Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai Novus NV10 - Hands On

Thank you!

Two questions, if you don't mind:

1) Personally, I loved the AG action compared to the Kawai GFII (CA78) action. So I'm wondering, is the NV10 action nearer to the AG action or nearer to the GFII action, or completely different?

2) Did you have any chance to compare the NV10 speakers to N1, N2 and N3 speakers? Which AG would you say the NV10 speakers come closest to?

I can chime in on that, although I played the N1 only for a short time (but the GFII for more than two years).

I would say the NV10 and AG actions are different, but in a similar group. The GFII is in a different group.
I'm not dissing the GFII, it's a fine action, but it's different enough.

My answer here seem a bit contradictory....

But as to 1), I love the GF1 action too. It's the first digital piano action that truly let me move between an acoustic grand and the digital with almost no difference in playing technique/feel. But compared to a grand action, it doesn't feel the same (hence, the Novus I guess). So I think the NV-10 and AG actions are MUCH more similar to each other than the GF1/GF2 action is to the AG action. Perhaps the best way to describe it is that I felt the AG is a real acoustic action that I didn't personally like very much, but it is still an undeniably acoustic grand action.

2. The NV-10 and AGs were in different shops and much different spaces, so I don't think I could do a fair comparison. My guess is that the NV-10's amplification falls between the N1 and the N2, but I could be so far off base with that, that you may as well disregard it

How is the key repetition? How fast can you reliably play repeated notes without them not sounding?

Hello to all who are interested in the KAWAI NOVUS NV10,

following links to some new YouTube-Clips about the NV10.
The first link shows the NV10 from inside, probably for the first time.
The second and the third links show two new clips from Bonners Music.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6lBu2L0ihs
"UNBELIEVABLE!!! Affordable Shigeru!!! Kawai Concert Digital Piano Hybrid Novus NV10"

2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk4gOJWsRfw
"Kawai Novus NV10 Hybrid Piano | UK Buyer's Guide & Playing"

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rNHELnuNbI
"Kawai Novus NV10 vs Yamaha AvantGrand N1 | Hybrid Piano Test"

4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deXYQRPDSSI
"Kawai NV10 Novus"

Cheers, Frank

Nice find, Frank! Love that they provided those interior shots.

And indeed, the key buttons are LONG, so it would seem the pivot length exceeds that of the Grand Feel:

Wow. This Kawai NV10 just sounds very good IMHO! More mature and full bodied than the N1! The price is quite high, but I will definitely try one (if I find a dealer near to my home).

+1

The N1 sounded thin, digital, and all but dead compared to the Novus.

Hello Gombessa,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts about the NV10, and the nice pictures - congratulations!

It's perhaps worth noting that the NV10's fallboard can be lifted out, just like an acoustic piano (i.e. there are no screws holding it in place). I'm not recommending than all NV10 owners suddenly start lifting-out the fallboard in order to see the action, or measure the pivot length, however I'm pretty sure this is how the NorCal Piano Store video (in the screenshot above) was captured.

Kind regards,
James
x

Hello Frank,

Thank you for sharing these video links - it's great to see dealers' positive reactions to the NV10.

I particularly enjoyed the Bonners videos (recorded using 'Pianist' mode).

Kind regards,
James
x

Please note that the NV10's 'Pianist' mode sound engine is also found on the CA98/CA78 digital pianos. These models all share essentially the same audio processing hardware and Onkyo technology, so will sound identical when played through headphones.

Kind regards,
James
x

Congratulations Gombessa on a beautiful acquisition.

These pictures you guys are posting are really making me wish I could own such an amazing piano. However, it's so far out of my budget that the closest I will come to experiencing one is only vicariously though you guys. So please post some video/recordings to satisfy my soul.

God Bless,
David

Thanks Frank, for these videos.

That dealer in the first video is really enthusiastic, isn't he? ... "Would I definitely tell you that this is the first hybrid that is truly a hybrid that will blow away everybody and make everyone cry, even grown men? ... (wipes away fake tear) ... Yes! ... It will" ...

LOL!

LOL! James, you didn't actually think that I would be able to curb my curiosity once you told me this?

So here it is, my NV10 with the fallboard removed (sorry for the bad quality, it's a free hand panorama I shot with my smartphone):


And a closer look:


And of course I did take the opportunity to measure the pivot length, just for the fun of it.

It's still a bit difficult, because of the cross bar that lies over the keys (I'm sure it has a proper piano technician name), but from my measurements, I would say that the pivot length of the white keys is ~25.75cm (give or take a millimeter or two), i.e. ~10.14".

The key button length is about 9cm (~3.54"). To me, they do look comparable to the ones in this image from the Kawai-US website, which is not from a Novus. This image is used as illustration for the GX and GL lines, where the key buttons are called "concert length key buttons" (aren't these marketing terms adorable?):

I'm glad you did it, so that I don't have to

A couple of interesting notes from further play:

1. I can't really trigger a note if I strike a key exactly from the letoff; it maybe works for 1 in 10 keys? Is this normal for Kawai grands? It doesn't bother me, though I do note this behavior is almost *precisely* how my GF 1 action works and I always assumed it was some kind of oversight (because last I tried I could trigger notes on other acoustic grands, and Kawai changed this behavior for GF2).

2. There's a case for some cable management features under the chassis. I'm experimenting with running a VST through the audio in (hurray for having a separate volumes knob for this!) and the placement of the extra ports makes the cables hang a bit unceremoniously down the center of piano. I'm actually routing the cables through a small notch in the bend of one of the front leg supports to get them out to the side.

Can you please show us a picture with the cables connected. I’d like to see how well these can be concealed. Also, tell us how the VST’s sound through the on-board speakers compared to the native sound. Thank you.

Sorry if I missed the pricing in a previous post but does anyone know how much the Novus NV10 is retailing for in the USA? Also, does anyone have any comments on how it sounds through the speaker system? I currently own a Kawai RX-6 and love it but may need to sell it because I am moving in to a smaller home and am considering either the Novus NV10 or Yamaha’s N3X which I have not tested yet. The only Kawai hybrids I can find locally are the CA98 and 97 and to be honest, I don’t care for their “piano in a box” sound when listening through the speaker system. I also did not care for their action either. I thought they were close to a grand action but I felt they would not be the most ideal for me to practice on. I was able to test out Yamaha’s NU1X and liked it’s sound for an upright but unfortunately it does not have the grand action so that makes it a show stopper. If anyone has suggestions for another model I should look at please let me know.

I can't say what Gombessa (congrats!) paid for it, but it's looking like around 12.5K here in Orange County. I won't know until it's in the store (2nd/3rd week of February). I'd imagine there is some negotiation wiggle in there.

All these posts are very inspiring.

It is good that the action on the NV10 seems to be what most people hoped it would be (which is why most were buying it in the first place over the CA98).

James - Quick question on the headphone front.

1/ So, the CA98 and NV10 sound identical over headphones?

2/ What is the amplification capacity on the two Kawais? I currently have a Yamaha YDP163 and while that powers Audio Technica MX50 headphones quite nicely, it does a poor job at driving Sennheiser HD650 headphones. With more power I am guessing that the HD650s might be a good alternative. The MX50s are 38ohms, and the HD650s are 300 ohms. Would the CA98 and the NV10 be able to drive them effectively? ie what is the capacity on both?

Thanks for posting -- it really does sound quite a bit better than the N1. But wouldn't the N2 be a fairer comparison in terms of the price point? Based on a quick search the NV10 is about twice the price of the N1, whereas the N2 is only a bit more than the NV10. (Not to say the comparison would turn out much different, but the speakers on the N2 are a bit better than the N1 as far as I can tell.)