Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai NV5

It isn't as quiet as the GF2 key action. I hope it's quiet enough that it doesn't disturb her. *fingers crossed*

I sense this purchase did not go through spousal pre-clearance.

Noise-Cancelling headphones?

I believe I've arranged for some private time with the NV5 at NAMM in a completely quiet room, and look forward to writing a fairly comprehensive review of it.

I'd really be interested in finding out the difference between the soundboards (and other speakers) between the NV-5 and the CA/CS pianos. Because Kawai has had soundboards for a while, and the sound engine should be identical between the NV-5 and the CA-98. I wonder if the touch response with the real keys/action is creating the perception of better sound, or if the amplification/output has been changed significantly.

Do you think you'll have access to an NU1X also there? Since the NU1X is the NV5's closest competitor, it will be interesting how these two compare besides the obvious (like soundboard). For example, we already heard on this thread that the NV5's action is quieter than than NU1X's action. It will be interesting what else you find

Kawai has hinted at improvements in the past as it relates to the soundboard speaker system. But I’m not sure they’ve been very detailed as to what has been improved and to what extent. One would assume that since the very first soundboard system to the latest (NV5) there must be some subtle differences.
In terms of dimensions, it seems like the soundboard has remained the same since first released.

I recall them saying this about the Aures, that they no longer needed supplemental tweeters because they found a way to produce the high trebles just from the transducers?

But I also recall the NV-5 had a different setup than the Aures... But I'm sure you're right in that there have been improvements made for each generation.

Similar to the traditional speaker system, there are many variables and areas for improvement.

Through my experiments and tests during this period, I found that the design and selection of vibrating materials had the greatest impact on the output of the sound in the vibrating acoustics. (I got several transducers made of Onkyo)
Ordinary pine boards, MDF boards, or real piano soundboard made of spruce, with or without frames and ribs, can greatly affect sound quality.

Btw, transducer units, divider circuits and amplifiers also affect audio output.
At last, as with all speakers, the design of the cabinet can cause the same speaker unit to produce very different sounds in different boxes. Obviously, it is clear that the NV5 cabinet design has significant differences to CA98 in appearance.

This means that Kawai can easily change the soundboard spk inside for different DP grades.

TS,

The Yamaha exhibit is at the far end of the Marriott, while the Kawai room is on the 3rd floor of the convention center. It’s a long walk, and the product displays in the main ballroom at the Marriott are a heroically loud space where you have to stand right next to someone in order to be heard, speaking normally...unless you arrive right when the show opens. My appointment at Kawai is in the evening, so an immediate A/B sonic comparison (much as I’d really like to) is impossible.

I researched this topic a bit in the past, and there are some obvious (and maybe also some not so obvious) differences. If I recall correctly, the CA97/CS11 have one single transducer, while the CA98/NV5 use two transducers. Contrary to these models, which have a soundbard that is a bit smaller than standard uprights, the K300/K500 AURES use a full size soundboard and 4 transducers. I believe the latter is currently the best soundboard technology offered by Kawai, but of course cabinet and enhancements with additional speakers also affect sound so the end result cannot be judged so easily.

I don't sweat the soundboard and 'ducers. I found that the soundboard is mostly irrelevant.

Could that be because of the less than stellar acoustics in the piano shop? Or is a soundboard really unnecessary?

+1 or nearly. On the older Kawai DPs, I listened to with a soundboard the sound to my ears was muddled in the mid to upper and boomy in the bass. Some people on this forum described it as boomy across the range. I have not heard the latest models, from the last couple of years. But, I agree that it is not a given that a soundboard and transducer, is going to be necessarily better than a (well designed) speaker system. In the end, just like speakers and headphones, your own ears have to decide.

I think I've posted this before, but it's worth repeating. The soundboard speaker used by the NV5 and CA98 is the third generation of the technology, dubbed "TwinDrive". As shown in the slide below, the frequency range that can be reproduced by the soundboard has expanded with each generation of the technology.



Kind regards,
James
x

James, can I preempt Pete14 and ask whether this is your way of revealing the 2019 revision of the NV10 with the 3rd gen TwinDrive soundboard?

That's a nice idea, but I cannot see it happening, for reasons already mentioned by other forum members.

Cheers,
James
x

But Kawai has already confirmed it will happen!

(In case it wasn't clear, I'm referring to this in the image you posted)

Thank you so much, James.
Judging from the position and style of the transducer mounting holes, I think Kawai modified and installed the first generation soundboard spk on the CA30/CA33 sales on China Market. These two models are soundboard equipped version based on CA15/CA28(CA48).

Hello robinlb,



Ah, I believe that soundboard is a smaller version initially developed for the CA61 - a similar vintage as the CA91 (so presumably a similar/inferior frequency response), but only available in the US.

Kind regards,
James
x