I'm finally deciding to forgo the fancy ebony finish on the CS series in favor of the CA series now. The extra money spent on paint is not worth it. But is the $1000 difference between the CA95 and CA65 worth it?

I'm still torn between the CA95 and CA65, mostly because I can't find a CA95 to audition, and also I found so many of you on tis forum gave rave reviews of the CA95 soundboard.

If I do decide to pull the trigger on CA95, I'd have to order without personally testing it. So I thought I'd ask here on the forum if you can describe the difference in sound and playing experience between the two models in more details so I can make an informed decision.

On a side note, I think I could probably get the salesman to sell a brand new CA95 to me for $4000 plus tax, delivery and adjustable bench included. Can anyone tell me if this is a good price for North America?

To the Americans here, happy 4th!!

Noticed you are in Quebec...I was quoted $3900 for a floor model CA-65 a few weeks ago in Ottawa, so in comparison $4000+tax sounds like an OK deal, but then again I didn't exactly think the price I was quoted for a CA-65 was anything to write home about

@Keegan, yes I'm in Montreal, Quebec. I noticed that price you mentioned. Probably you can knock 800 dollars off that price. After negotiation, the salesman here asked $2800 for a 6 months old floor CA65. So I assume a new CA65 can be bought in Eastern Canada for around $3200~$3000+tax, which isn't that far off from the average American price before tax. However, if you count tax, it's entirely another matter.

Do you remember seeing a CA95 in your ottawa showroom? I can't find one in Montreal. I don't understand why they are not interested in selling that particular model here.

I just tried the CA65, CA95 and CN34 series. I liked the CN34, but really liked the CA65.
The CA95 was really good, but I never would realize the full potential for
the sound-board. You do have to have the volume level up to get its full effect imho.
I don't have the space at home to justify it. Wish I did. Even the CA65 with
the 100 watt speaker system is overkill for me. But I really like the Grand Feel action. The dealer let me play them to my liking and was not high pressure at all.
They had Head phones to try them out to.
The CA65 just moved to the top of my list.
I went last week and tried the Roland HP505 HP507 and the Casio AP450. The dealer didn't have the AP650 in stock to try. I liked the HP505 but the dealer wouldn't leave me alone for a minute and quoted a high price and them said if you're serious I probably can come down a little.

Also got to try a Yamaha CLP430 and I liked it too, but the Kawai CA65 just felt
the best to me in my price range.

P.S.
everyone that says you need to try them out yourself is RIGHT

Hi EPW,

At the showroom, when you played both the CA95 and CA65, was the sound difference significant when you turned the volume up? And did you really feel the key and pedal feedback as many on this forum said one would? I'm not quite worried about neighbour complaining about noise (thick walls etc), so if really there's a meaningful sound improvements on the CA95 over CA65, I'd go with it.

The dealer here in Ottawa did not have a CA-95 on display unfortunately.

I did hear the soundboard come into play. Unfortunately I didn't
play the CA95 first and half way into playing them a gentleman
came into buff and polish a baby grand that the store brought.
So it was a little noisy. I still think you would need a nice
big grand room to enjoy all that volume. The sensation of playing on a really acoustic for me was there. YMMV

The price of these Kawai are insanely high in Canada. I'd rather spend almost half on a CLP-440, unless you really want the wooden keys of the Kawai. You can get a NU1 for the price of a CA95!

That said, the clear difference is if you plan to heavily use headphones. If so, you would probably be satisfied with just the CA65.

what's the before tax price for a NU1 in Canada? I thought they were in the mid 5000, but that was only my guess.

If you're not worried about the neighbors, I'd spend my money on an acoustic instead. Since my only reason for getting a digital is to avoid angering my neighbors, the extra $1000 for the CA95 is obviously not worth it to me, since I will be using headphones most of the time. But of course, that's just me, you probably have different motivations.

The volume on the CA95 has to be cranked up to at least the halfway mark before the effect of the soundboard can be felt.

The touch of the instrument, while a very physical phenomenon, must be connected to the sound it produced to give you the total experience. The vibration feedback from the keys and pedals, the sound bounced back from the walls of your room and assimilated with what you are playing... all contributed to the total experience.

Even with the soundboard, the CA95 is still a digital/electronic instrument, still cannot match a more decent(pricier) acoustic piano. I enjoy it mainly because it plays well, gives me a good feel and experience. And also the added benefit of able to play it whenever I want late at night using my headphones.

Whether the CA95 worth the extra $1k over the CA65 is a matter of personal preferences. There are many people in this forum enjoy their CA65 very much. I would suggest that you find a nearby Kawai dealer to audition the CA95 before you commit to it. Maybe a weekend trip to Toronto and visit Merriam Musics in Oakville(just outside Toronto) and audition their line of DP and AP.

$4500 asking price here in Ontario. I assume you can get that lower.

N1 is $6500.

That's cheaper than what I expected and it's going to change things. I excluded the NU1 from consideration only based on the supposed high price. Thank you again for that info.