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So, absolutely loving the feel of the CA79!

However, there are very annoyingly white noise/rattle sound towards the left side of the speakers. I've seen a few people have this comment - is this supposed to be the case? Should i try and get it fixed?

Kawai James - anything to comment?

Thanks,

Duzza

Thanks so much for sharing your experience, 2PianoCats. This is exactly what I was looking for!

By the way, I am still not sure what kind of action, to me, is closer to a (real) grand action: a (real!) upright action or a (simulated) grand (!) action? Upright hybrid vs. digital piano? I guess you have found your answer. Well done! :-)

Hey guys,

did anyone of you get the app running on Android with Bluetooth MIDI connection?
My app constantly reporting a missing connection although a BT MIDI connection is established on my device.

Thanks.
Cheers,
J.

Hello JayKoe,

I responded to your query in the separate PianoRemote thread, here:

http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/2991552/#Post2991552

Kind regards,
James
x

New CA79 owner here, really loving it! Congratulations to Kawai on making such a beautiful sounding piano with such realistic action. Regarding some issues previous users have mentioned, I haven't got anything to complain about but have the following observations after a week:

- I think there might be a bug in the latest software (running 1.0.6/v1.08). When I switch on the piano with the 'Power Off' or 'Current' startup options, changing the Ambience setting has no effect. If swipe to another piano then back again, the Ambiance setting unblocks. Factory reset had no effect. The issue is not present when using the 'Reset' startup setting. Happy to report this via an official channel if it would help.

- Sometimes I hear some key plasticy sounds maybe from some parts touching each other, but it's very occasional and no worse than my nails sometimes hitting the keys (definitely not like in a video in a previous post).

- On maximum volume if I play higher keys (A5 for example), any piano, all effects off, I can just hear a little 'tss' from the right speaker. For now, not a major issue for me.

- Using the SK-EX piano, all renders, I find the undamped string resonance of some high keys (A6 and D7 I think) resonate quite loudly (a bit piercing for me using flat headphones) but it is only really noticeable releasing keys without the sustain pedal. Otherwise I don't really hear it. I guess this could be considered realistic as it's been sampled that way, and I've never played a really SK-EX to compare. Would be interesting to know if anyone has observed this.

Anyway, as said at the beginning, I'm entirely happy with my purchase and it is an absolute joy to play! Great work Kawai!

Hi, I have the speaker issue too on my CA79.
Have anyone resolved it?
I noticed that the lower speakers under the keyboard doesn't have this problem. Does anyone confirm this difference between the upper and the lower speakers?

On my CA99 it was only an issue with the top left speaker. The lower speaker rack was fine. Personally, if still possible, I would recommend returning the piano. I have not seen anyone here yet that has had a kawai tech come and resolve the speaker problem. In my situation the audio clip of the fault was sent to Kawai and I was told they could not hear an issue. I might be completely wrong, but based on my interactions it doesn’t seem like they are taking the problem seriously right now. If I was past my refund window at that point I’d have been SOL.

I had enough of quarantine (of my new CA99 EP).
It was delivered last Thursday. Finally today, on Tuesday, I have unboxed it.
So far I was not able to detect anything wrong with it.
Except that with all the default settings it sounds too much like a real acoustic piano.
Just minutes ago I had Casio PX-330 in its place, a thing notoriously without any sustain. Now I have seemingly never ending sustain. And lots of resonance.

For those of you who haven't bought it yet: when you switch it on, it gives no sign of being on for about 4 seconds. No need to keep frantically repeatedly pushing the button as I did

My CA99 was delivered today, and after changing a few settings (wall2 and low speaker output), it seems perfect so far! I’ve done the recommended updates, but haven’t downloaded the remotepiano app yet. I haven’t noticed any faults yet, but if they do turn up in the next week or so, I’ll let you all know.

Yeah, I came from a PX-750 and it's like night and day, and as you say particularly with the sustain! (different class and price range of piano though...hehe). My poor Ivory American Concert D VST is going to get sold soon I think...

For the moment I don't feel the speaker issue I have warrants a return as I only hear the speaker (assumed) vibration under testing, and my neighbours wouldn't appreciate me playing the piano at full volume. If it becomes to irritate me, I'll look at getting a technician in under the warranty. Certainly not wishing to put off any prospective buyers, simply thought of giving some personal perspective of some of the previously mentioned issues :-) Me and a friend bought a CA79 each (with a nice discount to suit) and we are entirely happy customers! 100% recommendation from us!

So happy for you two! I hope you put your purchase prices in the sticky thread! (If you desire to... I just have an unhealthy curiosity!)

Hey everyone, first of all I want to show my appreciation as I've learned so much here, and it certainly enabled me to make a more informed decision. Eventually I also ended up buying the CA79 and it arrived yesterday.

After playing around with it for a day, I'm quite happy with the DP, especially the key action and sound quality. It really feels like a different league comparing to its competitors in the price range.

However, I do also hear the rattling/hissing sound/white noise as many of you discuss here. It's becomes very obvious when the lower keys (like C2 and below) are played hard, at max volume. To add, 1. I don't think any of the sound recordings here truly reflect the issue (at least I can't hear it). I don't really understand what you're talking about until I get mine. It's obvious but something really difficult to record. I guess a really good mic is needed here. 2. When I tried to find the source of the sound, I ended up at the gaps between the key cover and the fallboard, on the left side, around the C2 area. So it does become more apparent if I lean to the left. But I didn't hear it from the top mesh speakers at all.

TBH it doesn't bother me that much as mine is in a relatively small and echoy room, so I usually put speaker volume at "Low" (though still max on the volume slider). This helps A LOT reducing that sound. It can barely be heard, especially because I as a beginner seldom needs to touch those lower keys.

I haven't contacted my dealer as I'm not sure what they can do. It looks like there's no "fix" for the issue, and it's so prevalent that an exchange could likely end up another one with the same problem.

Will report back if any update.

Ok, so some more impressions:
1. About the Kawai SH9 headphones.
First I tried them with Casio PX-330 and with Korg PA1000, they sounded all right.
But not with CA99. Unfortunately, SH9s are not suitable for CA99.
Way too much bass - like in a barrel. Also, the peak at E6-A6 is actually painful to my ears. In comparison, Sennheiser HD 600 are just perfect for CA99. I was afraid HD600s might be too good and reveal some ugliness or harshness, therefore I got SH9 "optimized for piano". Still, they may be useful for something else.
And HD600s are so comfortable for long usage.

2. After playing mostly on RP Studio and Casio, I have now problems with the keys being too short.
Or rather with the hight of the board at the end of the keys. It extends up for at least 2 cm above the black key tops. On RP Studio, for example - just 1 cm. This 1 cm extra makes a huge difference.
I keep smashing my fingers into that board, unfortunately.
The problem is when playing 10ths on black keys with fingers 1&5. When playing octaves, the hand is higher, but with 10ths it is spread wider and flatter, and so fingers 3 and 2 hit the board at the end of the keys.
For example, try walking down with 10ths from white B-D to black Bb-Db.
If I try curling fingers 2&3, the hand gets tense, if I try reaching up above that 2 cm board, again, the hand gets tense. I think I will need to lower the bench. It works fine only when the wrist is very low and so the 2 & 3 fingers go above that board naturally. If the arm from the elbow to the wrist goes slightly downward, that board becomes an obstacle, if the arm is parallel to the floor - then OK. But I always thought the arm should go slightly down. However, I see some people sitting extremely low, even reaching upwards. Perhaps they are forced to do so because their fingers are too long...

Hello Marli32,

Thank you for your report.


I'm not aware of this particular issue, however I will log it on our internal bug-tracker. I gather that the UI v1.0.7 will change the startup behaviour/checks, so this issue may already be fixed.

Thanks again!

Kind regards,
James
x

EDIT: I've just checked this for myself and can confirm the issue - thanks again for your clear explanation.

@thread, regarding the reports of "speaker noise".

If you believe that there is an issue with your piano's speaker system (to the point whereby you are unable to enjoy playing the instrument under normal circumstances), please contact your Kawai dealer and/or Kawai distributor for assistance and to have the matter properly logged.

Reporting sound-related issues via the forum, and describing symptoms with words is less than ideal. Different words can describe the same symptom, while different symptoms can also be explained by the same word. Therefore, it's important to be as clear as possible when reporting any issues to Kawai dealers and/or Kawai distributors, in order to prevent misinformation or misdiagnosis.

For those customers who have already reported issues to their Kawai dealer and/or Kawai distributor, thank you in advance for your patience while these matters are investigated and resolved.

Kind regards,
James
x

Those are 300Ω headphones, I believe. How is the volume output from your CA99?


My apologies if I missed something, but what is "RP Studio"?
Is this related to your CA99?

Kind regards,
James
x

Yes, 300Ω headphones. The master volume slider is in the middle position more or less, with the normal headphone volume, high is not needed. So only a fraction of available volume is needed to drive those headphones.
Headphone type: "open", although not sure if I hear any difference compared to "normal".

Yes, it is spatially related. I have it close to CA99
RPStudio is a digital piano from GEM (Generalmusic) Real Piano series.
Possibly the very first digital piano in the world with sympathetic string resonance.
At least GEM was the very first to implement it.
Anyway, I have no problem with RPStudio because that board there is only 1 cm high above the top of the black keys. With CA99, the wrist must be kept significantly lower for the fingers to avoid that board and to go to a recess above it instead. I don't think that board can be called the fallboard, because the actual fallboard is located significantly higher. The key-ending-board comes first, then there is the recess, and then the fallboard.
What is the correct technique for playing 10ths on black keys? I see the only way - to keep the wrist low and to aim with the middle fingers for that recess.
Perhaps all depends on the size of the hand. For example, for me, the G key is too short to play comfortably this chord containing the tenth, but some other people are able to do so easily:
A-G-C#. Here, it would be so much easier for me to play that G with more straight finger, but, unfortunately, the key ends before that point. This particular case is not CA99 related. The key just ends, it doesn't matter how high the recess is located.

So I tried again to produce those problems people have on the left side:
Master volume: maximum, touch curve - the lightest, hitting the key C2 and lower as hard as I can: no rattling or buzzing or white noise or anything, just normal piano sound. Although very loud.

Kawai James, are you suggesting people not report issues with their CA79/99 on this forum and instead directly report to Kawai to quietly wait for a resolution? This is not an isolated problem, many people have the exact. same. issue. To some it does not hinder their playing experience, which is great. To me it did.

Referring to the widely reported fault as “““speaker noise””” is intentionally downplaying the issue. It has been consistently described as a rattling/white noise. It is wild that you seem to be inferring that users are not describing the flaw clearly/competently to their dealers or here on the forums.

You could have posted a reasonable response acknowledging the reported issue...even showing concern that so many people who spent so much money on an instrument are unhappy.
Instead your “response” reads like thinly veiled condescension.

I don't find any condescension in any of that. None.

What about this strange tiny needle-like thing in the right-most hinge of the music rest of CA99?
Once the music rest is opened, it does not allow to close it back, because it is difficult to fit its sharp end back to that tiny hole. I just removed it altogether.
What is its purpose? A secret trap? Not mentioned in the manual.