Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards KAWAI CA 78 FIRST IMPRESSION

[b][/b]
Hello...

At last My CA 78 with Bench arrived on 19th September.
(With New Update Software v1.02)

Here is my First Impression after using it for 10 days..

1) Design:- Elegant degital Piano with Premium Rosewood finish.

Built like a Tank.When you sit down in front of the Piano,you realize right away.

It's feel Premium quality Instrument to me.

2)Touch :- The feel & Touch are extreemly important, if you want to get close as possible to real Acoustic Piano Playing Experience, & Kawai CA 78 doesn't disapointed me.

Very Smooth & Feel nice to touch,Thanx to Ivory Key surface which feels Premium to me.

Very good Natural feel GF II Piano Action...
It's very easy to adjust to Acoustic Piano after Playing GF II Action,Since it does feel very close to Acoustic Piano(In my case its Upright Piano,don't have chance to Grand Piano)

3) Sounds:- Incredible Rich
Piano Sounds with New Engine/ Pianist Mode.

All 3 flagship Shigeru SK EX Grand/EX Concert Grand & SK 5 Chamber Grand Sounded beautiful to my ears.

Among Other Piano Sounds,I'd also like to highlight the Upright Piano/Pop/Piano Slow String.

4) Touch Screen:- Very good & easy to operate.

Works Flawlessly without any issue with this new software updates.

Which Shows information about currently sellected Parameters

Screen shut down completly if you like.

Most issue here..Rectified by KAWAI
with new update.

I Use Kingston Traveler 16 GB Usb Pendrive which works fine.

5)Speakers: I expected a bit more from the speakers is that Playing through the speakers(compare to demo song playing which is too loud) at full Volume quiter than i expected but they are fine as well.

6) Sounds through Headphone Great.
Bought Sennheiser HD 598SR & works Fantastic...

I "feel' CA 78 lacks Low bass, may be to my ear only?

LASTLY.. I am satiesfied with Purchase & Thouroughly enjoying Playing it.

THANK YOU KAWAI for this Beautiful Piano.

SORRY for long Post...

Above mention review is solely my personal experience...others may feel different..

THANK YOU ALL WHO SHARE THEIR ADVICE/EXPERIENCE/SUGGESTION
WITH ME.

Gandhi

Thanks for your review Gandhi.

I have the exact same finish as you (Rosewood), and now they released the ebony black, why can't they release all at the same time?! ARRGGHHH... I would have gotten the Ebony polish without a second thought! (I love polished finishes!)

Anyway, I feel that the speakers are loud enough at full volume - even louder than my two uprights - but has less "fullness". Though, contrary to your experience, I feel the bass is a little too "boomy" and becomes muddled when you hit several bass notes at the same time. What is your opinion of that?

I agree that the 'pianist' mode is beautiful, has character & nuance and also rich.

Having played one again for an hour this morning I wasn't as impressed as when I originally played it. Yes - base did seem to lack a little and I actually preferred the Yamahas - CLP645 and CV701, but not the NUiX.

I think first impressions can sometimes be a bit misleading and that you need to sample pianos over a period of time to pick up on the various nuances and differences.

Moving the piano just a bit in any direction can impact bass quite a bit. Try moving say a few cm, 50 cm, 1m, 2m in various directions to see how the piano and room interact. A different room may sound differently.

Generally you might get more bass closer to a wall, and even more closer to a corner. Not always.

Hi...

I would have also gotten Ebony Polish.

Speakers are loud enough while playing Demo songs but. Compare to while playing i find little lower in volume .

Regarding Bass you may be right because I feel confused because of changing position of Piano.

Gandhi

I am agree with your saying misleading impression

Thank you for your input.

Gandhi

Hi

Thank you for your suggestion..

I am trying various position moving piano in different direction

Let me try n check for few days

Gandhi

Welcome to the CA 78 club! Great that you sound generally very happy with it.

Most acoustic pianos will also seem lacking in the bass. Maybe a Kawai update will provide you with a (optional) squeaky pedal. . . .

Can you check the 'Speaker Volume' setting under 'Sound Settings' Ghandi? This can be set to low or normal. Maybe its set to low in your case?

Also bass can be adjusted under Tone Control settings.

Hmmm acoustic pianos are lacking in the bass compared to what? I mean, they are a piano, they sound like a piano.

That said, even comparing an acoustic piano with general recorded and reproduced music I don't think they seem lacking in the bass. Certainly my U3 doesn't and that isn't some full size grand either. I think it takes some rather decent speakers and amps, a bit more than you find in most DPs, to match the bass output of say a mid size upright piano.

Hi...

Yes i am very happy with my CA 78.

Thank you for including me in CA 78.

Gandhi

Hi

Good Point..Thank you for your Suggestion..

Will Check sound setting/Tone control setting..

I will able to check this after 3/4 days as i am not in Town.

Gandhi.

Hi...
Sorry i was out of Town..

I tried 2 different settings in Tone Control.

1} Loudness :-Emphasies frequencies to retain the instrument's sound character when Playing at Low volume Level.

This improved overall loudness.

2)Bass Boost:-Emphasises law frequencies creating a deeper sound.
with this setting there is "acceptable " CHANGES found..

I Think it's working..

Bass improved ...But required tonal clearity quality is missing.

That's what i feel..

Thank you for your suggestion.

Gandhi

Gandhi, have you tried setting the touch (in the Virtual Technician) to "Light" instead of "Normal"?

With "Touch: Normal", the velocity values that are generated by the sensors top out at a lower level (when playing ff) than with "Touch: Light". And a higher velocity (as can be achieved with Light) also means more volume when playing ff and fff.

Doesn't this have a negative effect when one wants to play pp or p even though? Especially fast, say like Fur Elise (the middle section when it speeds up)?

Maybe my technique as I have always found a fast(ish) pianissimo to be next to impossible when changing touch to light...

Everyone is different of course. I always played my CA97 with Light and it worked fine for me (same with the NV10 now, but that of course has a different action).

Hi JoBert...

Thank you very much. I was expecting you to comment.
& was waiting for your expert opinion/input.

Yes i agree with you.

I tried Light Touch.There is more loudness/volume

But Touch becomes too light for me.which i don't preffer.

I like Normal Touch compare to light.

Gandhi