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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