Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai announces ES920 and ES520 portable digital pianos

What’s the advantage of going for a high ohm? I know people automatically think higher ohm is fancier and ‘high end’ but is there actually a difference in sound quality at all?

I wish I knew why all these reviewers skim over the ep sounds. I like the acoustic sounds just fine but I would like to hear electric piano sounds and have them add effects, play some relevant vamps, hopefully stereo pan.

I own a hardly played ES110, which is only for gigs and I like it very much, except for the limited effects available. I also have a Reface CP, for EP sounds, but would like them built in for convenience.

I can only answer in regards to the DT-770's. When I investigated these a while back the consensus from reviewers/listeners was the 32 ohm version - altho less demanding of the amplifier - had less bass, a less full midrange and sharper treble than the 80 ohm version. I didn't compare these models personally (don't remember now which version I auditioned) and stayed with open-back headphones.

Listen to the review. He spends time on all of the EPs, around 14:00. He uses effects, including the amp sims. He plays vamps. If you need more, listen to the other review videos, almost all of which spend some time on the EPs, or listen to the samples at Kawai's website. Or, best yet, go to your local piano dealer and play what you want to hear on their floor model.

If you are referring to the JPS then we have a difference of opinion. First he has no touch or ears for modern music IM(H)O and to meet my needs the reviewer would know what a real Fender Rhodes Suitcase sound and show me how the Kawai can reproduce the sound as best as can be. I'm fine listening to him play the acoustic pianos and hearing his opinions. One last thing, he didn't bother to read the specs, as he didn't know both the the 520 and 920 has the same speaker components.

My thoughts too. When he tries to play a little riff using an EP voice it's utter torture - he just hasn't a clue.

I am really considering purchasing one of the two. May I ask which type of stand is more suitable for these two heavy beasts? I have been using a double X stand in the past. What about a proper music studio desk? Am I going to break the master keyboard slot?

The ES920 and ES520 are not so heavy - 17kg and 14.5kg respectively.


That should be fine.
I'm personally not a fan of X-stands, due to the way they obstruct legroom and pedals. I prefer table stands, and typically recommend the K&M 18953 or 18950 depending on the weight/depth of the instrument.


I'm afraid I do not have a great deal of experience with these - you would need to seek clarification from the manufacturer.

Kind regards,
James
x

Hi James, I think you're right, I always hated the lack of room space with the double x stand and always wanted to replace it. I'm glad that there is something more suitable for pianists on the market. Thanks for your suggestions.

No problem.

I have a K&M 18950 supporting an MP8II (an older stage piano with heavy wooden keys), and cannot imagine using anything else. The Yamaha LG800 is also a very sturdy stand. Both are a little "industrial" in their appearance, so some customers may prefer a matching wood furniture stand for their portable piano. In the case of the ES920/ES520, the matching stand is the HM-5.

Kind regards,
James
x

I built my own stand... now just waiting for ES520's to get stocked in stores. This stand is built from common #2 lumber and is not too difficult to make if you have a power miter saw and kreg screw guide. You can paint or stain it to match your decor and customize the height.

Same here James, would never use an X frame again.

Impressive job TBell, that looks solid! For me, I need to fold my stand away, but that's a great job.

Wow, that looks incredible, TBell. Beautiful work. As for being "not too difficult," somehow I don't think I would bet on myself being able to accomplish the same results anytime soon

Since the topic, a few pages ago, was the noise on the ES920 keys (since people also complain about the ES110 noisy keys, I have good reasons to believe that this could be extended to the ES520 as well), I found this VIDEO, where a guy plays several silent pianos and digital pianos, including some Yamaha models.
To be fair, most of these piano keybeds sound noisy to me.

I've been playing on a few acoustic pianos in the past, and I've never noticed that, maybe because the piano sound itself was too loud in comparison, I cannot tell. So, I am a bit puzzled about this, if this is going to be a problem or not. Sure, the point of a DP is also being able to play at 3am, without anyone complaining, right?

Would it make sense that Kawai thought about it as a feature to better emulate the real counterpart, rather than an engineering mistake, as somebody claims?

Wow - great job!

(emphasis mine)

Who claims this?

I’ve been reading countless reviews these days, not just in this forum, and this seemed to be a quite (un)popular opinion, unfortunately. I said unfortunately because this opinion is way too simplistic and probably strongly biased.
Please don’t ask me where I found such comments exactly, I don’t even remember but they’re out there, on reddit, YT comments etc.

It’s far from my intentions to say that I agree with that. I only want to get my head around this, before I decide to buy anything, because I want to be happy for many years to come with my new DP.

The joys of the internet:

Person 1: "I read something negative about X"
Person 2: "Really? Where did you read that?"
Person 1: "Oh, I can't remember...but it was on the internet, so it must be true."

I am aware of some claims about key release noise and/or bouncing keys, however I haven't seen these characteristics referred to as an "engineering mistake".

Kind regards,
James
x

Hi James,
It's not a journal publication here, where it is needed to justify every single claim with one or more sources, especially in this specific case of the internet, where you can find any type of comments, malicious, biased, false statements etc. I absolutely would never say anything like "this fact must be true because I read it somewhere on the internet", since I cannot even prove the authenticity of those comments or users claiming it.

Any person who is really interested in buying the new Kawai pianos, as much as I am, may eventually come across such comments after scrolling hours of videos and hundreds of messages. Do those comments deserve any attention? Maybe not.

Personally, the two Kawai pianos are still in my top list and it's far from my intentions to put this brand in a bad light. So please, let's end this discussion here and do accept my apologies if that somehow affected you personally.

I believe that we agree on the fact that there are some claims about noisy keys when they bounce back, and this is what I would like to focus on. If this is a feature to emulate acoustic pianos, if this could be an issue when playing during the night time, etc.