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Is anyone going to play the piano until the sons grow up? If anyone at all is playing, I'd take the acoustic with Anytime. Original Anytime has USB/MIDI and there is great learning software for kids e.g. JoyTunes Dust Buster, SimplyPiano etc.
But an acoustic must be played or it will suffer. So if no one is playing, maybe get the CA67 or maybe the gift can wait three years?

Well, electronic technology's development has a definite curve, which apparently has flattened out quite a bit lately regarding dp's: advancements from one model to the next one are not so groundbreaking anymore. For instance, a Yamaha Avantgrand has been presented 7 years ago, and is just now becoming to feel outdated on some aspects to some users, while others still buy it new these days. Meaning: if a top end dp sounds reasonably and seriously piano-like today, there's no reason why it shouldn't keep it's performance stable and enjoyable for 20 years. As far as you don't need a spare part which after 10 years doesn't exist anymore, of course.

Still, an acoustic is what i would suggest as a better instrument, and longer lasting to me, allthough the outdate factor on digitals, though present, is heavily exaggerated by the companies themself.

To be honest the Kawai digitals are so good now that I'm not convinced that there is any disadvantage to them for the beginning student (or even some more advanced students...).

Technology will move on, but you should get a good 10 to 15 years out of one of these Kawai digitals before things start to go wrong if they do, and as Bellicapelli says, if they sound and feel like good pianos now, then they will still sound and feel like good pianos in 10 years time even if technology moves on significantly.

10 years is actually quite a long time in the life of an acoustic piano too - a K15 in 10 years may well have its own set of issues that the digital won't have, although of course it's possible that the digital suffers from loose keys, or a failure in some of the electronic components, etc, as well. It's very difficult to project what will happen to any piano in a long period of time (one, two, three decades).

I still prefer the touch and tone of a good acoustic, but it's getting to the stage that it's more a matter of which instrument you prefer rather than which one is better for development.

I would though, pick pretty much any new Yamaha or Kawai over a 20 to 30 year old one. I've played quite a few reconditioned grey market pianos as they're called, and even ones that have come out of private homes, and yes they've been fine, but they've not been brilliant. I remember one particular time I compared a 1990 Yamaha U3 to a brand new Yamaha B2, and the B2 was better in every way - more responsive, more dynamic, much better action, much better singing tone in the treble in particular, and the U3 just kind of felt a bit soggy and uninspiring. Now, I know we're talking about Kawai here and not Yamaha, and I know that every piano is different, but my over all impression is that when it comes to it, most pianos new are better than their 30 year old counterparts. Yes, that's a generalisation, but I can only speak in general terms when I haven't personally experienced all the instruments in question. I might try the 1990s Anytime piano and say "Yes, this is a wonderful piano, and it would be the best option for you at this time", so take a trusted technician and a trusted friend who can play, and try all the instruments in question.

Right: acoustics too wear out and brake if put under hard studywork for 10 years. They do have an evident repairability advantage though. As said you can completely repair and rebuild them even after 1 century.

My oldest started lessons at age 4, but I would say that's generally too early.

If waiting means getting a K2 or K3 in the future, I would opt for that. An acoustic just "feels" different when playing and I don't mean the action. It's an addictive feeling.

I agree. But they have to keep coming out with new models even if the improvements are minor. They have to otherwise their margins will get squeezed. They'll think of something to make you want to get the latest and the greatest, more memory, faster processors, integrate with the latest iPhones, VR headsets, or some new interface, etc... If nothing else they'll make it look different.

But I've played the CA97 and I think there's still room for improvement. The action still doesn't feel like the real thing, a little springy. I'm not sure why Kawai can't get it perfect by now, maybe they can but they're trickling it out so they can keep everyone upgrading.

But most people don't buy a digital with the intention of playing it for 30 years. My guess is most people will upgrade after 5-10 years (if they stick with digitals).

BTW...VR headset and a digital - that would be cool. I bet/hope they're already working on that.

I think the 506N might be the nicest of the bunch. It has the institutional look and durability.

Oops! I meant digital!