Kawai Digital Pianos - REVIEW | 16 models 2023 | CA701 & CA901

My favorite piano sound engine in the Kawai piano line under $4000 which reproduces the most authentic stereo acoustic piano sound is found in their lower priced compact ES920 portable digital piano for just $1799, optional furniture stand and triple pedal at extra cost. Kawai also uses that same sound engine in their higher price CA59 model which sells for $3799. The ES920 is the lowest priced self-contained digital piano which offers this more authentic piano sound reproduction. I have done a review of that model so if you want more info on it please read my review at the following link: Kawai ES920 Review

PIANO KEY ACTION

For those people concerned with having good key action in their piano, Kawai currently offers 7 key actions (which is a lot) in their digital pianos including their newest and best which is an actual acoustic grand piano key action built into their new hybrid digital piano called Novus (NV10S). The Novus grand piano key action is called the Millennium III and is taken out of a top Kawai acoustic grand piano so that when you play the Novus the key action will be the same as a fine Kawai acoustic grand piano that would sell for $20,000 or more. This is because the Novus key action is a fully acoustic grand key action movement (minus the felt hammers) whereas all the other Kawai digital piano key actions are specifically made for digital pianos only and lack most of the actual parts of a real acoustic piano key action. 

Kawai also has a hybrid "upright" digital piano called the Novus NV5S. The key action in this model is taken directly out of a top model Kawai acoustic upright digital piano. The Novus NV5S sells for approx $8500 in Kawai piano stores and that hybrid key action feels really good, just like you'd get in a real Kawai acoustic piano, but with all of the benefits of owning a digital piano with no tuning needed, volume control and private headphone practice, and the latest technology features and functions including color touch screens and wireless Bluetooth streaming connectivity. 

Kawai has 3 different all-plastic key actions and 5 different more advanced wood key actions. In my opinion, all of the key actions in the Kawai digital pianos are satisfying to play, depending on what your musical ability and budget are. Generally speaking, the more money you pay for a digital piano the better and more natural the key action gets and the more realistic the piano sound be. This is not always the case, but normally this is what you can expect.  
Some of the digital piano models from a few different name brands are not nearly as good or natural as some of these Kawai models that sell for less money. Ultimately when it comes to key action and the way the keys feel and move...the key to picking out the right one for you should be based on your playing skill level, type of music you want to primarily play, your expectations and desires for the way the key action actually responds and moves, and your budget. 

There are real specifications as to the "weight and movement" of key actions that I can share with you so that you can get good info to make a wise decision before you buy anything from anyone. I always tell digital piano shoppers that once you buy the piano, you cannot change the key action which is the most important part of any piano. 

You need to that right and make sure you can grow into it instead of grow out of it and/or find out it is not responding correctly to your playing. It's like buying a car...you want to be sure you get a smooth transmission and a smooth engine performance or else you'll likely be sorry you bought that vehicle. It's the same with a digital piano. Just because it looks good on the outside and has black & white keys does not automatically make it a piano that offers a good piano playing experience. 

That's one big thing I admire about the Kawai piano company...all of their piano models are impressive in their price range and I enjoying playing them. It's just a matter of which one is right for you.

PEDALING

Pedaling with the triple pedal system on Kawai pianos also varies depending on which model you choose. The primary pedal, called the damper-sustain pedal, can be lighter or firmer to press down depending on the model you choose. The sustain/decay time of the piano sound can be longer or shorter depending on the piano your choose. So even in the pedal mechanism, there can be a difference among different Kawai models with some being more responsive than others, and that is true as you go up the line which is like some other brands of digital pianos. 

They all offer half-damper pedaling with controllable pedal sustain amounts to come out closer to what a real acoustic piano sustain pedal offers. The color finish of the pedals can also be different depending on the model with some pedals coming in a chrome plated finish and others in a golden brass. That kind of thing just boils down to appearance and whether you really prefer one over the other just as in cabinet colors and finishes.

EXTRA "BELLS & WHISTLES

Some Kawai digital pianos like the ES120, CN201 and KDP120 with all three near or under $2000 focus mostly on piano playing with only a few extra "bells & whistles" while other models such as the CN301, ES920, CA49, CA59, CA701, CA901, DG30, NV5S, and NV10S have quite a few more "bells & whistles" but still overall primarily focus on the piano playing experience.  Whether it's wireless Bluetooth connectivity, MP3/wav file song recording, 50 or more instrument sounds, 8-16 track multitrack recording, color display screens, or interactive accompaniment styles, the Kawai pianos cover a lot of ground and depending on what you want to do with your music and with your time, you can probably find what you want within the lineup of new Kawai digital pianos. Kawai also came out with new color touch screens in their newer models CA and Novus digital pianos which is very cool. 

I have tried out these new touch screens already and they are really nice and the only digital pianos out of all brands to have this type of user interface which is located on the left side of the keyboard. The much older CA78 and 98 models were the first to have these color touch screens and now that interface has been incorporated and updated into the new Kawai CA701, CA901, NV5S, and NV10S. Those 4 models have the same piano sound chip technology, same user interface, and share most of the same functionality. 

This is becoming a more standardized approach to user interfaces in digital pianos and even Yamaha and Roland are going in this direction with using the same or similar user control panel interface into a variety of models to give a more consistent user experience with their digital pianos. 

The Kawai CA59 for $3799 (don't you just love how everyone uses those "99's" instead of rounding it off to $3800, etc:), which is an impressive model for that price, has a button controlled user interface display screen and the LCD is a  blue screen like some of the Yamaha Clavinova digital pianos, but it is still fairly intuitive. 

IMPORTANT SHOPPING TIPS

When it comes to shopping for digital pianos, especially Kawai digital pianos, my suggestion for deciding on what model will best fit your piano needs, is to decide how much the person playing the piano really likes music, how much they like being around music, and if they (or you) would spend some time playing piano? 

Playing piano is not "rocket science," believe it or not, but it does take some commitment and love of music. If you already play the piano then you should decide, based on your available budget, how real of a piano playing experience do you want to get? How natural and organic do you want the piano to be as compared to a real acoustic piano, and also how much volume and richness do you want out of the internal digital piano speaker system for the room, home, or building the piano is going into? 

Also, a lot of  people have different needs when it comes to the actual cabinet, cabinet design, cabinet color, movability, or portability of the instrument itself. These are all important questions when deciding on the best piano for your needs and for your budget. 

The Kawai company with its 16 available current models for the US market should be able to cover all the bases for most piano shoppers. However, one of the things about a single company offering so many models (Kawai is not the only one) is that it can definitely get confusing for the shopper (you) after a while because sometimes there is more than one model in the same price range and perhaps even 3 or 4 models in a similar price range to consider.  

My favorite Kawai portable digital pianos under $3000 selling price, which is where most shoppers want to be in terms of price, is the Kawai ES920 portable digital piano with optional furniture stand and triple pedal lyre. My favorite furniture Kawai cabinet model under $3000 is the Kawai CA49 at $1999. 

The most popular cabinet colors for the CA49 is satin black and satin rosewood. The key action has longer extended actual wooden white keys that get closer to baby grand style key action, along with with triple sensor fast response movement. In fact, in my opinion, after playing these 2 models many times, these 2 specific digital pianos beat out the "other guys" including Yamaha, Roland, Casio, and Korg when it comes to a portable and cabinet digital piano for playing authenticity under $3000.

The two newer model CN models called the CN201 and CN301 have improvements over the previous CN models with the speaker system sounding and working better and the user interface control panel being improved to be much more intuitive and responsive to use than before with easier to read & understand OLED display screens replacing the older style technology. 

At $2199 for a CN201 and $3099 for a CN301, those discount prices are very competitive with Yamaha, Roland, and Casio. Kawai's very popular RH3 weighted (plastic) piano key actions in the ES920, CN201, and CN301 really feel like an acoustic piano key action in a lot of ways. Then there are the popular "wood key action" models from Kawai including the CA49 currently priced at $1999, and CA59 at $3799. Above those 2 wood key action models are the top Concert series including the new CA701 and CA901.

CONCERT ARTTIST CA701 & CA901

The newer Concert ArtistCA701 & CA901 have not been out that long and have been upgraded from the previous CA79 and CA99 including their more realistic "wood key actions" called Grand-Feel III. This key action move smoothly, are more refined, are quieter, and really give you a sense that you're playing a grand piano. The static down-weight measurement of the nearly 14" long wooden white keys on middle C is about 53 grams which is just like a real grand piano in terms of finger force applied to pressing down the key. So the action for both the black & white "all wooden" keys feels great, plays like "butter" without creating hand, finger, and wrist fatigue, but yet is expressive with excellent weight distribution from the front of the keys to the backs of the keys. 

This was my personal playing experience on this new Grand-Feel 3 key action and I was impressed. The upgraded piano sound chip in these new models is using a combination of the latest physical modeling technology and sampling which gives a very immersive piano playing experience, even to the most demanding players based on my playing experience with this model. Utilizing an all new and improved Kawai internal speaker and amplifier audio system with better sound dispersion, these 2 new models have impressive internal sound systems that are difficult to beat. 

I have already played these 2 new models extensively and unless you are very picky you will have a difficult time trying to get off the bench and stop playing...these new models are that good. There is a redesigned color touch display screen for both of those models for easier navigation to access the many features in these models including new Bluetooth audio streaming. The CA901 has a small size "wood soundboard" in the back of the piano like the previous CA99 (see above left pic) to further enhance the piano sound with attached transducer microphones attached to that soundboard....and the resulting "organic" sound is noticeable. Pricing for the CA701 is $4799 for the matte rosewood, black, and white cabinet finishes, and $800 more for the polished ebony version. The CA901 is $6399 for the matte rosewood finish, black or white finish, and $800 more for the polished ebony finish at $7299. We will have a separate review for the new CA701 and CA901 coming soon. 

The new Kawai Novus NV5S at approx $8500 store discount price is the upright piano version of the current NV10S Novus "grand action" piano. The new NV5S utilizes a new piano interface, piano sound samples, and new overall speaker system, but the NV5S has an actual full size upright piano key action taken directly from the top model Kawai acoustic upright piano. So what you get in this piano is a smooth and "buttery" key action response that is exactly like a real high-end acoustic upright piano because the key action is identical to a Kawai upright piano with the exception of metal rods replacing the felt hammers so the piano sound responds correctly to the "hammer movement" utilizing state-of-the-art optical sensors that are able to correctly sense all 88 keys and their motion with varying degrees of velocity. 

With an accurate fully formed acoustic key action that has absolutely real upright key motion and response along with a huge sound coming out of this impressive internal speaker system, the natural feeling of key movement and piano sound  you get when playing this model is amazing, and I have played it many times. 

Even the pedaling response is "real" as the pedals move a spring assisted damper rail with actual felt dampers (although there are no strings in the NV5S) that recreates the motion and feel of play "real" acoustic upright piano pedals. If you want a more compact but elegant piano for your room with the latest digital interface features, but you want the best upright type piano playability and performance you can get anywhere in a new digital piano under $10,000, the Novus NV5S may be the perfect piano for you. 

Please note that the NV5S key action does not simulate or recreate a "grand piano" type key action which is different than an upright piano key action. Some people have more experience playing upright pianos whereas other people have more experience and prefer to play on grand pianos. It just depends on what you prefer to play or if you don't care which one it is.

FINAL THOUGHTS

At the end of the day it is true that one digital piano company cannot cover all of the bases when it comes to musical needs and budget of the digital piano shopper That's why there are other top name digital piano manufacturers out there like Yamaha, Casio, Roland, Korg, and others who offer something different than Kawai which may or may not fit your needs better. There are also digital piano makers who produce very poor playing and sounding pianos that I do not recommend, and although they may look good on the outside, they are not necessarily good on the inside and can create a variety playing problems than a person realizes. I call that kind of a digital piano a "Piano Shaped Object" (aka: PSO) and I advise people to stay away from them if at all possible. 

Those brands have pianos are really just cheap technology in a cabinet that appears to be attractive on the outside but can cause long term issues with regard to the piano playing experience. Unfortunately, I have seen people buy these kinds of digital pianos before and then later on realize how bad they can be in terms of trying to play them like a piano. So I recommend you go with the name brands that I mentioned above and you will likely be very happy for a long long time. 

The Kawai piano brand is definitely worthy of your attention and it is certainly one of my favorites. They make great acoustic grand and upright pianos played by professionals and piano teachers around the world and their digital pianos use cutting edge piano technology to recreate a very impressive piano playing experience in just about every way possible...plus the cabinets look great too. If you want more info on Kawai pianos or even lower prices than Amazon, Internet, local store, etc, then please contact me before you buy anything from anyone...you'll be glad you did!

If you want more info on new digital pianos and LOWER PRICES than internet discounts, please email me at tim@azpianowholesale.com or call direct at 602-571-1864.