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Please do not get me wrong, the Kawai CA-79 really is a great great instrument!!

What I love most about it is the action and that you can feel the vibration of the tone when you touch the keys.. therefore it is really kind of a living instrument, although it is digital I love the tone colour and all the little details such as the hammer fall back sounds.. all the settings and adjustments you can make... just all about it. I am sry for not sharing only positive news though, please do not get me wrong, even with the noise or rattle (which is still under investigation ) it is - in my view - still the best DP out there, and everybody should just try it out in a local store and compare it, I think there is nothing like it.

Unfortunatly, but well thats life, I am having also another issue with my CA79 that is sometimes when I start the piano, I get a white screen instead of "Kawai - Welcome". Switching off and on solves it and it goes back to normal.

I send a mail to the dealership writing about the white screen issue and I also informed them about the white noise/rattle and I attached the sound examples from above. After checking it they said that to them it looks like an error in the system and they will replace my instrument. The custumer support is really good, they are quickly answering and are really helpful.

So now it will take some time, but I am really hoping for the best and I will keep you updated.

Ryner

Awesome, any estimate on replacement time? Availability might be bad now.

Do you know who your dealership is working with at Kawai that listened to the white noise/ rattle?

@martin, I have been in touch with my dealer. I played the 79 they have at the store and heard a similar noise, I feel like the white noise/rattle is more prominent on my piano though. Because the piano at the store makes a similar sound I feel like they think I am being picky. Although they have been great and are willing to exchange my piano if I want. I have also been in contact with Alan Palmer from Kawai. He sent my sample to the Kawai engineers in Japan and I’m waiting to hear back if they have any suggestions. I am torn… I love the action on the 79 and the Bluetooth functionality. I played a CA 58 in the store and it didn’t have any white noise or rattle. I really don’t want to drop down to a CA 58 and it sounds like The ca59 will not be available until early this summer. I have another 10 days to decide what I’m going to do. If I hear anything back from Kawai I will let you know. Do you know who your dealership has been dealing with at KAwai? It would be nice if we were all talking to the same person...

Have you tried sound mode rather than pianist mode? Just to see if the older sound engine, the same as in the CA58/9, also causes the issue.

I have been in touch with my dealer. I played the 79 they have at the store and heard a similar noise, I feel like the white noise/rattle is more prominent on my piano though. Because the piano at the store makes a similar sound I feel like they think I am being picky. Although they have been great and are willing to exchange my piano if I want. I have also been in contact with Alan Palmer from Kawai. He sent my sample to the Kawai engineers in Japan and I’m waiting to hear back if they have any suggestions. I am torn… I love the action on the 79 and the Bluetooth functionality. I played a CA 58 in the store and it didn’t have any white noise or rattle. I really don’t want to drop down to a CA 58 and it sounds like The ca59 will not be available until early this summer. I have another 10 days to decide what I’m going to do. If I hear anything back from Kawai I will let you know. Do you know who your dealership has been dealing with at KAwai? It would be nice if we were all talking to the same person...

We definitely need more information, I agree! Lets wait for the Kawai Japan @Khavens, thank you so much for keeping us updated about it!


Not yet, but I will let you know. I think it is depending also at the piano transport company.


No, I do not know that, in my case I guess it would be probably Kawai Europe GmbH in Germany. Yea, it would be funny if it was the same at the end. But maybe also better to get a second opinion. I tried to record it myself but I couldnt due to my mic quality, so I referred to your audio and I told them that my noise is similar.
If you also heard the same noise/rattle in store, well then it really seems to be a bigger issue. I hope so much for an update or something that will fix it. Otherwise I guess we will have to live with that?!

many greetings
Ryner

Khavens,
I am by no means an expert on digital pianos or speakers, but a rattle noise should not be present - especially if the same noise is not present using headphones. The noise is also present no matter which piano sound I choose, even electric piano where the vibrato really reveals the rattle.

I do not know what specific person my dealership deals with at Kawai. I'm from Denmark, and my dealerships says that they receive their Kawai products from Kawai Germany.

My dealership put me in contact with a piano sound technician in my city, whom I talked with yesterday. Based on my description of the issue (particularly the fact that it gets more prominent the higher the volume), he also suspected a faulty or not properly installed speaker. He will be paying me a visit to have a hear and look at the piano, but unfortunately, he won't have time to do so before another week or two.

I would suggest that you reach out to your dealership and ask them to extend your right of cancellation period due to the fact that this seems to be an issue with a product that very few people - including the dealerships and Kawai themselves - have experience with. We need more time to examine the issue. If you can't get an extended period, I would personally return the piano or ask for a replacement unit.

My local dealership does not yet have the CA79 for demo in the store due to corona lockdown, but as soon as they get it, I will visit them and compare the speakers.

Dear friends on the forum,

Still super happy with my CA99 EP.
I have been reading latest exchanges on the rattle sound.
Just played again now quite loud with no headphone and cannot hear any issue on the speakers nor the soundboard.

Finally i found a way to post pictures.
There you go: [img]https://ibb.co/album/6RMhYC[/img]
I have made a few recordings (classical and jazz) need to find a way to share with you guys.

Best
Antoine

And finally one video !
Schubert Impromptu (started studying 2 weeks ago when my CA99 arrived !)

Dead link. The video is a still image of the word "null".

should be working now (sorry it was still a draft on youtube ... still learning how to post !)

After playing my CA79 on it's own speaker and putting the volume low, I can also sometimes hear some kind of "clicking" sound when playing. Like some kind of click inside the action. it's not very loud or disturbing but it only appears sometimes.
Also it doesn't have any effect on playing, however I hope it's just the mechanics and nothing serious :-O

Your playing is excellent!
What are your thoughts on the piano? Does it feel as realistic as it sounds?

yes, the feel is excellent. I have commented on a few posts on this thread my first impressions.
I feel a lot of pleasure playing it (with and without headphones) and i have commented before that it feels definitely better in terms of touch and sound than on an average acoustic piano (of course, not better than a good accoustic piano such as Yamaha YUS or Bechtein for example, but better than entry level acoustics). It really enables you to play with expressivity.

I've only played a Yamaha CLP 685. Suffice to say I HATED it.
People praise the quality of speakers bit it just sounded muffled and boxy to me.
Do you think the kawai is on another level in speaker quality?

I don't know the Yamaha CLP685, i used to play a P-120S from Yamaha.
What i can say is that when you play the CA99 without headphones at a certain volume with the SK-EX concert sound, it really sounds like a great piano, not like a digital piano. With the headphones obviously even better, but this is normal (sampled sounds).
Without headphones, i believe the great sound is due to the soundboard and the quality of the sampling. And the fact that you can feel the vibrations when you play adds to make it super real.
Listen to youtubes demos or instagram videos of low quality DPs or badly-tuned acoustic pianos ... in comparison, the sound of the CA99 (in my video for example, which was just taken with my iphone standing on the edge of the keyboard) is rather very good !
But as many said, you need to try it in real (i bought mine during confinement without being able to try it ... took a huge risk but eventually very happy).

I thought that was another piano you were playing in the video! The resonances are astonishing for a digital. It sounds... Alive

ag_jazz_piano, thank you for sharing the pictures of your CA99EP, and the lovely video. Very nicely played!

Which sound are you using for this piece, may I ask?

Kind regards,
James
x

ps. May I ask what is the round, metal object to the right of your piano?

ag_jazz_piano,

It seems you have a lot of room to experiment with the piano's distance from the wall.
Any conclusions?
Some people are saying - at least 20 cm from the wall, others - at least 30 cm. What if even more?
And for each distance, there are Wall EQ and Tone Control settings to play with.