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My living room isn't very big, and the piano is going to be positioned in front of some floor-to-ceiling windows. So I'd like to have:

1) A compact piano, which doesn't block too much light from the windows behind it.
2) Some sort of nice looking wooden stand with built in pedals.
3) Best action possible.
4) Space somewhere to put a notebook for external sounds.
5) Probably external high-quality near field speakers for best possible sound would be recommended?

Action wise I like Kawai, ideally wooden keys. The ES8 with stand looks like a good match to my requirements, except for having plastic keys. The VPC1 would be a good match if there were a matching stand with pedals available for it. The CA series would be a good match, but they have a solid "back wall", so they block a lot of light, and are not as compact as I would like.

Any suggestions/alternatives? Any chance Kawai is going to offer a dedicated stand with pedals for the VPC1, or an ES9 with wooden keys?

How about external speakers. I suppose they would improve sound quality compared to the built-in speakers of typical DPs? Any recommendations there? I suppose active would be good so no external amplifier is needed?

I'm flexible on price as long as I get a good quality vs cost ratio. Overall sum should be significantly below 10k. Below 5k would be nice, if possible without compromising quality too much.

3) Best action possible.

The Yamaha AvantGrand N1 would be the best action for your needs and considerably less expensive than the N3 (though the actions are the same).

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/musical_instruments/pianos/avantgrand/index.html

Casio has entered the hybrid market though I found the action not to my liking.

You're right, the N1 would be an alternative, thanks for the suggestion.

It has a pretty large depth with 62cm, though, while all the Kawai's are max 45cm. I suppose the N1 depth is necessary, due to the hybrid design. Probably the Kawai Novus will have a similar depth, I would guess. But that isn't really good for my small living room. And for my taste the N1 looks rather ugly. Such a large body on such thin legs! However, since it doesn't have a solid back wall, it won't block as much light, which is a definite advantage in my situation.

With acoustic pianos, you are strongly discouraged (I hear) to put them into direct sunlight, because of the way how the constant temperature (and thus humidity) changes can affect the piano negatively. While the AvantGrands do not not have soundboard and strings that can be affected, they do have an original wood/leather/felt grand piano action. It may be that for this reason, the "no direct sunlight" advice applies to it too.

The VPC-1 has no built-in sound generator -- it is strictly a MIDI-generating keyboard. So you'll need a computer, and one of the many available "software pianos", and a set of loudspeakers, to go with it.

IMHO, if you build the rest of the system well, it will give you good results. But it's not "open the box and start playing".

If you can wait, the Kawai Novus NV10 looks like it may match all of your criteria.

Thanks guys.

Never heard of sunlight being a potential problem for an (acoustic) piano. You learn something new every day...

Yes, VPC-1 is an option, but there's no nice wooden stand with pedals available for it, which is a big problem when you want the piano to look nice in your living room.

The Novus NV10 could be an option, it will be interesting to compare it to the Yamaha N1. Do we know yet when the Novus will be available?

Hmmmm... I'm wondering: Does the CA67 *need* the back wall for stability or some other reason? Or could I just leave it away? If I could simply leave it away, that might be an option.

A Roland HP-603 would meet your criteria.

HI Madshi, first of all I really like my CA67 and at 167.5 lbs. it has no need of a wall for stability. It comes in 2 parts unlike the CA97/CS11.

Originally I had the CA67 against a wall and I found the sound too muffled. So I moved it upstairs and WOW, what a change in sound.
The sound is so rich, loud, fills the whole landing. Our second floor landing, an open area ~ 11 ft (including stairs) x 8 ft with part of the ceiling at 16 ft due to a large skylight. The DP backs onto an open stair railing.

Though this location may not be one most would like (me included) the difference in location can really improve a piano's sound and conversely hinder it. I really enjoy playing/practicing alot more, and it really "sings" throughout the whole house.

I prefer Kawai actions over Roland, for some reason.

@Tone Deaf, I explained it badly. I was wondering whether I could remove the back plate (or however it's called) from the CA67 during assembly, or if that could result in stability issues. I said "back wall", but I really meant the back plate. Sorry, wrong word, English is not my native language... The reason I'm asking is that without the back plate, the CA67 would be more "see through", so it would let more light into the room from the big window behind it.

No, you must not do that. The stand would fall apart.
In any case, how would a CA67 without a back look any better than the VPC on a purchased stand?

Good points. I also wonder about the pedals, if their cables would be exposed if one removed the back panel.

If you want to see light, then get a slab-style like the VPC-1. If you want a nice looking piece of furniture, then get one with a back. Really, I wonder how much light you'd really be missing out on. Is the window so low/small that a DP would cover up most of it? If so, then a slab style should be what you look for, or try to rearrange thing so that a piano isn't in front of a window.

It would fall apart? I had hoped that the pedal section would hold the bottom of the stand together, and the action etc would hold the top together. But I suppose the action is very heavy, so the back plate is necessary to give the extra stability?

Do you know any pretty wooden VPC-1 stand with integrated pedals, similar to the ES8/110 stands/pedals? I haven't found anything comparable for the VPC-1. The CA67 without the back plate might look a bit naked, but the sides and pedal section are still nice and wooden, so I hoped it would look similar to an ES110 (with stand), just with a bigger action on top. A simple keyboard stand is not an option at all, because having a non-connected pedal section at the bottom is simply butt ugly in my book, and all the typical keyboard stands look very non-living-room-like to me.

There's only one place where I can place the piano, and it's in front of a big sized window. It's not just the light blockage/passthrough, it's also that I would prefer a piano which doesn't look as "massive". I'd prefer something that looks "lighter", something less obtrusive, something which doesn't dominate the room as much, if you know what I mean...

@Madish, sorry for misunderstanding you. Yes, it might be possible to remove the "backer" board. I just measured the back board on my CA67 and it's 56" x 16 3/4" x 1/4" thick.
All it does is cover the bottom part of the DP. It does not provide any structural support, just cosmetic.
The pedals are a seperate unit attached to the side supports and the cables are hidden undeneath. The main body of the DP is roughly
17" x 18" x 56" and there are 2 recessed handles to carry it. The body is very heavy since that is where most of the 167.5 lbs are. The bottom half weights 5 lbs.
I suggest you visit a store and have check it out for yourself. Good luck.

It covers the bottom? Yes, it does.
And that is structural support. It keeps the unit from racking.
Don't remove it. Don't.

a) I think (on general principles of woodworking) that MacMacMac is right:

. . . A piece of plywood, across the back of the stand, is probably there to resist "racking loads" -- that is,
. . . to keep the top unit (keyboard and electronics) from moving sideways, taking the side-panels with it.



There's something you might look at -- the Roland KF-10 Kiyola. It may be what you're looking for, in appearance. The specs on the action (PHA-50) and sound generator (SuperNatural Modelled) are pretty good, too. I can't find anything about its amplifiers or speakers.

. . . But it's not a Kawai.

I agree with Mac, the backboard is not just a cosmetic component, it aids stability of the stand.

Please refer to the CA67 assembly instructions in the instrument's owner's manual:



We can see that there are 8 screws attaching the backboard to the legs and pedal board. I expect these are necessary to ensure that the stand remains solid and stable.

Kind regards,
James
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@Tone Deaf, thanks for your comment. Sadly, I guess I'll have to trust Kawai James (and Mac) that the back plate is needed for stability.

@Charles, the Roland KF-10 Kiyola looks interesting. It definitely fits the bill in terms of being "not massive". But I don't like the look of the pedal unit being totally unconnected, and the lose cable. Also, as you say, it's not a Kawai action. But thanks for the suggestion.

@James, thanks for chiming in. Do you have any suggestions for a nice looking but "non-massive" Kawai DP with a wooden keyboard action? Maybe could you try to talk your company into making a nice stand with integrated pedals for the VPC-1, similar to the ES110 stand? Having read through various threads here, it seems I'm not the only potential VPC-1 customer who's sorely missing a nice dedicated VPC-1 stand.

Do you happen to know which depth the Novus will have?

madshi, I personally would love to see a designer stand produced for the VPC1 and MP11/MP7. However, it's difficult to tell they would sell in sufficient quantities to be financially viable.

A number of customers have requested a custom stand for the VPC/MP, however the vast majority use a metal table stand such as the K&M 18950. It could be that if Kawai produced dedicated stand and pedal accessories for their piano, those customers would snap them up...it's tough to predict. However, the fact that neither Yamaha nor Roland produces furniture stands for their stage pianos suggests that the market is not large enough.

Over the years, some VPC/MP customers have produced their own wooden stands, such as (this MP10 stand), or this rather stylish VPC1 setup:



Regarding the Novus NV10 depth, the final specifications have yet to be announced, however according to the materials prepared for the Musikmesse preview "...the Novus’ surprisingly compact cabinet occupies a depth of less than 65 cm, allowing pianists to enjoy the full grand piano experience in spaces usually restricted to an upright."

I hope this helps.

Cheers,
James
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JBL LSR series studio monitors are really great. I have the 5", but I'd probably recommend 8" if space/size isn't an issue.

The Novus... it's about freaking time! The action looks nice. I didn't like the lower end AG action very much.