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Yes, the NV10 was a massive upgrade for me.

On paper it wouldn't seem so, yet my level of satisfaction and joy of playing the piano shot up immensely after the CA98 to NV10 upgrade.

It's hard to pinpoint any advantages other than the obvious -- grand action, realistic damper action, sound system (for playing piano) are all significant to me. From a furniture perspective, the design and finish is certainly more beautiful and inspiring as well.

What else is there? Ultimately, the NV10 needs to compete with baby grands -- then the discussion becomes a digital versus acoustic one.

I don't understand that. My mere P-515 slab (2x 15 W + 2x 5 W) sounds just fine when used as a Bluetooth speaker. And it sees much use lately as a guitar accompaniment device, as it can also play rhythms and bass lines with chord detection. I never intended to use it that way, when I bought it, but that is what happened.

Seif I do agree with you 👍: there must be (good quality) speaker+subwoofer setup that could give an outstanding sound to the NV-10 ... but for now it's exactly as you say: the NV10 speaker system is quite disappointing for the price tag.

The idea of the soundboard to me (I don't know for Pete and ˆTomLCˆ) made sense because I tried the NV-5 which has one and the sound was more convincing, clear and powerful to my ear. Plus, it would fit the concept of a real grand-like hybrid, with the hope that Kawai is perhaps more experienced there than with hifi (even with Onkyo, which is I believe not really seen as an industry leader).

Otherwise the action rating is on point 🙃, I am just in a situation where I anyway have to wait before taking the purchase decision - otherwise I'd have bought the NV-10 already, so I want to see if Kawai annonces a grand-shaped hybrid 🔮.

Right after unboxing the NV10, when I first connected my audio interface's line out to the NV10's line in, I felt a heartbreak. I was totally under the impression that the woofer is not working, and that I received a faulty unit. Knowing that I shipped it from a different country, I was so disappointed, as it would be very difficult to get it serviced.

Then I found out that the woofer is actually working, but it is just a very very low bass. It is well tuned and engineered for you to listen to nice piano sound, but not to listen to music, at all.

The sound does not match the specifications or the price range of the NV10 at all. But I can easily say that the Amazon Alexa and Apple Home Pod, that I consider commercial main stream speakers, sound much better than the NV10 out of the box.

I still think it may be an EQ setting. But I will dig deeper into this on the weekend.

If anyone has a different experience with their NV10, or have an insight about where to start, please let me know.

Sounds like music to my ears. Before considering the NV10, I was going to buy the CA79/99.

My experience with the NV10's speakers has been more or less the same. I found the sound through speakers so disappointing (only talking about sound when playing piano with the internal voices) that I immediately switched to headphones. Even with volume at max the sound lacked stage. From that perspective, the NU1X did a much better job imo.

This leads me to think: could Kawai/Onkyo have engineered the sound system better, given the constraints of a (relatively) compact form factor and the presence of a full grand action? How does the N1X compare, for example? I definitely value compactness and action over sound system, so I'd still pick the NV10.

I value ‘compactness’ to a certain extent; in other words, I don’t want/need a concert grand sized piano in my living space; however, I don’t want compactness to come at the expense of sound quality.

The NV-10 is big enough for it to sound well-balanced and full; there is still enough space in there (despite the action) to get creative with the speakers and their corresponding placement.

I suppose the best argument in my defense is your own assessment about the NU1X’s sound; “it did a better job,” you say, yet the NU1X is much more compact than the NV-10, and yes, it also has to share this space with an acoustic action.


Yours kumbaya,

Pete😌

(Read your post a second too late, Pete ;))

Also, does the Novus need to be grand-shaped to sound "better"? I can imagine a horizontal soundboard would make it easier to make the sound projection similar to how sound is produced by an acoustic grand, but a NV15 with vertical soundboard and/or a more powerful or better designed speaker system would also represent an improvement in terms of sound, no? Unless one is after the looks of a grand, this would have a smaller footprint.

I favor the horizontal soundboard or even speakers in a baby cabinet mainly because there’s little to no obstruction. I find that with ‘upright’ cabinets the speakers are tucked-in under serious obstruction; this despite some manufacturers using extra ‘escapement ports’; as the name suggests, the sound has to escape; whereas, the baby grand form factor simply allows the sound to be:

one devoid of obstruction, one in perfect-balance, and one resonating to the pulse of the universe.


Namaste😌

After the warranty period, I may consider the idea of retrofitting the NV10’s speakers and replace them with something like Paradigm CI Elite speakers.

This might require changing the amplifier as well or at least the frequency crossover.

This retrofit, plus an external subwoofer should be remarkably better than the existing Onkyo setup.

Does anyone have a photo showing how much empty space is available between the top of the cabinet and the action?

My photos don't give the best angle, but there's a decent amount of space below the top lid, even in the back where the hammers rise:









I've always thought you could get some beefier drivers in there, and it might even add to the realism if they're completely enclosed by the cabinet.

Why didn’t Kawai include ‘beefier’ drivers? It’s not like the NV-10 is cheap.

Who knows if they'd actually be better? I'm just guessing that you might be able to replace the 4" with 5" and the 6" sub with an 8", but maybe it'd sound horrible. We had a Roland RD-300NX hooked up to some massive 12+" PA, and it sounded anything but good imo.

Kawai put beefier speakers in the ES920 vs the P515, yet Pete14 remains unimpressed.

FWIW, you can see the external speakers Kawai used when presenting the NV10 here:

Hey, there's Kawai James

I'm not entirely certain, but I believe that the external monitors in that video were only for the accompaniment and orchestra parts, and not for the piano output.

Also, IIRC, this was the first public reveal of the NV-10 and SK-EX Rendering/Pianist Mode wasn't completed at the time so the piano was actually limited to Sound Mode.

Hello!


Correct!


Also correct! This was indeed the very first public presentation too, hence the nerves and fluffed explanation!

If my memory serves me correctly, the "Pianist" mode tab of the UI was functioning, however the SK-EX Rendering engine itself was not ready, so produced no sound. Representatives from other manufacturers would frequently enter the booth during the "free time" in between presentation sessions, and sneakily switch the UI from "Sound" mode to the non-functioning "Pianist" mode, to give other visitors the impression that the instrument was broken.

Great memories!

Cheers,
James
x

Nice! Thank you both for the correction.

Well, if the NV10 filled that room on its own (to the point where competitors felt the need to sabotage it!), then the sound system is certainly beefy enough for a piano.

Great photos... Thanks Gombessa.

I think they were focused on how it sounds as a piano. They did a great job on that part. The problem I have is with it’s sound as an external speaker system.

I know how that feels. I have an ebike that is really great for cycling - great build quality, lots of fun to ride. They did a great job on that part. The problem I have is with its limited usefulness for stock car racing.