I have a dilemma. I want to buy a digital piano for my nine year daughter. After browsing the web finally I restricted myself to Roland RP401 and Kawai CN25. Both are very nice regarding to the value for the price. One day wins Roland and another Kawai... Please, can you give some arguments/opinions/feelings helping me to decide ?

Why not let your daughter try them out?

To compare guaranty and repair conditions would also be a good indication of product quality.

I agree that a nine yo is probably able to formulate an opinion on which action and sound she likes better.

One thing that would be important to me: the Roland can record to USB-Stick. Its just WAV and not MP3, but that was a must-have for us.

If it were just these two, I'd be hard-pressed, because I like the Kawai sound and action a bit better than Roland, but I'd really like to have the USB recording for exchanging with friends and family.

Let your daughter decide, you can't go wrong and its probably good for motivation if she chooses.

@Nitran: nice alternatives... if I had a little more budget, I was thinking about these 2 as well...

I guess there will be some piano teacher helping your daughter? If you know the person, I would also suggest to ask the teacher as well. I would ask the teacher first, and then let the daughter comment...

The CN25 also has a USB output for recording wav/mp3.

I believe the RP401 is an older model. It was the equivalent of the F120. If you like the look, you might consider the F130R instead, that is the newer model in a different case.

You would need to try the actions. ISTR people thinking the F120/RP401 action was not as good as the CN24 action last year, but the F130R has a newer action that is supposed to be an improvement. The CN25 has also had action improvements as well.

I really like the case design of the F120/F130 but the music desk is not great. Depending on your height it is not great on any of these anyway though as the music is held pretty low.

I am afraid the CN-25 only has USB-to-host, not USB-to-device, which you need to insert a USB Stick and save stuff to it. I just doublechecked with the Kawai website.

For clarity from a Roland Guy.

The RP401R and the F-130R are both the most recent models from that series.

The F-120 and RP301 were more closely related as they came from the same series.

Jay

Thanks for clarifying that.

It kind of stinks Kawai did not put both USB to Host and USB to Device on the CN25... that's definitely an advantage for Roland.

I would not have your daughter involved with the decision at all ... UNLESS ... Her opinion is going to be the final decision.

Don't ask her which one she prefers and then get the other one.

I would not have her even touch/see any of the options unless she gets to decide.

Ben, the CN25 prioritises keyboard action and piano sound quality over additional features. The previous generation CN24 did not include 'USB to Host' functionality, so the inclusion of this additional port on the CN25 is a useful upgrade.

The higher specification CN35 provides both 'USB to Host' and 'USB to Device', along with the ability to play and record MP3/WAV audio files, and other features that take advantage of the instrument's larger control panel and LCD display.

Kind regards,
James
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Thanks, James. I had an opportunity to try just CN24 and Roland HP504 (so older version vs higher one). I am not a pianist (I play guitar), but still the action and sound of Kawai seemed to me better. But there are very nice reviews of Roland RP401 (Azpianonews) with a lot of additional features... But the action and sound are higher priorities...

I understand you are just repeating Kawai's marketing stance but it is unfortunate. There are $30 devices which have USB to host & USB to device capabilities and can do recording to MP3/WAV given an input. There is not much excuse for Kawai using this to differentiate between a $1900 piano and a $2800 one. The other DP manufacturers all seem to recognize this with 2015 models.

Besides, Kawai cut the midi ports in adding the USB to Host, it's not like this was a huge improvement over the CN24 or even really an upgrade, it is just a change in included functionality.

I know, it's a matter of individual feeling, but is the action and piano sound of CN25 really better than those of RP401?
That's my crucial question. If it is so, I would go for Kawai.

Just looked at the CN25 and 35 on my local dealers website. They are both considerably cheaper than the old CN24/34 models were, and have loads more stuff . . .got to be good! I`ll look into these myself. Better not tell the missus . . .

These 2 are quite different when you consider their features.

RP401R has hundreds of sounds, several rhythms and accompaniments, USB wave recording, (small) screen & iPad app (easier to navigate).
If you want these features, RP401 is more suitable for you.

CN25 is more piano-only type. It has less than 20 sounds, but half of them are pianos. There is no screen, no rhythm/accompaniment, and no USB recording.
It's more like turn on and play type of DP.

Action and sound are subjective. I don't think you can rely on online reviews or comments for decision.
I tried the previous generation CN24, and personally I preferred its action to Roland in the same price range.
Your daughter may feel the other way around.

I don't think one is better than the other. They are good for different preferences.

Hello Ben,



I'm partly responsible for shaping Kawai's marketing stance, so my response is not altogether unexpected.



Well, at least it doesn't stink any more.



No doubt there are, but those devices are probably produced in much larger quantities than any Kawai digital piano, and use 'off the shelf' components manufactured in even large quantities. I'm not an engineer, but I'm confident that if we could add 'USB to Device' functionality and MP3/WAV recording to the CN25 at just $30 extra, we'd already be doing it.



The Kawai CN25 competes primarily with the Yamaha CLP-525, which does not feature 'USB to Device' functionality, nor MP3/WAV recording. Both models were announced in 2014.



I'm afraid you are mistaken. The CN25 features both MIDI IN/OUT connectors and a 'USB to Host' port - here's an illustration from page 40 of the owner's manual:



However, it's true that other manufactures have shown a tendency to remove the standard MIDI IN/OUT connectors when adding USB.

Kind regards,
James
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The forum's suggestions helped me to decide by visiting the dealers even though they were 75 miles from me.I spent lots of time playing, testing,etc. I decided on the Kawai CN 25.
It was an easy call after trying the other brands in that class. Thanks forum for getting me off the endless internet reviews and into the dealers. Very pleased with the Kawai CN 25 sound and touch. For me it was what made the difference.

KawaiRay, thank you for your post, and welcome to the forum.

I'm glad to read that you are happy with your CN25.

Kind regards,
James
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I've preferred Roland RP401R.
It offers more technology than Kawai and also a good keybed.
I'm still thinking Kawai is good as well, but in my honest opinion CN25 has no good sound samples (in terms of quality and not of beauty, I mean), even if I like very much the warm sound its has.
I often like the clear&clean sound, not only amplified by the volume of the speakers.
Also, I've paid the Roland 250 less than its normal price (that it's €1200).
So: it was a great offer to me!

Kind Regards,
M.A.