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In my opinion: It's not THAT loud. You would have to really bang on the keys to even hear it in the next room. If so, just close the door. My wife watches TV in an adjoining room and has never complained of the noise. Now the minute I unplug the headphones just to see what it sounds like, a chord or a lick I am trying, she is at the door. My point being that she isn't deaf, but she doesn't hear the action.

daz, You really need to go to the store and play one. Your alternative means you will be playing an upright and a slab DP. That's fine, but try the NV10 before you give up on experiencing a true grand piano action.

First-time poster here. My Novus has arrived a couple of weeks ago.


Consistent with the hands-on nature of this thread, I did a bit of my own quality assurance. The mechanical part turned out mostly good.
The exceptions were a few overtightened screws of lesser importance, and, more seriously, the not properly tightened screws that keep the front legs from falling off (plastic cover removed).


I bought it despite the touchscreen interface which, for me, turned out worse than expected.
However, the block diagram in the CA98 service manual I once downloaded from kawai.de shows a single, standardized UART line between touchscreen and mainboard, so replacing the user interface by something more ergonomic should pose no problem at all. Without this information, I'd probably have bought Yamaha's AvantGrand.

Apart from that, it's a beautiful instrument.

This recording from earlier in the thread
reveals a flaw my unit has, too. It's a hissing sound when played loudly. It appears exclusively through the left-hand side built-in speakers.
I can reproduce it consistently by playing B0 + C1 on the Baroque Organ. It comes and goes when I turn master volume up and down. It isn't there at all on headphones or through the line-out connectors.

It took Kawai almost 6 weeks to send a technician for a first, unsuccessful repair attempt. He replaced the power amplifiers and the analog power supply (which gets really hot, btw). He also swapped the cables that run from mainboard to left and right amplifier. This moved the hissing from the left to the right speakers. I'm now waiting for him to replace the mainboard.

I've also been complaining about quite a bit of constant white noise on the built-in speakers which, as I've been told, can't be fixed.

There are a few more images on imgur, showing, among other things, how to assemble the thing single-handedly.
https://imgur.com/a/0E5TQTu

Hello trebb, welcome to the forum.

Looking at your pictures, particularly the somewhat unorthodox assembly process, may I ask how you were able to stand the NV10 upright from that position (with the instrument's back to the floor)?

Was it not possible for the dealer to deliver and assemble the instrument in your home?

Kind regards,
James
x

I hope someone is passing down all the Novus’ issues to Kawai headquarters.
I don’t want a single hiss, squeak, wobble, missing screw, or misbehaving rod on future iterations.

Grab it, pull it up. When you get over the tipping point, pull back, lowering it slowly onto its feet.

It was, but I wanted to do it myself, hands-on. This way I was able to detect and fix the loose leg joints, for example.

Welcome to the thread, trebb!

That gallery with your pics is a great first post and a wonderful contribution to our "hands on" thread. Thank you!

The pictures are a great resource. Already now, from your pic of the front leg, we can shed some more light on the recent discussion about if there is a problem with the way how the front legs are attached. Now we know that the legs are not attached with the two small screws you can see, but actually with four larger screws behind the plastic cover, plus the two smaller screws that hold the cover (because those go through into the wood too).
If those six screws are tightened properly, then it should be impossible to break anything by lightly kicking the leg. So maybe that's something that vancedo should look into, i.e. if those screws under the plastic cover are tight.

6 weeks and unsuccessful fix? My patience and trust in Kawai start to loose despite the fact that I am pround of NV10. Speaking of issue, each time after I playback from USB, USB recording function stops working until I turn off and on again. Has anyone has the same problem?

Thank JoBert, those screw issues are gone now. As well as enjoying playing it, I also try my all to pick any kind of problem. Luckily I haven't yet seen any sound issue. Here is my setup, adding some light behind it make the piano's presence pop.

Wow! While not really my cup of tea, that really does pop. It's kind of a like Philips Ambilight for Piano

One question - do you play with those front lightstrip on? I may have poor technique working against me, but I would always find my hands smacking the lightstrip as I play.

I am trying to find a way to put it there. They can change to any color and effect. Those are not Phillips Hue. You can get so many other on amazon with $15 instead of $90 of Phillip.

I just received a call from piano movers hired by Kawai. They are bringing a new NV10 tomorrow morning. Great service. I sort of hate to see this one go, but I suppose I shouldn't know the difference.

Wow very detailed pictures, very cool!

Any idea what the tin foil is for?

That's because if you don't have it, the government lizard people can control your piano.

Please do keep us updated on any progress with this issue. I thought on my system it is present on all speakers, but I will check again to see if only the left side is affected. I find it also interesting that you say it comes and goes with different volume settings, I will check that as well as I thought it was always present on my system.

The 'brilliance' tone control when turned down can attenuate the noise, unfortunately it also dulls the piano sound.

It is really the last issue left with this otherwise fantastic unit, unfortunately it is quite annoying and difficult to ignore. The piano sound underneath the hiss/distortion is really phenomenal.

The speakers almost look like car audio-sized speaker components, I wonder if I swap the actual speakers with different parts for a test, if the issue will go away.

New piano made in May to replace the one I bought last February. Can you tell the difference?

Any issues with the “new” piano?
I’m wondering if Kawai’s taking note and correcting some of the -previously mentioned- issues as we speak.

To me, your issue seems to be different from trebb's. At least your symptoms seem to be different.

I can't remember if you've said it, but have you tried the Tone Control setting I mentioned?

Tom: Looks nice!
Are you sure it's a different piano?

The only issue I had was that the piano would turn off the speakers, showing that headphones were connected, when they were not. I have only played for an hour today, and it seems to be perfect. However, to your question, I think they have corrected the miscellaneous issues that have been mentioned on this thread. The Kawai distribution center in Southern California assembled this and it looks perfect. The pedal doesn't squeak and is even with the rest of them. There is no buzzing sounds from the speakers. And I bet if I were to look inside, I will find the wires wrapped in aluminum foil to prevent infiltration by "agents" from earth or elsewhere.

I am sure because I saw three giant guys muscle the old one out and the new one in. (Other than that I checked the serial number While under there I looked at all the screws, the empty screw holes, how secure the legs are to the body. It looks absolutely perfect. Love it and I swear it sounds better too! (jk)