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Hello again,
I have two problems with my CA98:
When playing somewhat silent, like in the evenings, I can hear something making noise on the right side. My guess is it's either a power button or the volume slider, as when my wife holds it with the hand, the noises go away.

Second, I think my G4 key has a problem. It's making more noise than other keys. Really noticeable when playing scales. It's kind of a klacking noise.

So, what's the problem and how do I go about this?

Thank you.

Contact Kawai (or your dealer) and find out how to get warranty service for your piano.

Hello Kosta, welcome to the forum, and congratulations on the purchase of your CA98.

May I ask where you are based, and if you have raised these two points with your dealer?

Regarding the first point, some early CA98/CA78 instruments could produce additional "digital" noise when the touchscreen and/or Bluetooth Audio functions were enabled. However, these issues were fixed in later production models. It might be necessary for your CA98 to be modified in order to prevent this noise.

Regarding the second point, it could be that one of the keys requires a little regulation/adjustment.

In both case, your Kawai dealer should be able to assist you.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
James
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Hi James,
I’m from Austria, and I bought my CA98 in December 2017 from an online company called Thomann.

Here are two videos of what I’m experiencing:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/l0ais6sikcltbm7/IMG_0861.MOV?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/aqij8vqh5qp2clv/IMG_0869.MOV?dl=0

And honestly, had I known back then that Novus is coming this year, I would have waited. It doesn’t have the right power button and slider which make these noises, and the action is way more stable - louder, but doesn’t tend to differently sound with different keys. It would have been worth the price to me.

Hello Kosta,

Thank you for your reply.

I’m not really sure what’s happening in the first video, and in the second it appears that one key makes a slightly different noise to the rest.

If these two points concern you, it’s probably to raise them with the retailer and/or Kawai Europe...assuming you have not done so already.

The Novus NV10 was previewed at Musikmesse in May 2017, formally announced by Kawai’s Japanese domestic sales division in July, and then by Kawai’s overseas sales division in October,

Kind regards,
James
x

Hello James,

The first video is showing a progressively louder playing chord in a 5th octave, and is showing how something (most likely volume slider and/or power button) start to vibrate and make noise.

The second video is showing the 4th octave, with F4 having a side-noise, kind of clicking, and G4 sounding different than any other key on the whole keyboard. And both are actually very distracting when playing at lower volumes in the evening.

And about the Novus: that might be right, however I was testing the keyboards at Klangfarbe in Vienna, which didn't have it yet. Neither Klangfarbe nor Thomann in Germany, both big music houses around these parts. I wouldn't know about these two problems I'm currently having, but I most likely wouldn't have ordered Novus at €10,000 just because it might be better, without proper testing.

Because of somewhat my history, I spent lots of time at Klangfarbe from September to Dezember 2017, deciding which to buy, and at first I thought of buying something at the way different price point, and decided for what Kawai had best at that time. Novus wasn't on the page as far as I can remember.

Hello Kosta. I have a Kawai ES110 with the EXACT same key noise issue, but mine does it on F1. How did you solve it? I returned my first ES110 because of this noise (among other problems) but the replacement unit also has it.

Regards.

RodrigoPon, the CA98 keyboard action is completely different to the ES110, so the issue you are experiencing is unlikely to be related.



Perhaps you would like to explain these points in your previous thread?

Kind regards,
James
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James, I'm pretry sure the problem is very similar if not the same even though the actions aren't the same. I recognize the noise in this video and in a lot other videos I've seen too, of different kawai pianos. Soon I will upload a video myself soon so you can check on it too.

The other problem I had is described on my previous thread, it was an internal speaker rattling
on F keys, but that got fixed with the replacement and, unlike the clicking noise, doesn't seem common:

https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...ai-es110-clicking-noise.html#Post2768892

'm still interested if anybody got to fix the clicking noise. Most of threads end up with either "I hate it but gotta live with it" or "I returned the piano and got the money back" but this one remains open. I would also like to hear OP's word on it.

Thanks for your answer.

Best regards.

Hi, I had a rattling issue on the master volume slider with some specific frequencies at around 2/3 volume. My quick fix was to insert a thin sheet of felt under the slider. Now I do not use the felt anymore but the rattling noise is gone. So, I guess the problem auto-corrected itself ;-)

I have no key clicking whatsoever on my CA98. But did you have a clicking issue on your original CA98 and also now on the replacement model? Since your DP is under warranty why don't you contact Kawai support? This probably just needs a quick adjustment to the action.

Arc7urus, I have an ES110 not a CA98. But what you said is what actually happened. I replaced it because of a clicking noise and the replacement has the exact same issue (which is the same issue as OP's video even if different pianos). My problem is that Kawai service is 600 km away from here, they won't send a technician and I have to pay the shipping, which I already did before and still didn't work. So I was thinking in trying to solve it myself, maybe open it up and see what's going on. The clicking actually stops when I hold the piano's cabinet with my hand pressing down a bit.

There may be other people on the forum that have already disassembled a ES110 and can help you. Not sure how easy it is to open this DP and if the problem would be easy to solve. Cheers!

Yeah that would be great! Maybe I should create a thread specifically asking for this. I'm kind of affraid to open it up, but I'm becoming inclined more and more in that way.

Thank you for your help!