Dear CN-33 Owners, I have narrowed my search for new CDP to Kawai CN-23 or CN-33, with the CN-33 being about $500 extra here in Oz. I am a 1-year adult beginner who plays blues and jazz.
I have read the brochures and tried the CN-23 (but not the CN-33).
My question to you CN-33 owners is which extra features does it have, over and above the CN-23, that you really feel was worth the extra investment for you? Bottom line: should I spend the extra dollars.

There are severeal additions to the CN33 I appreciate very much

Major

• Line-In/Out
• USB
• Possibility to save your setting changes to user memory that is read on start up. The CN23 always loads the factory defaults at startup.

Minor

• Better look of the CN33
• Bigger speakers, so maybe better sound

I am really impressed with the CN-23. However, the $500 is worth the extra money for the CN-33.

1. CN-33 has buttons whereas the CN-23 you must depress a button and a note to change sounds. CN-33 is much more user friendly, worth the price of admission, IMHO.
2. Extra sounds.
3. USB
4. LED display (metronome and other features are easier to use)

You will not regret getting the CN-33 and years from now will not miss the $500.

Best

In addition to the points listed above, the CN33 keyboard action also features let-off simulation.

In my opinion you're getting a lot of extra piano for your $500, which - over the lifetime of the instrument - is a relatively small amount.

Cheers,
James
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Ozzienovice hi, before buying the cn 33 I also tried the cn 23 and then I can tell you I agree with Mawima, Stephen and James. The Kawai cn 33 has strings resonance, better speakers, more sounds, usb, line in/out, possibility to save sittings, better cabinet and let-off... so I think you you can pay an extra sum of difference for all this.
Anyway I could feel the difference playing the 2 DP. The sound of the cn 33 was more full and deep.
Greetings

The main reasons for me were the appearance of the CN33, it has front 'legs', the more powerful audio/speakers, the USB - which I'm not yet using, the ability to save some preferences - which I hardly use, and the extra sounds.

Edit to add that several months on I do use the ability to save preferences: piano sounds, touch, effects (resonances) and reverb.

The other one is the 33 has temperament settings which I don't think the 23 has.

Thank you, to all you kind CN-33 owners for your comments. I am now leaning towards the CN-33 and spending the extra money. But just when I had made this decision, the Kawai dealer says he can do a deal on the CN-42 which is to be replaced by CN-43. He can do the CN-42 for only $100 more than the CN-33! Older action, but lots of extras. Decisions, decisions. What would you guys do?

Play them side by side in the store. Do you need the extras on the CN42?

That's a toughie.

Better action on the CN33, but more features on the CN42.

I'm with spanishbuddha - you'll need to play them side-by-side.
Also try playing them both with the power turned off to really get a feel for the actions.

Cheers,
James
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I thought the CN-33 has more touch sensitivity ranges than the CN-23 as well? like it has off, light1, light2, heavy1, heavy2 etc.

Yes, you're quite right.

James
x

Sorry to bring up an old thread..

I've been testing DP's recently and think I prefer the feel of the kawai models over the others. Today I tested a kdp-80, a cn-23r and a cn-33r. What does the 'r' mean? Are these new versions of the same models? Are the actions on the cn-23 and cn-33 supposed to be the same? I'm sure I read that somewhere but after playing them both today I was convinced they were different. To me, the cn-33 felt overall smoother and more balanced (disregarding the let-off). I think I actually preferred the kdp-80 to the cn-23. Or I could just be imagining things.

Hello Peace-Piece,



The letter after the model number indicated the cabinet finish. In this case 'Rosewood' (officially 'Premium Rosewood').



Essentially, yes. They both utilise the 'Responsive Hammer' ('RH') keyboard action, however the CN33 features the let-off simulation.



The KDP80 uses older keyboard and sound technology, and could be considered a rebadged CN21. Certainly not a bad instrument - especially not for the price - but not quite as rewarding a playing experience as the newer CNx3 models.

Regarding the differences in keyboard touch/feel, this could be caused by variations in sound between the three models (different speaker/amplifier combinations etc.). Therefore, I recommend playing the instrument switched off (or with the volume turned down to the lowest level) in order to compare keyboard actions.

Cheers,
James
x

Hi james, thanks for the reply.

Ah, rosewood. Should have figured that one out.

I'm still surprised they are the same. I actually did try that no sound technique. I also went in assuming they were the same but they felt different. I switched back and forth between the two and would have sworn I felt a noticeable difference.

I'm going to have go back and try the two again. The cn-33 would really be stretching my budget, and the most important thing to me is action and sound. Not concerned at all with anything else.