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Not in Germany. The first NV10s here were available late January 2018 (some shops as late as 2nd/3rd February). I kept a close eye on the availability and I'm pretty certain that that was the first batch here (one of which I snagged). And Gombessa got his only a day or two later than I got mine, so the the first ones were available here and in the US at about the same time.

The availability right now is also not quite as rosy as Tyr presents it. Speaking about the large online shops: Yes, some still list it as available, but some (including Thomann and the shop where I bought) list it as "next delivery / in stock estimated for end of April" (there's even one who estimates delivery by end of May, but that could be deliberately "pessimistic"). But of course there may be smaller dealers too who still have it in stock, if you know who to ask, or one or two units still available at one or the other larger shop, but "dozens of shops with it in stock" seems a bit optimistic to me (but in the end that doesn't matter, as, if you want one, you only need to find one who has it in stock).

That's what I get for posting third hand knowledge! (Maybe the UK?) But he is the local service rep for Kawai's acoustic piano's. He had to learn about the NV-10 since he handles call's that involve key action or pedal mechanism issues.

Are you talking about that noise that was reported by some that they heard when navigating the touch screen (that goes away if you turn down the line in knob)?
My piano doesn't have that, not even with line in and master volume both turned to max. So either its wires are better insulated or routed differently.

But to be honest, when I decided to buy a unit from the first batch, I was fully aware that I would be an early adopter and I honestly expected to experience such teething problems. I've never seen a piece of technical equipment where the first batch of units didn't have such problems (oh, I still "fondly" remember the jet-like fan noise and red-ring-of-death affinity of my Xbox 360 that I bought on release day...). I bought it anyway, and would do it again .

Well, of course I was only refering to Germany. I remember that a forum member posted a play test in a Norwegian shop in early/mid December. That's Europe too - but of course only ~1 1/2 months earlier. 3 months earlier than in the US would have been end of October/beginning of November, barely after the official release announcement. That would have to have been some very fast stealth delivery to Europe...

Hey, JoBert! I agree. I didn't complain about any noise. I told him I didn't hear it. But I guess he is going to replace everyone's here so that there isn't an issue. I am thrilled with the customer service I have seen from Kawai.

Maybe he meant a "couple of months". His point was, they didn't get enough to fill the demand. It is selling like hot cakes!! And I LOVE IT. I can't wait to get up in the morning so I can play it. It is the fifth "DP" I have bought in four years. (The fourth Kawai). It will likely be the last unless I have a real life change and can get a SK2/3. That means I would be living by myself....:)

Yes, sorry, I didn't want to be pedantic. Just killing time with the tablet and piano world.
I didn't mean to argue against the "high demand, short supply" point. As I wrote, quite a few dealers here currently don't have it in stock either, so it sounds plausible to me.

I know for certain the dealer in LA, Pierre. has none. I got the third one of his from the first shipment into the US. And I believe the dealer in north OC did not get any yet. But please don't worry about the response. I enjoy your post, and your playing for that matter. It was interesting to see the back underside of the piano. All wires and electronics, and the woofer. Sort of ruined my perception of the grand piano I picture in my mind when I play it.

Idk where you live but in Northrhine Westphalia (Ruhrgebiet) there are plently of them to pick up one.

A few days prior to NAMM was the earliest I've heard of in the US, with most dealers starting to take stock Feb 2-3 a Jobert mentions.

My dealer is still waiting for his next shipment (technically his third).

Hi MikePianoLover

To answer your questions:

My acoustic baby grand is a 30 year old german piano (a Niendorf), which has a beautiful cabinet and a lovely mid and upper sound. Obviously, being a baby grand the bass is lacking. I have this piano tuned every six months, and love having it tuned so it sings again. Having the Novus is like the piano has just been tuned that day.

I play a mix of classical, film scores, (and romantic pop songs..... sshhhh!). On the baby grand it can be difficult to play songs that go a long way into the bass. To the point that I would adjust some song arrangements to keep them in the mid-upper ranges, with lots of crossing fingers and hands! I can now play songs and use the entire keyboard on the Novus. The base is so tuneful. I like the subtle changes of sound that the Novus offers in it Pianist mode.

I am finding that I use three sounds inparticular. Some classical need a slightly milder sound, so I use the Classic setting. Some songs want a brighter sound but with a bit more reverb, like playing a large grand in a large hall, so I use Full setting. The romantic pop songs sound good (to me) on the Jazz setting - a bit cleaner sound. So it's great to change these for each song. It makes you play each song with different emotion.

Recently, I was fortunate that a large local historic country house has a 7 foot Steinway (that I would guess is no more than 5 years old), in a huge entrance hall (with probably 15 metre high roof). If you can play then they let you play this piano. This had a slightly distant sound, due to the room size. Along with the beautiful touch of this instrument I just played songs with a completely different emotion to at home on my baby grand. Believe it or not, the Novus has actually made me feel like I'm back on the Steinway.

After playing the Novus, getting back on the acoustic I find the touch and the pedal feel is actually lacking! Sadly! Hence I've not got back on it.

I did get some new headphones but these were closed back and I didn't like them. The sound was to close and not piano like. The headphone settings on the Novus didn't seem to make enough difference to improve them. I have my old Sennheiser 550 (very old!) but I'm fortunate that I have the Novus in my front room, which is far enough away from the lounge, and neighbours. I really love the way the base reverberates through the keyboard, so enjoying the speakers too much. I'll have to give headphones another go . See if I can be tempted to get a new set of Sennheiser.

I've been playing for about 30 years, however I started on the Organ. Mainly a Yamaha HS8. I only got into piano about 15 years ago.

I recently watched a video of the N3X by an owner at home. The sound (abeit only a YouTube video) just seemed very clean. I think the Kawai sound is more musically colourful with more acoustic nuances.

Hope that helps.

Today i had the chance to play the Novus at my local store.

First thing, i was impressed about the size. It was huge compared to my CLP-685 at home. The cabinet is simply beautiful and feels stable. After playing the first couple of notes, i was absolutely amazed about the key action. It felt way better than expected. Very smooth touch, not too heavy or light. I didn't recognized an overly loud key action noise, at least not more than my current instrument.

Second, the sound production was awesome. After my disaster with the CA-98 and its wooden box sound, i had high hopes that the sound won't disappoint me and... it hasn't. It was enjoying to play.

One thing i wasn't sure about is how heavy the pedals are. I had to kick in strongly to keep the notes rolling.

I think Kawai did a fantastic job with this instrument and i will order one.

Tyr, Glad you got to try it. Just so you are aware, you can set the Half-Pedal depth. Using a CS11 prior to this, I found the pedal too heavy. I just set it to 3 (default is 5).

Thanks for the impressions Tyr! Awesome to hear we're going to have another nv10 owner here

I've been playing around with the damper a lot and have ideas on a number of different adjustments. I do agree that the pedal itself is a bit on the heavy side as far as grands I've played, but not the heaviest I've tried (an older George Steck iirc), and definitely not as featherweight as an upright.

I think it has to do with the the shorter damper lever arm inside the action,l. There is a ton more depth in a real grand to position the lever to the damper rail to achieve the weighting you want, so the lower mechanical advantage in the NV10 leads to slightly higher force required.

Wow, Tyr, that's an endorsement if ever I read one! Cool to soon(?) have another owner here.

Since everyone else has already commented on the pedal, I'll do so too: Personally, I didn't have the impression that the pedal is heavier than that of the CA97 I had before, but I must admit I never really paid much attention to its relative heaviness. But if the CLP-685 is anything like my CA97 was, then it too has the pedal a good bit further to the front than the NV10. The latter has it further to the back (more like an acoustic grand, I think), by ~15cm compared to the CA97. Until I got used to it, that felt a bit awkward for me too. It also results in a slightly more outstretched foot, which, together with the already slightly unfamiliar feeling, can also contribute to giving a heavier pedal feeling. But I'm certain that it won't take long for you to get used to it.

At first I felt the pedal was very heavy. After 2 months it’s nice and I found my acoustic too light. So I would say you soon get accustomed to the weight.

Hi, long time lurker here. Wanted to thank you guys for this thread, it helped me with the decision to buy NV10. Rarely a product has so much positive feedback.

I've got my Novus NV10 about 10 days ago. Love it. A great upgrade from Kawai CA93. I'm not an experienced player, started to learn piano as a hobby a couple of years ago. Mostly played digitals.

The pedal is indeed further away compared to CA93. For me it is a very convenient feature, because I'm relatively tall. It is more comfortable.

I also noticed the noise when touchscreen is being updated or touched. The piano has been delivered with the Line-in knob was at MAX position. It definitely makes the noise much more noticeable. I can still hear the noise with Line-in at MIN and volume at Max. However with volume at middle position it is quiet enough.

I'm very happy with NV10. Keyboard feels more responsive and predictable compared to CA93. It is fun to play.

Welcome to the club, Vitali!

From what you write, if you can hear this noise from the touch screen, your piano seems to be one of those that may have an issue with a badly routed or insulated wire. From what Tom wrote, at least Kawai US seems to be aware of this and the technician knew how to fix it (exchange the wire). Kawai service in Germany was very responsive to my questions (although I didn't contact them about this issue, as my piano doesn't have it). If I were you, I would email them and ask about getting this fix that Tom had for your piano too.

Thanks, JoBert.

Right, it was very useful information from Tom about wire replacement. I've sent an email to Kawai Germany about this issue about a week ago. They immediately provided link to 1.0.2 firmware and suggested to check the Line-In knob position. After reading Tom's posts, I've sent another email on Sunday pointing out that this seems to be a known issue and asking if they can fix the noise. No reply yet. I assume that they are busy after the Easter week.

The noise does not affect playing. And piano is for playing.
It is just that Kawai NV 10 is so perfect, that this little imperfection is clearly noticeable

Hello Vitali, Welcome to the NV community that has developed on PW. Just to be clear, the screen on my NV10 doesn't make a "sound" or noise. It does have issues in that it sometimes thinks that headphones are plugged in. So it turns off the speakers. After fooling around, restart, plug head phones back in, etc., it sorts itself out. I am not sure why it does that. It also simply rebooted for no reason a few times. I wasn't playing at the time when it did this. But changing a setting, or saving a favorite. That is what I called the dealer about. He jumped on it and soon I had two, maybe three, service guys responding to my email. The guy that contacted me by phone said they were aware of a problem others have experienced and would like to come to my home to fix it the next day. (Saturday). He was very nice and helpful. He usually works on acoustic pianos as I mentioned in a previous post. He replaced the wires and then we tried to recreate the issues I was calling about. Luckily for me, the situation of the headphone icon showing on the screen and no sound from the speakers did occur.
He told me at the time if it continues to contact him and they would probably have to replace the display and if that didn't work replace the piano. (Which of course I don't want to have to do.) As it did occur twice yesterday, I will send an email today. I haven't mentioned it on PW because I think it is a minor issue on one (mine) of the first set of NV10's. It is a great product and I don't want others to think otherwise. But I will use this opportunity to praise the terrific customer service from Kawai USA.