Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards CA 67or CA 78?

Hi all, this is my first post after lurking for some time!

I have an opportunity to purchase a CA 67 for £1275 or a CA 78 for £1825.

For me, I will be playing mostly with headphones or at very low volume. The most important aspect of the DP will be the action. I will not be upgrading from this purchase for as long as possible. My budget is £1800, but saving £550 is nice if I am not giving up too much.

Can you all give me some feedback on how you all feel?

Both of those are very good prices. Bonners Music is currently showing the CA78 for £2638 which is generally a good price for the UK. I purchased a CA67 about 18 months ago at £2000.

So I have the CA67 and with headphones its wonderful. Apart from wanting a real acoustic grand, and discovering that even with the GF2 action in my CA67 that isn't as good as the Novus 10 or Yamaha N1X, or the Furich Grands that I have my long term eye on, I can't fault it. All sort of little conveniences exist that I am not sure exist even on the CA78 - adjustable line in volume - so I can mix the sound from Piano Marvel with my own playing, or the ability to record a song on the internal record and then output it as a WAV or MP3 file (I normally use WAV and convert to MP3 using Audacity on my desktop, when submitting the recordings to the Adult Beginners Forum recitals, or the fact that I was able to use the Virtual Technician to adjust the tone and touch to my liking and then save it so it comes up automatically with those setting on power on.

I don't like the sound when playing without headphones. But my long term aim of buying an acoustic grand will solve that problem.

I think the only thing you are giving up is Pianist Mode with the Touch Screen. I haven't used it enough to really comment on whether Pianist Mode is enough to warrant the difference (I believe @Jobert once commented that the upgrade for CA97 to CA98 would not have been worth it) - and I am not sure of all those little conveniences I speak about above are available in in the more expensive model.

Thank you akc42 for your thoughtful reply!

You noted that you do not like the sound when playing without headphones. Is that helped or worsened when playing at low volumes?

Definitely CA78, better sound engine is worth it.

Its better at low volumes - but the overall sound is too bright for my liking with it almost like something is resonating with some of the keys. I have often wondered if there is something resonating close by the piano - but I tried moving most of the stuff and it hasn't gone away. It might be in the piano itself

Hi Nordomus, thank you for your input!

Is the sound engine worth the extra £550 if I will be mostly playing it at very low volumes or through headphones?

I admit that there is a chance in the future that I will move to a new location that may allow me to play at greater volumes. Perhaps then, I will want the better sound engine. But for now, is it worth it?

Honestly I'm not sure, you have to judge it by yourself. Depends on too many factors. If I have money then for me it's almost always worth it to get better keyboard/sound.

Yes, I've said that I would not have upgraded my CA97, that I already owned, to a CA98. But only because I already owned the CA97 and did not feel that the differences merited a replacement.

But I've also said, and I still think so, that if I did not yet own a CA97/67 and would have to choose between buying either a CA97/67 or the newer CA98/78, then I would choose the latter without a doubt. Because of the new pianist mode.

What is your skill level? What are you playing? How many hours a day you are practicing?

I consider myself as intermediate. I play mostly classical and hymns. I will be practicing around 1.5 hours a day.

Hello Jnthn, welcome to the forum.

Those prices are very competitive - especially for the CA78.

If you already have (or are planning to use) virtual piano software to expand the range of sounds available to you, I would consider the CA67. However, if you would prefer to continue to play a standalone instrument, I would pay the extra and purchase the CA78 - this current generation instrument will sound better through both headphones and speakers, has additional features such as Bluetooth, and will maintain its value for longer.

Kind regards,
James
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Thank you James for your reply!

You said that the CA78 will sound better through the headphones as well. I was under the impression that they are supposed to sound exactly the same through headphones?

Hello Jnthn,

As others have noted above, the CA78 features the new "SK-EX Rendering" sound engine (aka "Pianist" mode), which produces a more realistic piano sound than the CA67's "Harmonic XL" sound engine (which is still available on the CA78 as "Sound" mode). Moreover, the CA78' audio processing and amplification circuitry (including the headphone amp) is developed by Onkyo, delivering a much clearer sound than the CA67.

Kind regards,
James
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