Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Is my room too small for a Kawai GX3?

I'm currently considering purchasing a Kawai GX3 but im a bit worried that the size of the piano will overwhelm my room.
I plan to place the piano in a 4.83 x 3.85 squared meters room, with a ceiling height of 3.16 meters.

The room size is not ideal, but i'm wondering if the GX3 could work? or should i consider getting a GX2 even though im not very impressed with its sound (to be honest, im judging the sound based on youtube videos).

Another thing that im worried about is disturbing my family due to the piano's loudness, im not sure how loud the piano will be when placed in the room. though keep in mind that the piano will be placed on the ground floor, and all my family have rooms in the first floor, and the house is made of concrete and not wood which should help block the noise i guess.

Would love to know what you guys think.

IMO, it is just okay, because your room ceiling height is high.

The general formula for maximum size is room perimeter divided by 10 for a 2.4 meter ceiling room.

You keep on quoting that formula as if it's the only factor, but as I have pointed out in several posts, there are at least ten other factors that determine if a piano is too big for a particular space.

If it fits, it sits. 😂😂😂

NightShade, here is an article on the subject:

https://www.pianobuyer.com/article/how-to-make-a-piano-room-sound-grand/

That’s a cat’s life motto... but not always true for pianos 🙀

😹😹😹

My cat sits where it doesn’t fits all the time!

I have a slightly larger piano (6'3") in a room with a smaller footprint (maybe 15' x 12.5'). It sounds really fine. I do have a 17' peaked ceiling, however, which helps warm the sound.

I think a lot depends on the use of the room.

In my music room I have the C Bechstein B. That is a 2 metre long machine. The room is 4.2 m x 5.1 m. so it's almost spot on for the 10x formula. It looks "right" for that room and the sound is wonderful. In the ballroom I have the 9' Bluthner. That is well below the 10 x formula of course. A dealer for whom I have tremendous respect said to me "Anything smaller than a 9' piano in a ballroom looks like an afterthought". I think he is correct.

Would I consider putting a 9' piano in the music room? Frankly yes. It would look as if it dominated the room but that is OK in a music room as the music room isn't used for anythingf else. If it were in a main living room of that size I don't think I would do it.

Thank you guys for your help, i think im however more confused now than when i asked the question :P
I think im gonna take my time before making the purchase, im even considering buying the GX3 with the silent system installed though i do not know if thats a good idea, or how adding the silent system will affect the price.

Sorry, I was being flippant and not very helpful. 🙏

I have a 5’4” in a 10’ x 12’ room and it’s perfectly fine. I do have carpeting, and the room was used as a music room before we bought it, so it also has carpeting part way up 2 walls. The sound is really nice and doesn’t bounce all around. It has one door in/out and an 8’ ceiling. The room is on the ground floor and my playing doesn’t seem to bother anyone in the house.

The GX3 is 11” longer than my piano, but your ceilings are 2 feet higher than mine, and you have quite a bit more space than I do. Honestly, I can’t see it being an issue. If I had that space and I could afford it, I’d absolutely feel comfortable having a 6’3” grand if that space.

The silent system is another matter. Do your research thoroughly before making that decision. 😊👍

Gonna say this as simply as I can ...

That ... space ... is ... perfectly ... fine ... for ... a piano ... of ... that ... size!

I think the size would be fine, but if it's causing you stress you can ask your dealer if they would let you try the piano for a trial period in your home. You'd of course have to pay for moving but it might help set your mind at ease

And if the piano is too loud, don't forget that you can do all sorts of room treatments like rugs and wall tapestries. There is also the option of piano voicing (although there's always a risk that you may not like the result of voicing).

I think it is the best if you can follow the advices from Twocats: try the piano or other piano with similar size before purchase confirmation. From my experiences and my learning from this forum, there are many considerations about piano size vs room size:
1. Room perimeter and height as you knew.
2. Piano placement: if you can follow the article from Hakki, it is ideal. Sometimes, you can have uncomfortable sounds with different placement in same room size. In my case my room is 6x3m but I put the piano (1.57m long) close to the corner (there are many other furniture in the room) so bass sounds are louder and not clear.
3. Room acoustic features: hard surface? glass surface? ....
4. The lid close or open OR piano cover is thick or thin.....?
5. Finally your and your family's perception and preference to piano sounds: in my case I feel my piano is too loud and harsh in my room so I have to do many acoustic treatments but some others are still comfortable with bigger piano in smaller room.
Don't forget the final solution from Twocats and other members: you can change the room acoustic features with some simple furniture or even you can use professional materials: sound absorption panel, bass traps...

You've received some great advice and IMO the GX3 would probably be fine in your room. I thought I'd bring up something no one else has mentioned. My experience is with the older RX2 and RX3 models, frankly I couldn't hear much of a difference. Since you're comparing their sound based on Youtube videos, be open to the concept that, in real life, you may not hear much of a difference at all. I get that 12 cm should make a difference, at least in the bass, but there won't be a big difference in volume and I never heard much of a difference in the timbre of the bass. The sonics on Youtube are awful at best and there may be significant differences based on how the pianos were recorded which have nothing to do with what they sound like in real life.

I really wish that i could try it on my room before purchasing it but that unfortunately is not an option since the dealer will order the piano specifically for me.

Thank you guys for your help i feel better now about making my decision, i think i'm gonna wait for a bit before making the purchase.

Also, do you guys think that this video is an accurate representation of the GX3 sound ? (Link)

i remember that the Pianist in the video wrote that he performs some EQ editing for his video (not sure what that does exactly) but i find it hard to believe that the piano can sound that good. its either that or most videos of the GX3 in youtube are untuned.

I don't think the GX series is available in the ATX versions, only the GL series. Or are you talking about an aftermarket silent system? There are lots of threads on the topic, but one view is that you're better off buying a quality digital instead of adding the silent feature.

Actually, if you check page 17 in the GX brochure (link: https://www.kawai-global.com/data/catalogue/GX_brochure_EN.pdf)
the fine print says that the silent system is not available for GX6/7 which implies that it is available for the other GX models.

Still, do you think that keeping my current digital piano and getting a regular GX would be better than a GX with a silent system?