Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai novus nv5s or Yamaha u1nxa?

Hi there,

I was eyeing to purchase a digital piano which is high end and where our kids (3 years) and myself can start and grow their skills with.

Given we will probably soon move home and given the fact we would play during impossible times as well as don't have the space for a grand piano ,my decision fell on a hybrid digital piano so as to be as close as possible to the acoustic one.

Budget is kind about maximizing the value I get for the price I am paying with an intention above all to give something to my kids over the next 10 years they can play with.

Happy to hear your thoughts on I) whether the pre selection I made is the right one or am missing something and ii) what advantages and disadvantages there are between the two models.

Thanks so much in advance for your help

Go play both. No way to tell which you'll like.

Those are both very nice pianos and I'm sure you'd be happy with either of them. The Yamaha is less expensive (at least where I live) so if budget is a concern that makes the decision easy. Or, if you can go try them both and see if one speaks to you that is always ideal.

You could also consider an acoustic hybrid in similar price range. Like the Yamaha b1 with silent system

Thanks, I would say luckily price is not so much an issue when you are eyeing a piano for 5-6k€. I would not want to pay more for than 7-8k€ though for sure.

What is the advantages of the Yamaha B1 vs the other two? Would you recommend that over the other two?

Thank you!

Thanks, I understand that subjectivity is important. However , do you have an opinion on my two questions as well?
1) is there a piano I should consider looking at within that price range and you would recommend over the two or am I looking at the two best ones there?
2) between the two, what are the pros and cons I need to know about? Anything I should be aware of before buying?

Thank you

The Yamaha b1 silent (I think it's called SC2) is a real acoustic piano that can be made silent with onboard electronics. It's heavier than the two digital only hybrids you mentioned and would need to be maintained regularly by a piano technician just like any other acoustic piano. But you get to un-silence it and play a real piano which is nice. There are many acoustic pianos like this from Yamaha and Kawai, the b1 is just one of the smallest and least expensive ones which is why I mentioned it specifically.

The only other thing you might consider is a plain non-hybrid digital. Probably the main thing to be aware of is that if something goes wrong with a hybrid they are often more difficult to have repaired. Also both of those you mentioned have an upright actions whereas you could get a grand style (albeit not real like the hybrids) action in a CLP 785, Kawai 901, Casio GP 310, etc. (many digital pianos in this category).

Kawai pros: better sounding for classical music, and composite carbon fibre / ABS action instead of wood means should need less servicing (action regulation/calibration) over its many decades of lifespan.
Kawai cons: no USB Audio - so a lot more difficult to upgrade the piano tones/sound.
LCD screen (backlit) - 1. Not good for your eyes (missing the newer OLED screen on newer Kawai digital pianos), and 2. Cannot be turned off - which is distracting to adults and even more distracting to children which is exactly what you don’t want for beginner children!

Yamaha pros: better sounding for modern/pop music and playing alongside other instruments/vocals. Has USB Audio - so just one USB printer cable lets you upgrade the piano tones/sounds easily. Touch screen turns completely off - reducing distraction which is a bonus children will be using the piano.
Yamaha cons: wooden action - so likely will require one or two more action regulations/calibrations over its 20 year lifespan. Of course if you look after the piano - i.e. keep dust away and humidity stable - then this con is mitigated.

Both have superior actions to almost every digital piano - e.g. the CLP-785 keys bounce (once) upon key return and the ES920 keys double-bounce upon key return, whereas the NU1XA keys do not bounce.

Also I can’t remember if the NV5S physically lifts the dampers when you employ the pedals - if so then I’d argue the NI1XA has the advantage of keeping key weight consistent as you play.

The NV5S does in fact lift damper weights when the pedal is pressed.

I would take the opposite view as you do here--I think that more authentically replicates how an acoustic upright works, and as such would be an advantage for the NV5S over the NU1XA

Oh it certainly replicates an acoustic action - 100% replicates an inherent flaw in acoustic action design

Whereas Yamaha have mercifully fixed this design defect


Intelligent person: Why are we still doing things this way?!
Sheep: Because that’s just the way we’ve always done it.

That's a good one, Burkey, haha!

I guess the good thing for those who feel this way is that you literally have your pick of every digital piano in the market without “Novus” in the name

I don’t think everyone has to prefer it, but for me it’s less about it being the way things have always been done, and more about emulating as best as possible what a real acoustic piano sounds and feels like. I get not everyone wants that, but the more you lean towards a hybrid like an AvantGrand or Novus, my guess is the more you value even what some consider to be “defects.”

Hello Burkey,

Regarding your comments:


1. I'm not sure if this is correct.
2. The backlight can be turned off, as of touchpanel update v1.3.

Kind regards,
James
x

This.

Wint1990, welcome to the forum.

I have yet to try the NU1XA for myself, so am reluctant to comment.

I expect it is likely an improvement over the previous generation NU1X, and therefore closes the gap with the NV5S.

My recommendation would be to play-test both instruments, and purchase the one that you believe provides the most accurate and enjoyable playing experience.

Kind regards,
James
x

ps. Did I read your initial post correctly? Your children are 3 years old?

Thank you! Yes, indeed, still very young but I want that piano to last so that they can start playing but then also grow their skill set along the way as they get better (assuming they even like the instrument lol). Else it's gonna be me playing it.

I stand corrected - thanks James!

I must have missed the 1.3 update.

I do however stand by my comment about placing a touch screen next to a piano distracting my young children away from the piano. Which is often counterproductive

The CA line and NV5S are therefore better suited to adults (people over 12).

Well I think I may have to correct this a little bit, but I agree with most thing u said tho.
Superior action to almost every digital piano if you like the feel of upright action, because most dps action try to mimics the action of a grand, and therefore give you a different feel.
The acoustic grand piano action also bounce on key return, much noticable on the bass region where the hammers are heavier, whereas the acoustic upright action isn't bouncing as much (yes it still bounce but close to none imho)

I recently tested a bunch of high end digitals and the feeling of the keys bouncing back into my fingers on the CA905 was quite bad (I assume ES920 is similar). I don't remember it being like that on my MP11.
However I wasn't satisfied by the upright action of the NU1XA and NV5. I just made a thread about those

I'd like to suggest another purchase possibility. My skill level is between beginner and intermediate, and so I'm going to purchase the Kawai CA701 to train on with a private instructor for the next four or five years, after which I will upgrade to the next-generation hybrid. The 701 is much less expensive than a hybrid, and its GFIII action replicates the feel of an acoustic grand to what is probably a fairly close degree. Of course, the downside is that I will only get a fraction my purchase price for the 701 when I sell it, but if I can't save enough money in a purchase account for a hybrid over four or five years, then something is seriously wrong.

This purchase suggestion may not be appealing to you, but it doesn't hurt to get as many different opinions as you can.