Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai used CA78 or new ca79

Could someone pls explain the main difference of Ca78 and Ca79? I am looking for a digital piano for my spare room, currently got kawai K300 in the house, I really like it but sometimes wish I bought k500, loved the deep rich tone. Anyway, am hoping to find a digital piano saw an used CA78 for $2600 asking. Not sure how old, how hard it’s been used. Looks okay. Sounds quite nice. Feels a little expensive as 2nd hand, ca79 new asking price $4000. (i can’t try not in store)

I like the grand piano sound in CA78 and not sure how much better is CA79? I do like the fact you can record and use headphone because am sharing space with my partner, playing my k300 during the day is very tricky. Not sure if electronic parts can go wrong later down the track?
Any advice suggestion would be great! Thnx

The CA79 has revised key action, see the Kawai Grand Feel Clinic thread for slip-tape etc issues.
Also something about the control panel, the CA78 issues will surely not be fixed, while the CA79 issues will likely not be fixed
But both sound and feel better than the competition to me.

GFII vs GFIII action is the primary difference.
Have you played both? They feel a little different.
How close are you to a service center if the 78 needed repairs?
How long do you intend to keep it?

If you liked both equally and local service were possible, it would depend on how much you could negotiate down the previous model’s price…if your budget was tight. If not, and you intend to keep the piano medium to long-term (more than 5 years), I’d opt for new.

Don't rely on advertised prices for new. Call. Manufacturers like to have a "Minimum Advertised Price" clause in their dealer contracts. The manufacturer specifies the lowest price that a dealer can advertise, but the dealer is allowed to sell it for less when contacted directly. That's why the exact same price is seen online no matter the dealer.

The MAP for a CA79 in the USA seems to be $4,200 as well as the equivalent in Canadian dollars.

I got my CA99 a month ago $4,250 (plus tax and delivery) from Kentucky. A person just posted on the "prices paid" topic that he got a CA99 this week out of Indiana for about $4,600 plus tax and delivery (he paid less than me in total because of the delivery charge). Neither of us asked the dealer for a discounted price; they just offered it up.

I did find a used CA79 in Pennsylvania in satin black that was being offered by a dealer for $3,300 so yes, $2,600 might be in the ballpark from a private seller depending on how old it actually is and the condition. That one is now sold, though.

Remember, a new Kawai CA series has a 5-year warranty but only to the original purchaser, at least in the USA. If you buy one used that's only a week old you have no factory warranty. That dealer selling the used CA79 also added their own one-year warranty to overcome that hurdle.

This is a related thread: http://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthreads.php/topics/3037208/kawai-ca79-vs-ca78.html

The link that Kawai James posted regarding the superior technical characteristics of the CA79/99 versus the CA78/98: https://forum.pianoworld.com/ubbthre...and-ca79-digital-pianos.html#Post2934489

This link is Kawai's comparison: https://www.kawai-global.com/product_comparison/detail.php?n=ca79,ca78&ct=36

One difference is that only the CA79 can use Kawai's PianoRemote app, if that is important to you. That tells me there really are other significant software changes between the CA78 and the CA79.

FWIW,

Ray

The big thing with the CA78 is the slip-tape issues. There is an easy fix if you have access to a qualified tech. (which I doubt.)

So it becomes really important to learn how the piano was used.

The slip issue really comes about only from excessive use. example : piano used for a school, banged on day in and day out.

From the info I gathered when I was looking, it is not so much an issue when the piano has been used in a regular household situation.

Certainly something to look into and the main fix if you will between the 78 and 79.

(Not to say, the only change, but the main one.)

Ron

Thanks for your post Ray.
The forum's software does not apply link tags to more complicated URLs (such as the product comparison URL), so I've added them in the quote above.

Personally, given the choice between the two, I would opt for a new CA79 over a used CA78.

Kind regards,
James
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