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As far as I'm concerned, the problem of distortion is also in the headphones, even if the sound is a little better.
As far as the technical aspects are concerned, I do not understand it, and I have to trust Kawai, even though I do not understand why a sampling problem does not affect ALL NV10s, but only a few.
In any case, it will be necessary that the problem be solved, because I do not think that the people affected by this problem will give up to obtain satisfaction after an investment of 8000 euros to satisfy their passion.

Is it safe to say we’re all still buzzing over the NV10?

Oh Dear, what have I done...😩

We live in a country with no Kawai dealership.
Passing all the hurdles of inter continental transport and taxes, I have ordered my NV 10 from a neighboring country.

This would be my second attempt to own a piano this season.
The first being a CA 97 dropped and damaged by the airways supposed to deliver.
(Case severely damaged and does not start up . . . Not even a light - Airline insurance = 45 days until they reply to your claim)

This time via road transport for 2400 km to it's new home.
You guys tell me that I have ordered a "super expensive hummingbird" 🐦

I need a drink, seriously

OK! You have ordered a super expensive hummingbird!

You may have ordered such a bird.
Not all NV10's are affected (my personal impression, and only from this thread here, is, that it's a minority, but a non-negligible minority). And some of the affected ones can still be tamed with the built-in equalizer (Tone Control).
So cross your fingers and hope that your's is fine. And have that drink while you're waiting...

Do you know when it will be delivered?

Congrats FSi!

Hopefully it arrives in good shape. Do you know if it's being shipped pre-assembled or new-in-box(es)? I've had an unfortunate instance of shipping damage on one NV10 I ordered before, and my dealer believes it has something to do with how they package up the legs. Hopefully you don't have any delivery issues (and that you have proper shipping insurance in case you have trouble with cross-border warranty issues).

FSI, Welcome to the Forum and our little group of NV10 owners. You can get good advice, if you need it, with assembly. Or maybe regulating the sustain pedal from some of the “experts” that hang out here; like Gombessa and JoBert.

It seems like a 1500 mile truck ride is long. However, these pianos are shipped all over the world without a problem. Let us know when you get it and maybe send a picture? Congrats!

Thank you. Will definitely ask for assistance 😊

I’m sure they don’t mind my offering their time and knowledge.

I hope this is true and it will improve the overall sound. Currently none of the samples are satisfying for me. They sound bland and muddy af. Currently the sound seems to be more muffled than before one or two weeks without changing any settings. Maybe some sort of sound inertia or whatever.

Hello FSi, welcome to the forum.



May I ask where you are based (is it really Swakopmund, off the coast of Namibia?), and the processes you went through in order to purchase the NV10, please? Am I correct in thinking that your purchased the instrument from South Africa?

Kind regards,
James
x

Had my second hands on-experience with the NV10 today. Played it extensively, and compared it with other DP's from Kawai and several acoustic pianos which were also in the shop.

The action is mindblowing. Not just compared to other DP's, but compared to quite a lot of mid-tier acoustic grands as well. This is really an amazing feat of engineering from Kawai.

But I still think the onboard sound from the speakers is underwhelming for a DP this expensive. It just can't compare to how a good acoustic piano generates sound, be it upright or grand. I don't think it's close at all. I actually still prefer the sound and "sonic feel" of the CS10 and CS11, probably because of the sound board. With headphones I handily preferred the NV10.

My dream digital instrument, which I guess will never materialize, is a VPC-1 kind of keyboard with only the NV10 action, midi out and nothing else. But offering such an instrument would jeopardize sales of the NV10, so I guess it won't happen for five years at the very least...

Well, Kawai could make an VPC-like NV-10 controller. It would likely be $10k or $11k versus $12k list for the NV-10. Does that work for everyone seeking a piano-controller only model? At that price, how many people would just pay the extra 8% for the built-in sound engine and speakers?

I agree, at that price point there wouldn't be any point in not getting the NV-10. Personally, if I get the means in the future, I could be willing to pay up to $6k for a "VPC-10" I think. Hopefully it would also be neater and lighter than the NV-10.

A new Yamaha N1 can be found for around $5k in Europe. That's basically a controller with a good hybrid action and minimal sound.

After more than 6 months of testing and experimenting with the NV10, i sell it to another person.

It's a great instrument and it has a wonderful playing experience but i can't dive into the build in sounds. I tried everything to tweak the sound (pianist or sound mode) but it doesn't satisfy me in a sense that i can live with that. I'm just also not interested in building a VST setup, so i can't justify the price to my expectations for this instrument. I need a simple instrument with good speaker setup, with a bunch of build in sounds with distinct and (good sounding) samples that are different enough to fit different types of songs. Both aren't the strength of the Novus for me.

With that in mind i visited my local dealer and tested the NU1X which fits my interests the most. It's simple. It sounds great via Speakers and headphones. The action is good and the loud note issue wasn't appearing, even after smashing the key like an olympics game on the good old C64. Plus it costs half a novus.

But good news: My dealer is close to the european Kawai location in Krefeld, Germany and said that Kawai is planning a new sound chip and samples for the novus instead of using the same like the CA98. I don't know if that's true but he talked about it without asking for knowing future improvements. So it seems there is something on the horizon for NV10 users.

Well, that is unlikely to be good news for current NV10 users. When hardware is changed, it rarely is good news for current owners as updating hardware is rarely done except for defects - it's not as easy as applying a software patch. An NV10SE or NV11 would only be good news for future buyers.

The buzzing is still there with headphones. At this point I have just learned to ignore it and pray that kawai finds the issue and is able to fix it. I suspect that many people dont even realise that they suffer the issue. It took me a long time to notice it (a few months) because it is quite subtle and only on certain notes/combinations but once you hear it, you cannot unhear it unfortunately. It is good news that they might have recognized the issue.

Could you give us an example of a particular note combination where the buzzing is strongest for you with headphones? I am going to be going to a dealer soon to test out the C98 and NV10 and want to check if this issue is unbearable for me.

If Kawai isn't being completely silly, they better have a solution for current customers.