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Joined: Jul 2015
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OP
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Hi everyone, this is my first post here
got a CA97 a couple of weeks ago. I love the keyboard action but have two issues with the sound:
1. with the inbuilt sound system at little below medium volume, often it just hurts our ears, and we turn it even lower than it was already. The sound of the default Grand Piano to me has some very sharp frequencies which I don't get used to. The worst of all: my kids stopped playing the piano spontaneously, and if I sit with my boy to practice he wants to stop as soon as possible, my two year old doesn't play at all like she did with our former DP. I turned down all the high frequencies, now it's less annoyying, little damp though but can be played at higher volumes and the whole instrument starts sounding better... With headphones it gives me an previously unknown tinnitus which lasts until the next day... I am already a little bit afraid of practicing. Any ideas on how to solve this with the VT or something?
2. at some medium to high keys there is a buzzing sound from the speakers, not noticable on headphones, sometimes there sometimes not, most likely when just turned on. I guess one of the speakers isn't well fixed, I will contact the dealer for that problem.
Would like to get your opinion and advice.
Regards
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Definitely checking the dealer should be your first option.
Were these sounds at all noticeable in the showroom? I presume you tested the instrument before buying it.
Do you notice this problem on some of the other piano sounds? You may find one that you like better.
As far as not wanting to practice, each DP has its own sound and so if you are accustomed to one, even if it's not as good an instrument, you may not like anything that is different. Not to excuse away the issues you are experiencing, but that could be part of the problem. It does take a while to get comfortable with any new instrument, but definitely have the dealer come check out the issues you are having with the shrillness and the buzzing speaker.
private piano/voice teacher FT ![[Linked Image]](https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/gallery/42/thumbs/2529.jpg) ![[Linked Image]](https://forum.pianoworld.com//gallery/42/medium/9342.png)
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thanks,
the shrillness is in my ears worst in the SK concert grand, I don't like the EX, the SK5 is nice too. I don't play too much with different sounds though. And "Honky Tonk" is not really what I bought the instrument for. I guess you have a point that one must get accustomed to it for a while.
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yes I tried the insturment, but obviously not long enough. I even went back to the showroom once to check again. The speaker system is hard to judge in the showroom, because of the size of the room, and other people trying other instruments at the same time. I was perhaps too excited about the feeling of the keys at first and just trusted that an instrument more than triple the price of my old one naturally has better sounds too.
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Try moving the piano. Sometimes even just a few centimetres can make a difference. Or the angle it sits at in relation to the wall(s). There maybe some sort of 'room node' or reflection that is making it shrill or oppressive. I had a Yamaha grand piano that drilled itself into my head on one single note and I could very substantially change the effect of it by moving the piano by small amounts.
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Joined: Sep 2014
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Hello, I also own the CA97 since some weeks and paying it nearly daily. I own also a pretty good acoustic upright. I found the sound of the CA97, especially the sk grand samples very convincing and natural.. I really love my CA97. But really try to move the CA97 a little bit from the wall to avoid "sondwave nodes" because of reflections of the wall. See also http://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2429185/Is_a_good_acoustic_upright_wor.htmlDaniel
Last edited by danielp11; 07/01/15 02:46 PM.
KAWAI CS11 (sold KAWAI CA 97), KAWAI GX2 acoustic grand piano (sold SCHIMMEL acoustic upright)
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Gouldmember, Try to find another owner of a CA97 nearby and check out his CA97. On the German Kawai forum there is a thread where Kawai owners publish their appox. location, so you could go and visit to compare them. http://www.kawai.de/forum/showthread.php?tid=415 (you could create a similar thread in the CA section) I had a comparable problem with the shrillness of the Kawai EX samples in the MP7, jumped trough hoops to get rid of it. The only thing which brought some relieve for me, was the Cutoff and Resonance filter of the Edit/Sound Menu. This might not be available on the CA97. In the end I got another MP7 as an exchange for other defects. This model just does not emit those disturbing high frequencies with the default factory settings. It is hard to tell from the distance, if what you are experiencing is the same as I had. I'd ask your dealer for an exchange in model or even get a DP from another manufacturer. HTH
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If OP would post a recording, we could opine where the problem lies.
Kawai CA95 / Steinberg UR22 / Sony MDR-7506 / Pianoteq Stage + Grotrian, Bluethner / Galaxy Vintage D / CFX Lite
In the loft: Roland FP3 / Tannoy Reveal Active / K&M 18810
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Hello Gouldmember, welcome to the forum.
As others have suggested, I would recommend raising this matter with your Kawai dealer (and/or Kawai Europe - Kawai's European subsidiary and distributor based in Germany). If there is a problem, I'm confident that it will be resolved quickly.
Kind regards,
James
x
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Try moving the piano. Sometimes even just a few centimetres can make a difference. Or the angle it sits at in relation to the wall(s). There maybe some sort of 'room node' or reflection that is making it shrill or oppressive. I had a Yamaha grand piano that drilled itself into my head on one single note and I could very substantially change the effect of it by moving the piano by small amounts. Yes, moving the piano a little bit can sometimes make a big difference in how the sounds are perceived although I had to return my Kawai CA95 for more or less the same reasons as the OP here, due to the grating and shrill quality of the sounds. The Clavinova's samples do not do this. And, I thought I was the only one who heard these disturbing frequencies in the samples, so, glad to know this is not the case.
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Hi all,
thank you all for the advice! I'll first try to move the piano around.
yesterday I already found that changing the reverb type to "room" and then lower values for depth and time makes the sound little more comfortable to my ears. By default it has strong unnatural effects added.
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Joined: Feb 2010
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Hi All
I own a Kawai CA 95 and am delighted with it
I have been reading some of the posts about the new CA 97 & some of the problems
Can anyone tell what differences there are between these two digital pianos other than the shigeru sampling in the CA 97?
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Joined: Sep 2007
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Hello jmacn, I replied to your query in your other post, here. Kind regards, James x
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Joined: Jul 2015
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moving the piano didn't make a big difference in that respect. I also tried to place it against the wall, and switch on "WallEQ". Different, but the shrillness has nothing to do with it.
Then I found what perhaps part of the problem of the annoying sound is/was: a very shrill metallic sound following the actual piano sound, best notable with headphones when hitting single keys. Fortunatly I found that it can be turned off with the Virtual Technician when adjusting "Undamped String Resonance" to the lowest value. Still needed to change the voicing to "mellow 2" which apparently cuts off high frequencies. It seems that with adjusting the settings of the instrument I will eventually get used to it. Just wondering why Kawai deliveres the instrument with such painful default settings.
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Joined: Apr 2015
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I can only guess the sounds on these pianos suit different people. That's why the Virtual Technician is there in the first place, so people can adjust, as well as the SK being mellower than the EX, and Mellow Grand being mellower still. Personally, I like the fact that the sound isn't too mellow or muffled on the Kawais (And the brighter EX is my default sound now). I tested alongside acoustic grands, and to me the default sound is the most realistic in terms of tone.
Have you tried setting the lid setting on the Kawai to closed as well ? That may also muffle it a bit more.
I cant stop my kids playing with mine, they love the sound of it, so that comment also surprises me. Any time friends are round that play the piano, they are blown away by it. Most recently a very accomplished pianist was almost dismissive that i'd changed to a digital, but after playing it, just said "wow, that's actually better than my upright". He's now considering buying one. Are you sure you don't have a faulty one ? Did you compare it to one in the showroom in the end?
Kawai CA97 black
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I do adjust the piano to mellow sounds not to hurt my ears, I'd prefer a brighter sound too. I'll try to (virtually) close the lid.
I hope my kids like to play again. My son performed very well at a recent recital, completely fearless and much better than at home. So I wanted a better instrument for him, now I regret that move, the old one is gone already... But it might be the hot summer too, for an eight year old priorities are in the garden these days.
No, we all don't think the CA97 sounds exceptionally good, my wife (not a pianist) thinks it sounds the same as the old one (Yamaha YDP-S51). I find it OK but by no means stunning when playing it myself, good though with headphones, which just induced a tinnitus every time. From a distance, e.g. when I am in the next room, I even think it sounds a bit hollow and thin... maybe if you crank up the volume it gaines sound quality too, what we hardly do for the above mentioned reasons. The lower third of the piano does sound very good, yes that's true. It has very good bass, and I like the lower samples too. just in the mid section I find it a bit weak.
at what volume do you play?
Perhaps I got a faulty one as you say. I went back to the showroom once and will do so again tomorrow to check certain sound qualities specifically.
Last edited by Gouldmember; 07/07/15 08:28 AM.
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It doesn't sound like it's faulty to me, but worth checking out. Everybody's ears are different, and if you are accustomed to one sound on a piano, making the change to another can take time. Also, everyone really should adjust the piano's sound to their own preferences. When I got my MP11, I felt that the damper resonance was set too high/long from what I Was accustomed to, so I lowered it. I also changed the touch and voicing settings.
There is no reason why you should continue to dislike your piano sound when you have all these options to change it to suit your taste. There is also very little reason to think that your tastes should be everyone else's taste and therefore the default setting on an instrument sold to mass markets.
Again, call you dealer and have them come check it out to be sure there's nothing malfunctioning, but if you find there's nothing wrong and still cannot adjust the sound to your liking, return it and get something else while you still can.
private piano/voice teacher FT
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I play about half volume through the instrument itself, and 1/3 with headphones. My house is Victorian, so the ceilings are high, the floor is pine floorboards rather than sound absorbing carpet etc. so maybe that type of setting suits the instrument more ?
Sorry to hear you aren't enjoying yours. Is it too late to switch it for something else at the dealer?
Kawai CA97 black
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I do adjust the piano to mellow sounds not to hurt my ears, I'd prefer a brighter sound too. I'll try to (virtually) close the lid.
I hope my kids like to play again. My son performed very well at a recent recital, completely fearless and much better than at home. So I wanted a better instrument for him, now I regret that move, the old one is gone already... But it might be the hot summer too, for an eight year old priorities are in the garden these days.
No, we all don't think the CA97 sounds exceptionally good, my wife (not a pianist) thinks it sounds the same as the old one (Yamaha YDP-S51). I find it OK but by no means stunning when playing it myself, good though with headphones, which just induced a tinnitus every time. From a distance, e.g. when I am in the next room, I even think it sounds a bit hollow and thin... maybe if you crank up the volume it gaines sound quality too, what we hardly do for the above mentioned reasons. The lower third of the piano does sound very good, yes that's true. It has very good bass, and I like the lower samples too. just in the mid section I find it a bit weak.
at what volume do you play?
Perhaps I got a faulty one as you say. I went back to the showroom once and will do so again tomorrow to check certain sound qualities specifically. If I were you I'd try to set the mid range volume a tad lower. Also, make sure that your headphones don't colour the sound too much, either in that range or in the trebble. Try to set touch to heavy. Turn reverb off. In live playing you don't need it, let the room play that role. I seldom use it unless I need to make the sound fatter, but my samples are 1/2 the lenght of yours. Is your room well furnished, or is it naked? Are the celings high or low? Too much glass surfaces? Hard floor, no carpet? In that case, perhaps some sound absorbers would do the trick. Mellow 2 should be from the past generation of sounds, if I'm not wrong. So try to get the most of SK sounds before going that route. Edit: my DP sounds way better now, in other house and a room four times bigger. So the room makes a great difference.
Last edited by mabraman; 07/07/15 09:46 AM.
Learning piano from scratch since September, 2012.
Kawai ES7.Kawai K-200
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it's a small room with lots of reflecting surfaces. Next I'll try to move it into another room. But since yesterday I am confident that with the right settings it'll work fine eventually.
"Mellow 2" is a setting in the virtual technician which can be applied to the Shigeru SK-EX, SK-5, and EX as well.
...and yes, I'll buy another house ;-)
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