Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai CA49 vs CA48 owner comparison + problems

Hey guys, I recently bought a CA49 and wanted to give some insight into it vs the CA48 for those that are curious.
But before I do that comparison, wanted to share some unfortunate problems...

I have bad speaker buzzing, cracking, and popping coming out. I assume its a transformer or amp issue. It starts about 30 seconds after I turn the piano on. It goes away/is silent if I plug in headphones. It's not an issue with the piano sounds or samples, it's definitely an electronic or hardware issue. It comes out of all 4 speakers.

It's very clearly audible when just sitting there in front of the piano, but even when playing it can still be heard. Here are the sounds it makes when it's just sitting there turned on:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NC3HRnU_Zwpk4uNqnehPT0tfSB7eJUyf/view?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/16tbDXyeowHI3NYRmd7WgqZUrFUKytVYZ/view?usp=sharing

Another issue I have is that there are 2 keys that are loose and make noise when played. They work just fine, but the action is much louder than any other key in the keybed.

I'll be reaching out to Kawai US after the holiday weekend and hope to get these issues resolved.

Now for the CA48 comparison:

Some backstory... I had recently bought a CA48, not knowing that the CA49 was about to come out. Luckily, I was able to sell back my CA48 for the same price I paid for it, so I didn't really lose any money in moving up to the CA49 (other than the slightly higher cost of the CA49). I got rid of the CA48 a day before the CA49 came in and have extensively played on both now, so I think I can shed some light on the differences.

Appearance: This is negligible. After I put the CA49 together, I even had to go back and look at pictures of the 48 to really notice the differences. It is ever so slightly taller in the cabinet, maybe 1 inch. And the keybed cover is now all black/body color where as the 48 had a silver metal piece on the end. Everything else is the same

Keys: Same great wooden action we are used to. However, I do feel that the 49 keybed is very slightly lighter in touch than the 48. It could be that it's brand new and the 48 I was playing on was a couple months old so the lubrication may have been hardened a little. But this is basically the same. I will say that the wood on the black keys now are painted black all the way down, I believe on the 48 on the tops were black but if you push in the key you could see the wood color underneath. Same keys though so there's no difference here.

Features/buttons: Big there here is the addition of the OLED screen. It looks nice! And it's really nice to have a screen to show information instead of using the buttons like on the 48. All the features are the same however (with one exception, get to that in second), but it is nice to be able to actually look at what you're selecting via a screen. I would always have my CA48's button cheat sheet sitting out because I would forget which keys to press for the VT presets etc... The screen fixes that. There is some kind of new low volume feature that I've turned off as it doesn't apply, seems more for children who can't press the keys hard. If you are dying for a screen then, sure, it helps, but otherwise you're getting the same functionality as the 48

Sound: This is mainly the reason I bought the 49 instead of keeping my 48. I was a little unhappy with 48's sound on the main SK piano, and I was curious when they said the 49 has "updated" the samples. However, I can tell you that the samples still sound exactly the same. BUT there is one huge benefit here. They have added an additional "Tone Control" feature that basically gives you a handful (I think 7) more tone presets IN ADDITION to the normal VT presets. You can use them simultaneously, and this gives MUCH GREATER control over the tone of the piano. I really appreciate this and I've been able to dial in the 49 to much better place than I could with the 48. For example, I like my piano to be "clear" but still retain some bass. On the 49 I am using the "clear" VT present and then using the "Bass Boost" tone control.

This fixed my personal biggest complaint with the 48. I don't have an iPad for the VT app (really wish they put that out on iPhone...), so I really appreciate having another layer of tone control built into the piano. If you are already happy with the way the 48 sounds then there's no need to look at the 49. It has the same samples and can sound the exact same as the 48. But if you need just a small bit extra of EQ to make you happy, then maybe the 49 is right for you.

Speakers/Misc: Well... as mentioned mine are kind of broken right now. They seem to be the exact same speakers as the 48 though. However, on the 48 the top two small speakers were open toward the player and were covered by a fabric mesh grill. On the 49 the top two small speakers are still positioned towards the player, but they are behind the wood cabinet piece (to the left and right of the Kawai) logo. I can't tell a difference in loss of volume, but they are certainly rattling/vibrating a lot more with certain frequencies. This may be due to my issue, but I think it's because they are now inside of the wood cabinet.

Other misc items... the bench is exactly the same, the 49 was easier to put together, they labeled the parts better, shipping box and packing looked identical.

Overall: I wouldn't spend more money to be the CA49 if you already have a CA48, just don't do it. There isn't enough here to justify it. But... if the money is negligible, then yeah I'd buy the CA49 as it is slightly better than the 48. "Negligible" for me would be no more than $100 or so, but that's up to you...

If you have any questions about the CA49, let me know!

And here is the official list from Kawai of things they updated with my comments next to each:

NEW: Motherboard developed in partnership with Onkyo for improved tonal clarity. --- Mine is broke, clarity sounds the same. I assume this is a "new motherboard" but rather the one from the CA48 was like 10 years old and they are just using a newer version (but not better).

NEW: Updated control panel layout with modern OLED graphic display. --- Yes, this is great

NEW: Chopin Walzer (1~19) lesson book. --- Don't care

NEW: Tone Control setting with 8 selectable tone presets. --- Yes, this is great.

NEW: Low Volume Balance function for improved touch consistency at reduce volume. --- Don't care

NEW: Modern cabinet design modelled after larger Concert Artist instruments. --- Like an inch bigger

IMPROVED: Improved Shigeru Kawai grand piano sounds. --- Nope, I don't believe this. I don't think they re-recorded any new samples. They may have touched up some of the EQ on specific samples, but I can't tell a single difference here.

IMPROVED: Enhanced ‘Light’ Touch Curve setting for young children. --- Don't care, but the keybed overall feels a little lighter.

IMPROVED: Updated Virtual Technician “Smart Mode” presets. --- I guess this is true. The changed the "Classical" preset to now be "Historical". They all sound the same as the previous ones though. They probably tweaked one small EQ change and are saying it is now "improved" just like the sample.

Hello heavyarms1,

Thank you for your sharing your thoughts on the differences between the CA48 and CA49.


I'm unable to access those links, however I'm sure that Kawai US will be able to resolve the issue.

Kind regards,
James
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Permissions on the links are updated, sorry!

Listening to the noises, being myself an electronics repairer, have thought of a possibility, even if remote... try to put in and out the headphones connector several times. I have found on some devices that a less than ideal switching may lead to really strange noises.

If that is not the case, something on the Onkyo audio electronics is faulty, I am afraid.

Hello heavyarms1,

As a CA48 owner, I had all the very same thoughts about the CA49, just by reading the specs.
Thanks for your review, it's good to also hear them from somebody that has played both pianos, if only to confirm what I thought.

I'd like to add that I'm happy with mine, but now there's one thing I still don't get: In this day and age, the absence of a dedicated line-out on a brand new model DP with the price of a CA49 it's just, well, ridiculous! I was expecting at least that with the new CA49, as all competitor DPs have them, even in cheaper models. When I bought mine I thought that it was not important for a non-portable cabinet, and that the headphones outs were enough but I've come to realize that it sort-of is, and it's convenient.

All the rest is OK, though.

Yeah not having LineOut bothers me a lot too. I've tried using a stereo splitter from the headphone jack, but it just doesn't sound good.

Side note, my piano still isn't fixed and I've had a hard time dealing with Kawai US. They never pick up the phone, don't respond to voicemails, and don't respond to emails either. I think it's just one dude who is responsible for all DP technical issues, and yeah its been really annoying.

I'm sorry to hear that.

May I ask you to send me a PM with your name and contact details (email, telephone number) so that I can pass this information on to my colleagues in the US directly, please?

Kind regards,
James
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Hello again heavyarms1,

I raised this topic with a colleague at Kawai America.

He asked the guys in the service department to check for CA49-related queries, and they confirmed two cases. However, we don't believe they are related to your case.

My colleague asked me to pass on his contact details in order for you to reach him directly, so I will send you a PM with this information now.

Kind regards,
James
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Update:

Kawai US finally got a tech out to my place and he replaced the main board with a new one. Fixed my issue immediately, no more hissing/cracking coming from the speakers.

Piano sounds a little better too, not sure if that is just because I can't hear the hissing anymore or if the old mainboard was broken in another way and I wasn't getting the full sound.

They might have fitted the board from a more expensive piano . . .

Hello heavyarms1,


Thanks for the update. Glad to hear that this matter has been resolved.

Kind regards,
James
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It would not be compatible with the CA49 though, so I'd say this is unlikely.

Kind regards,
James
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