Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai announces ES920 and ES520 portable digital pianos

Hi James,
I don't know what it was, but there sure was the difference. I went from one to the other at least three times because it really puzzled me, I'd buy the ES8 then if the keys were like in the CN39. The CN39 bounced a little bit too, but not annoyingly. I thought maybe because it was brand new, or revised RHIII? I don't know how the ES920 compares, except from the video. I hope you Kawai guys figure it out, it could be a simple issue of damping band material and thickness.

I was about to buy the ES110 but now I see that the ES520 is here and wonder if the price difference can justify it?
The ES520 is twice as expensive as the ES110 here (EU).
I just need a good DP with a decent action for daily practice.

Here's my dilemma. I have a FP90 and would like to switch to something with better sound. The FP90, though, has terrific build quality and action that I love. I haven't played the ES920 yet, but going on the reviews, I suspect the sound is superior but the build quality a good deal poorer. How bout a DP that combines superior action, sound, and build quality and is in same general price range? I could spend maybe a few hundred more, but not much beyond that.

There's no need to worry about the build quality of the ES920. It's well built, but with plastic.

There's a slight paradox here. You either have a robust metal piano that's difficult to move, or a lighter weight plastic piano that's slightly less robust.

If you're looking for something with a superior tone, a high level of robustness, you don't need to physically move it, and you're happy to pay a bit more, have you looked for an equivalent outside of the portable DP range?

Hello I have a es110 recently, my teacher has acoustic piano and it is a problem for me.. i feel heavier. Right now i am using touch heavy in es110 and it is best for me. I am thinking to buy a new piano. I dont know wich buy, es920, ca59 or yamaha p515, p515 very heavy? Help me

My piano mostly sits on one place and, if it has to be moved, it's simply to another room so the weight doesn't matter much. (The fp90 weights a LOT but fortunately I haven't had to move it since bringing it home). The build quality matters a lot to me, but if the ES920 is solidly built using plastic, that might be OK. I haven't checked out non-portable pianos because of the rare instance when I might want to move the piano within my house. The room where the fp90 sits is not air conditioned room so it would be nice to move the unit to cooler quarters in the summer (the rest of my house has a/c). That said, it might be worth checking out a non-portable option just to see what additional quality I can get for, say, a few hundred more. It goes without saying that most of us, yours truly included, are chasing the holy grail in DPs and may never be satisfied.

A software VST might be your answer?

You should try them, which feels closer to your teacher's AP, and feels and sounds better. Or maybe a good used acoustic piano is a better idea. Ask your teacher...

The P515 is "crusty" - heavy at the top, then very soon becomes soft. The Rolands with PHA4 keys (FP30X, FP60X...) are like Kawai soft initially, but get heavier lower down.

You should try the real thing instead of suspecting. One really good competitor can be the Yamaha P515.

I suppose that between slab pianos, this 3 models are in the best models. If you don’t need integrated speakers, scene pianos can be a good alternative and they are built to be carried around (build quality). Roland RD2000 or RD88, Yamaha CP88, Kawai MP7SE or MP11SE.

Not to complicate things, but the Roland FP-90X was recently announced too, which I'm interested to see compared to the ES920, particularly in terms of sound since it upgrades the modeling engine from the FP-90.

I think the 90x MSRP is about 50% more costly than the 920. Not sure what it will actually sell for.

Imagine if you could actually go to a store and they actually had these in stock and you could compare them...

Thanks everybody.. i like yamaha p515 but everybody says the keys are very heavy thanks acoustic piano and I don’t like that.. i like es110 and now using touch it is improve my experience

Once COVID breaks, I'll try out everything. But are you suggesting that stage pianos with external amplified speakers might be a better choice than digitals with built-in speakers? Or is build quality the main difference? In any event, I'll need to try out all the alternatives. With a stage piano, I'd have to wedge speakers into the small study where I play, but if there's a quantum leap in sound quality, it might be worth it.

Commonly, stage pianos without internal speakers tend to be more professional and higher quality both in terms of sound, action and build quality than those with built-in speakers. There are exceptions (ES920 uses same sounds as MP11SE, but action and build of MP11SE are out of this world), but this is mostly true.

Sweetwater has the FP-90X listed at $2,200 (of course, they don't have any yet), while I believe the ES920 goes for around $1,600. I'm not sure what would justify that much of a premium...

For the uk the fp90x seems to retail at around £300 (£1,671) more than the es920 (£1,369) , and the es920 is £40 less or so than the p515 (£1,409). I have no idea why it's so much more expensive. I mean, is there some magic that's worth £300? The new modelling is cool, sure, but I don't know if it'll even surpass the normal sampling method of the others.

The fp60x is about £6-700 cheaper, and seems to be directly competing with the es520. Both around a grand.

Speakers built in or not built in are the exact same technology, just with built in speakers there’s huge constraints on size and placement and housing and you’re letting the manufacturer chose the budget.

If you have the budget, and space, and don’t mind the look or lack of portability... in theory, yes, external speakers are far superior. However with real life constraints of budget and acoustic space it’s not uncommon for people to prefer in built speakers. There’s also a question of whether the actual digital sound signal you’re listening to is worth hearing in uber high quality. Or whether it’s necessary for your goals or enjoyment of home piano playing.

Many people are happy with built in tv speakers. And the $15 earbuds that come free with a phone. Other people spend $200 on gold tipped audio cables. Just have to find what works for you.

I wonder if the F-302 triple pedal bar and the GFP-3 pedal for es520 & es920 are identical when it comes to features etc.?

Found it on Kawai’s site:

https://www.kawai-global.com/product_comparison/detail.php?n=f-302,gfp-3&ct=101

Digital piano triple pedal bar: F-302
Digital piano triple pedal unit with half-pedal support: GFP-3

So if you need half-pedal support you better go for the GFP-3