Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai ES100 vs Kawai MP7

What is the quality, piano sound, action difference between the Kawai ES100 and MP7? Is the MP7 extremely better than the ES100 to justify the difference.

This is mostly for studio practice. My biggest concern with the ES100 is the built in speakers and lack of cable interfaces (USB, AMP, etc).

Have you tried them out yourself? What are your own impressions of the action and the sound? Myself, I've only tried an MP6 as no MP7 was available near me, but I was very impressed by both the sound and the action. I know that the MP7 is better than the MP6 and have reviewed its specs and am impressed. I know that you can't go wrong with it, especially if you ever decide to take it on the road with you.

The ES100 is an entry-level DP, whereas the MP7 is designed for the gigging musician. I have not played either, but jy assumption is that the MP7 is in every way superior to the ES100.

These two are quite a bit dissimilar in price. It's probably best to eastablish the mqximum you are willing to pay, and look for pianos at that price point, that way you are comparing DPs with roughly the same target market and features.

If you are trying to stay below $1000, then you may want to try out the Casio px350 or px5s in addition to the Es100.

gbitw, the ES100 is a good entry-level instrument, however the keyboard action, sound quality, user interface, and pretty much every aspect of the MP7 is far superior. The only downside is that it's 6kg heavier.



That depends. If you're looking for a good quality, entry-level, no-thrills no-frills instrument on which to practise piano, the ES100 will be suitable for your needs. However, if you're able to invest in the MP7, I believe you will be glad you opted for the higher specification instrument.

I echo Pete's advice that you should definitely try to get some hands-on time with both models - this is really the only way of telling if an instrument will be right for you.

Cheers,
James
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You don't have to use the speakers. Lack of USB is addressed with a cheap USB-to-MIDI adapter. You can use the headphone jack to go to an amp.

All that said, the MP7 is much more full-featured, especially if you have any interest whatsoever in any sounds other than acoustic piano. I have not directly compared the piano sound or action. Kawai clearly considers the MP7 better in these regards, but that can be subjective, and whether it is worth the $ difference is clearly something only you can decide. If nothing else, an x-hundred dollar difference is a lot more significant to someone who makes $75 a day than to someone who makes $75 an hour. Or to someone who makes $50 a gig vs. someone who makes $500 a gig. ;-)

LOL..perhaps you meant no-frills. No-thrills instrument isn't quite a good selling feature.

Lol...time for bed!

James
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To the original poster, have you considered other keyboards, the Kawai ES7 is one that immediately comes to my mind, since it is one heck of a fine keyboard, and comparing this with the MP7 is a bit fairer I think.

Speaking to only the ES 100 and as a student, it works very well for piano practice. The feel is fine and sound okay but I do prefer to use it through Pianoteq for a better sound. I have an acoustic but also want to keep a DP around. If it were two years down the road or my only piano, I would have looked further and probably would have spent more money.

Went and tried a MP6 and ES7 tonight. Seemed nice based on my limited experience. The key action is definitely lighter than something like the Yamaha P-255.

My biggest concern about the ES100 at this point is speaker quality and limited interfaces.

Does anyone have any experience with the ES7? It seems pretty expensive. Wondering what justifies the cost?

If those are your only concern, there are workarounds as someone posted earlier: Purchase a MIDI to USB cable like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Generic-USB-MIDI-Converter-Electronics/dp/B003KXEDVQ#

And use computer speakers or inexpensive powered monitors if you don't care for the speakers on the ES100.

As far as what justifies the cost, it is similar to your question about the MP7. The ES7 has better action, Ivory feel keys, better sound, better speakers, 3 pedals, more voices, more polyphony...just looking at the specs of each will tell you the reason for the cost difference.

(first post here so apologies if this has been asked already...!)

I'm looking for a DP to play in a jazz trio, so I need something that sounds good in an exposed setting (I don't need any sophisticated features or non-piano sounds). I tried out the ES100 and really like its combination of good piano sound, simplicity and light weight (I prefer the ES100 to MP6/MP7 as it's lighter).

But... I'm concerned about the ES100 using the headphone outs as the main connections to external speakers or PA.

Can anyone confirm they've used this and it works OK? Is the audio signal clean enough to run through a PA? Is the signal good quality? Is the connector robust enough?

And does anyone know what the ES100 sounds like in mono connected to one external speaker? Does the sound collapse to mono OK or are there phasing issues? I couldn't find any reference in the manual or online specs...

Thanks

nickd100,



I believe the headphone output should be fine for connecting to a PA. There is also a setting to keep the onboard speaker output, providing a direct monitoring solution. As for the connector, again this should be fine, but if you're particular concerned about excessive wear and tear, you could perhaps leave a short male to female stereo chord plugged into the headphone socket, then plug the PA into this.



I'm afraid I've never tried the ES100 connected in mono, however I believe the 'Modern Piano' and 'Rock Piano' are are arguably most suitable for playing in mono, due to the way those samples are created.

Kind regards,
James
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Thanks James, that was quick!

OK sounds good... I don't think the 'rock piano' sound will work for my band, but I liked 'modern piano'.

nickd100, by all means, please do try the other acoustic piano sounds and let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
James
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James, I spent some time playing the ES100 at my local piano store this weekend, and I was definitely impressed - I've also recently tried out the Yamaha P105 and Privia 350, and the ES100 was my favourite in terms of sound and action.

Hi James, can I just use a mono jack to connect the ES100 up to a mono amp? Or does it have to be a stereo to 2 x mono jack connecting e.g. the left?

The ES100 has no Mono Out, so you should merge both channels on the Stereo Headphone Jack via a mixer (if the amp doesn't have one built-in).

Yes, that's correct.

Thanks, I've been using it in mono and noticed that gives a phased sound, guess I'll hook up a little mixer.