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I've been hunting a new piano for a while now and am so happy I managed to get a great deal for a new CA65!!! They are taking my old CL25, extending the warranty and free delivery and installation, which is great. Will update the prices paid thread when I get it.

It is obviously over my initial limit of 1K GBP, but I had issues with the connections of the CN24 which I really liked otherwise so I was looking at a CN34. I know that I would have been extremely happy with it, but I managed to negotiate a good deal with the CA65 and I think this model will take me to all my playing levels.

When I tried it I was so amazed at the touch and response of the real wood keys, and the sound was very nice, I don't expect to use any additional software for it.

So I'm now sleepless waiting to get it in a couple days! Photos to follow

And the recordings. We must have the recordings . . . .

Awesome! I really want to check out this wooden key business and see what I'm missing. I hope you get many years of growth and enjoyment from it!

Congrats Evamar, I love my CA65 and I hope yours will bring you as much pleasure

Just picked up a CA-65 this month myself...had to wait a week for it and boy was it a long week. I plan on playing it every day for years...or until something "better" comes along :P

Until then, I'll sleep well at night knowing I bought the DP with the best non-GP action out there.

Congratulations evamar!

The CA65 will undoubtedly be a significant upgrade over your CL25, and it's also quite a considerable step-up over the CN34. I'm glad that you were able to negotiate a good trade-in price with the dealer - this underscores the importance of highstreet stores, with sales people and customers working together to agree a deal that benefits both parties.

I'm hopeful that the CA65 will bring you many years of musical happiness!

Kind regards,
James
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I've waited for my CA95 for 1 month now. And I probably need to wait for another 2 more months before it arrives. Guess my piano store is saving shipping costs by batching orders. :-(

Congrats on your new baby, evamar! Your skills will get a good "level-up" as you're likely to be playing it non-stop for the next 3 months. :-)

Great! Welcome to the CA owner club. I hope you'll have much fun playing your new piano, evamar.

Thanks for your good wishes, guys! I'm already bitting my nails and couldn't sleep well last night. Still one more day to go! So sorry to hear about the delays in getting your pianos, for me it's only a couple days and am already nuts!

It's like being again a little kid just before Xmas! Well, I didn't have a Santa when I was a kid, in Spain we have the·Three Wise Men on the 6th of January.



James, looking at the price/quality ratio I really liked the CN24 but for the connections, same problem with the CA15 which has a fantastic touch and sound, but I knew that I wanted a USB to device connection to tape my musical attempts easily on a memory stick. Had any of those models had this feature I would have been extremely happy with any of them, as I'm just a beginner and was fine with changing pianos a few years on the line. I seriously think that Kawai is losing custom to other makers by not adding this feature in these models, as in today's world everybody is used to usb to device and many cheaper -and worse- pianos have it.

I talked to all the dealers but many of them were not very keen on negotiating to even include a stool and any would take the old CL25, so I would only be able to stretch myself to afford the CN34. They were quite rigid in their prices, actually, which is really a pity because they have to suffer the competition of many online only stores. As I had tried their showroom I wanted to buy from one of them, but unfortunately I am already over my budget and we are talking of a difference of several hundreds of pounds here.

However Reidys, both with online shop and showroom, were willing to take my old piano as a trade-in for a new one, and I was just about to get the CN34 from them when I decided to push it a bit and gave them an offer for the CA65. I wasn't really expecting them to take it, I was already happy with their offer for the CN34, but they made me extremely happy by accepting it so now I'm the proud owner of a new CA65!

They'll be taking my old CL25 when they deliver the new CA65, and the delivery and installation is free. They also extended the original warranty to 5 years as I requested... they are really open to negotiate, so there you are, still I cannot believe it

I went well over my limit, but I know it's a good deal and that this piano will take me through all my learning years, so in the long term it will be well worth the expense.

I actually have not a spare penny now, so I simply won't be able to do anything else but practice on my new piano for months... so yes, I hope I'll be soon improving my playing

... but I'm scared of the 3 pedals... only used one so far.

Thank you for the update. I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with Reidy's

Just one point I would like to query:



With the exception of Casio Privia, may I ask you to clarify which instruments you are referring to specifically?

'USB to Device' functionality is available on Kawai models starting from the ES7 and CN34 (approximately £1100 and £1200 respectively), which I believe are already very competitively priced instruments.

Kind regards,
James
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Hi James,

At the end of the day the buyer needs to sit down and put in paper what they can and cannot live without. Good touch and sound are extremely important, and I give it to Kawai that in my opinion they simply have the best touch and sound available to beginners and intermediates, and also for advanced and expert at the high end models. I have said that several times and am completely convinced of it. You completely got me, I'm a believer!

However, I also think that for many people nowadays being able to use a memory stick directly can be more important than an extremely good touch and sound, and might be willing to sacrifice these in order to get this connection. I don't, which is the reason I went over my budget, but I could well have gone the other way and get a "less good" piano for a few years, and surely by the time I needed to change it this feature will be availabe in Kawai's starter pianos too precisely because it will be expected. I gave a lot of consideration to the Casio AP450 and AP650, and a previous line Yamaha model because of this.

Beginners in particular are not keen on expending a lot of money simply because they still don't know if they are going to stick to the piano or it will just acumulate dust in a few months. They need decent enough pianos but they do look at the penny, wisely.

Pianos with USB to device under £1,000. Yes, one can consider them "worse" than Kawais, that is sometimes a personal point, but if this feature is very important for the buyer they might be chosen because of their price against the Kawai's models with USB to device, over £1K.

- Casios

- Roland RP301, £999

- Yamaha P155, just under £1K if they want to buy from ebay and risk importing from USA. Admitedly a stage piano and with a cheap X or Z stand instead of the wooden one.

- Also the YDP-181 I saw at a great price was an ex-demo has been sold. Again not sure about ex-demos, but if you find a good offer, this model also has a USB to device connection, and is being sold new at 1,049 inc stool, delivery, 5 years warranty and headphones at RockingRooster. Many dealers will match and improve the offer and you might negotiate even further.

I would advise buyers to try to negotiate the prices, because one never knows if they can get a brilliant piano at a brilliant price like I did. Many people just look at the price tag and take it as something engraved in stone. Also, there is the psychology limit of the infamous 999... that is cheap, 1,000 is expensive.

Anyway... I'm extremely happy and anxious to get my new CA65, with brilliant sound, touch and USB to device connection!

Thank you for your additional comments.

I agree that additional features such as USB functionality are important to some consumers. However, for Kawai, the priority will always be on superior action and sound quality, and then features.

With regards to my query about 'USB to Device', I ought to have clarified that I meant the ability to record and playback MP3/WAV audio files, not just loading and saving MIDI data (functionality that has existed on Kawai instruments since the CN41...).


This model only offers basic functionality to load and save recorder songs in SMF format.


According to the Roland website this model does not feature any USB functionality (neither 'USB to Host' nor 'USB to Device').


As with the YDP-181, this model only supports loading/saving MIDI data.

Which leaves the Casio models, with WAV playback/recording available on the PX-350, PX-850, and PX-5S.

I believe Kawai remains the only manufacturer to provide both MP3 and WAV recording/playback functionality, and on a model that's just £1100.

Anyway, I think I've already done my fair share of 'preaching to the converted', so will stop.

Once again, congrats on your CA65!

Kind regards,
James
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My fault, I said Roland RP301 and it's actually the RP301r, at £1,050 with extras like a bench, so I would directly negotiate a reduction by not taking the bench.

The Roland website does mention that the RP301r admits a flash memory, but you are right, it plays wav and midi, but I think it only saves in midi. Also one has to buy the memory flash from Roland.
http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=10312&c=40

As obviously I misjudged the real meaning of the USB to device offered by the competitors (with the exception of Casio), I have no problem in eating my words and publicly say that Kawai is the cheapest maker offering a USB to device feature capable or reading and recording mp3 and wav files.

... as well as the one having -for my taste- the best touch and sound... but I haven't got to change anything here!

... I think that it's easy to believe that whenever a USB to device is mentioned in the specifications it's instantly assumed -at least I did- that it meant that one would be able to simply use a memory stick. Obviously that is not the case, so I'm now double the happy I didn't fail for that.

No, you are absolutely correct - my apologies if I gave you the wrong impression.

'USB to Device' does indeed mean that you can plug in a USB memory stick for loading/saving data. However, at the entry-level, the majority of instruments only support basic functionality such as playing back or saving MIDI files. Some instruments allow the playback of WAV audio (such as the RP301R), others allow both playback and record of WAV audio. The Kawai models I mentioned above fall into this category, yet unlike all other models can record and playback both MP3 and WAV audio files.

Kind regards,
James
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OK, got it now, thanks for the explanation. We obviously have to pay more attention to the details of specifications and not only check for the word USB.

...one more day... expected tomorrow morning!!!!

I hope everything goes well with the delivery, mine was rather troublesome back then. (I have to give it to Thomann that they handled the issue quickly and to my highest satisfaction.)

Congrats Evamar. I too am in the CA65 club. Wishing you much joyful playing on yours. How exciting!

GOT IT GOT IT GOT IT!!!

Wow, it is a beast!!! I have passed from a CL25 to this monster, so you can imagine it will take a bit to get used to it.

First impressions....

I absolutely love the wooden keys and the action. I still have to get used to the different touch, and still need to study the manual too! The sound is fantastic without headphones (2x50w compared to 2x7w, you can imagine the difference!) and also brilliant with them on. Problem is that I am now spoilt with choice of piano sounds... Not sure which one will go best with each piece, but so far I'm sticking to the grands and have tried some Bach with the harpsichords, I haven't even touched the settings but give me time for that.

One thing I really have to get used to is the fixed pedals. With the CL25 and a single loose pedal I could move it to the part of the keybed more convenient for the piece (I know, a terrible habit of mine ), and now I have to be good and stay right in front of the pedals to reach them -well, it, as I still only use the sustain pedal. The side controls also mean that the front looks like a proper piano (the front speakers are almost indistinguishable in rosewood and completely in satin black), but one has to go to the side to adjust anything... one thing for the other, I guess.

It looks absolutely huge in my small conservatory, and the sound completely fills up the space. I'll be using headphones maybe 70% of the time, as I really prefer to get to a decent level with each song/piece before playing it without headphones... not only that I'm truly embarrased about my terrible playing, it's also better for my marriage and neighbour relationships!

Reidys told me exactly by when to expect it, 2 days delivery, and it was delivered with German punctuality by a very nice guy. It had been assembled before hand at Reidys so that they could deliver as many as possible on the day, as the driver told me. It came in one of those black and metal boxes that professionals use when moving their instruments, very well protected. It doesn't have a scratch on it, believe me I have looked everywhere! I actually asked them for delivery today and they told me Saturday and then said that they could just manage to deliver today if I still want it as they had some other deliveries in the area. They didn't tell me that it would be delivered by the driver who travels on his own, so it was just luck that my husband was at home to help him.

It really is a fantastic piano, and my absolutely only concern is that the last 3 G keys make a very slightly different sound to the rest. It's like the "thud" noise that the rest of keys make is up by half a tone and just a bit louder in those Gs (???). Something you can really only notice playing them with the power off, but enough to be worrying. Could it be the felts?

Could anybody with a recently bought CA please let me know if they have noticed any difference between the keys noise when the power is off?

Photos to follow, I need to clear the space a bit and rearrange a couple of small furniture, as it takes more space than the CL25 and we always get too much stuff.

Other than those keys, which I have already informed Reidys about, the piano is absolutely fantastic and I'm very happy that I went over my original limit. I know that I would have been also very happy with the CN34, but I really prefer the touch of this one.

Now I'm pennyless, absolutely nothing for personal expenses for several months, so I do expect to improve as I'll have to spend a lot of time practising. Looking forward to my uncle "the pianist" to come and try it.

First obviously congrats and enjoy your instrument
On my CA65 I noticed a few keys that are slightly louder (I can't tell you which one right now) but they are located over the two speakers so I think the difference in loudness is simply due to the fact that they are in a more open area (to put thing in perspectives, they are only marginally louder and you only notice it if you play late in a completely silent environment wit the sound turned off)

Congrats evamar!

Also, judging by your post in the 'Prices Paid' thread, I think you got a really great deal!

James
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