 

Connectivity

On the left side of the NV5 just under the keyboard, you’ll find a panel with a whole bunch of connectivity options.

For starters, there’s a line out in the form of a stereo mini jack. If there’s one criticism here, it’s that Kawai went with a stereo mini jack as opposed to dual 1/4” line outs because odds are, lots of folks will want to use the NV5 on a stage, such as in a worship setting where discreet 1/4” outputs would come in handy.

After that, we've got a line-in which is also a stereo mini jack, so this input allows you run devices, such as an iPod, directly through the NV5. There’s also a headphone port with 1/4” and 1/8” inputs.

From there they’ve included old 5-pin in and out MIDI ports, as well as USB MIDI.

 

Bluetooth MIDI & Bluetooth Audio

The Kawai Novus NV5 is also equipped with both Bluetooth Audio and Bluetooth MIDI. Bluetooth Audio is especially nice here since it allows you to quickly and easily stream and playback music from a smart device through the NV5, taking advantage of its amazing speaker system and solid spruce soundboard.

In that sense, the NV5 can actually function like a super high-end Bluetooth speaker, and unless you have a serious audiophile set up at home, odds are the NV5’s speaker system will easily overpower your home stereo.

Bluetooth MIDI means you can transmit MIDI information wirelessly, or of course record MIDI and WAV files wirelessly as well.

 

Cabinet/Features

Gorgeous Ebony Polish Finish

The NV5 receives essentially the same cabinet as the Kawai K-200 acoustic upright piano, which means it looks the part of an upright piano with a beautiful ebony polish finish.

It’s also outfitted with a handy soft fall fallboard so there’s no concern about fingers getting pinched by the fallboard.

 

LCD Touchscreen

Navigating the NV5 is easy and intuitive thanks to the cheekblock LCD touchscreen. In fact, it essentially operates like the touchscreen on a smartphone so most users will already be familiar with this type of technology and will have no problem getting around the NV5.

 

Upright Piano Damper Mechanism

The Kawai NV5 has a pedal system built to mimic the exact nuances of a real upright piano damper mechanism. Real acoustic piano soft, sostenuto and damper pedals all weigh slightly differently, and Kawai has captured that exact weighting with the pedals here.

While this might seem like overkill, it’s actually going to be greatly appreciated by advanced pianists looking for a convenient practice instrument that offers the advantages of a digital piano while resembling an acoustic piano as closely as possible.

 

Final Thoughts

There you have it. Thanks for joining us for our rundown of the Kawai Novus NV5 hybrid upright piano.

Since the filming of the video, our company President and piano reviewer Stu Harrison has actually purchased an NV5 for his own home. He’s found that the flexibility to play whenever he wants in a home with young children has resulted in him playing much more piano than when he only had an acoustic upright piano, and he’s had no warranty issues whatsoever.

If you’re looking for the best possible recreation of an upright piano in a hybrid digital form, you owe it to yourself to seriously examine the Kawai Novus NV5.

The post Kawai Novus NV5 Hybrid Digital Piano Review first appeared on Merriam Pianos

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