Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Forum Kawai K8 or small grand?

If you could choose, would you buy a new Kawai K8 upright or a 5'4" or 5'8" grand of good reputation like Brodman, Hailun, Boston....

Any thoughts/opinions? Why/why not? TIA!!!

I'd choose a 5'8" Hailun or a Brodmann PE 162 over a K8.

Way better action and better sound.

I got a Kawai K3 and I wish I'd waited a few months for a few more $Ks in the bank. I'd have gotten a decent grand instead.

It's better than nothing but not a day goes by when I don't wish for better.

Have you played them? If not, play them first. It's time consuming, but will probably rule some possibilities out simply because you don't like them or don't like them as well as you like something else. And since your personal opinion is by far the most important here, such information gathering is critical.

If you HAVE already played them, what do YOU think?

K8s are well respected instruments. Boston, as you may know, is also made by Kawai, and is considered by most (though not all, I've discovered) to be of about the same level as Kawai itself. However, if a small Boston grand is on your list, I'm wondering why a small Kawai grand is not. And if a tall Kawai upright is on your list, I'm wondering why a tall Boston upright is not. If I were interested in either, I'd make sure to play both. Any reason for these omissions?

In any case, getting a Japanese piano (whether Kawai or Boston or Yamaha for that matter) has the advantage of lowering the buyer's need to worry about variations from instrument to instrument. They all have a reputation for remarkable consistency and for coming out of the crate in far better than average level of preparation, even before the dealer preps them. This makes you somewhat less dependent on the dealer's prep work. Most other pianos do not have the same reputation--even many pianos deemed better (and, of course, vastly more expensive) than the ones you're considering. In any case, good luck!

Small grands tend to be more popular than tall uprights. So for resale the small grand might sell better.

Haven't tried the K8 but my general feeling is that even with a small grand the sound surrounds you from all sides. A more immersive experience.

Then again, Kawai is popular, too. Its action is probably very good, too.

I think if it were me I'd either buy a less expensive upright, or one of those small grands.

In my own experiences, i have found the Boston small grands to have somewhat richer tone than a similar sized Kawai. And i'd get the grand, for Gnuboi's reasons.

The Hailun or Brodmann grand, no question.
I was once where dsch was (the second poster in this thread).
I too had actually just bought a nice Kawai upright and it was a nice piano but afterwards I was not too happy because I always wanted a grand but thought that I would never really be able to afford one.
I realized though that there was no reason why I shouldn't treat myself to a grand piano since if I didn't get one now I probably never would. I also was not in debt for anything and since my 50th birthday was coming up I thought somebody should buy me something nice for it, even if that somebody would have to be me.
So I soon sold the upright to a friend and after much shopping I purchased my Hailun 198 (I would have loved to get a Brodmann if one was available) and have been thrilled ever since.
It has made me MUCH more serious about playing and I am improving much faster than if I had kept the upright, if only because I am playing WAY more often.

I went with a high quality Chinese maker because for the same price I could get a much larger piano than if I stayed with the usual Yamaha or Kawai grand. The quality of the Hailun has been impressive and every tech that has worked on it has been surprised and commented positively on various aspects of the build quality.

I tried a few Bostons (and Essex) but they never really did anything for me and I could get a larger piano with Hailun.
I fell madly head over heels in love with the Brodmann 212 but it was well out of my price range.

I've also never heard of anybody regretting they bought too good of a piano but I've heard lots of people express some regret that they didn't buy "higher".

If you have the resources to purchase a decent grand, then that is the route to take. Not only is the sound richer and fuller with more power and longer sustain, but the action allows for faster repetition of notes and more control over the sound that is produced. Don't sacrifice quality for size - choose the largest of the best piano brand in your price range.

Join the club! I'm only a few years away from that.



Hah Hah. That's me, too.

If you have the room and the financial situation get the Grand even if you have to stretch. I am in the market for a larger residence. I went with the Kawai K8 for space reasons.

Once I am in the new place I am going to take my time and slowly find the best dealer + prep for a Grand piano I can find.
I want to play every brand of Grand piano......same model different stores....get deeply into them.....take my time and play ones I would walk by before. I played Yamaha C2 and C3...loved them. I played a Kawai Rx-2 and a Rx-6. Fantastic instruments....but I want to be 101% when I go for that Grand.

THanks everyone, for your thoughts! Our internet cut out, so I was down for a little while. I enjoyed reading what you all had to share here. We have played a few grands now and uprights as well, but haven't played a K8 for a couple years. I do think if we can afford a grand we should "go for it," because as we've been auditioning instruments in the past few weeks we've noticed the significant difference in sound between grands and uprights. Space is tight, but we should be able to make a small grand work...we will move out other furniture and make a child sleep under the grand. LOL!

We don't think we'll ever sell the instrument unless we bought something with which we were disappointed. (Trying to avoid that...I appreciate the above words of caution on that front.) The way the path of our life looks, we need to invest now in the best instrument for the $$ that we can afford and be happy with it as our "lifelong" instrument...as the kiddos graduate into adulthood and branch out on their own, they can get whatever instruments they need/desire. So whatever grand we buy now will be ours until....well, who knows? It will be played upon by multiple children and mom, too. So resale value doesn't really factor into the discussion for us, but tone, touch and quality construction does.

So far we've got a list that includes small grands from Boston, Hailun, Brodman, Kawai...and I'm still thinking about a couple others. Not closed to anything, just choosing based on $$ and availability. Thanks again!

I'd buy a 5'7" Ritmuller......

More to the point of the question, I was in a similar boat and chose to target grands between 5-and-a-half to 6 feet. I think there are some nice small grands in that range, including the several you mentioned and the one I own.

However, personally, I would still buy a nice upright over a grand that was shorter than 5-and-a-half feet.

Good luck and happy hunting!

Mike

I think I just shot myself in the foot the other day by playing a nice Kawai RX-6 at a dealer! What an amazing tone.
I still haven't taken delivery of my Kawai K8 as they are still tuning it.

ouch, rafterman!! That's kind of what happened to me at the Steinway gallery. we were really "married" to the idea of an upright until we heard the small grands. now i don't think i could go to an upright...but i don't want to discount ANYthing, b/c life changes so fast....

thanks, mikeheel, for the thoughts...i actually have added that Ritmuller to our audition list. i have not had the chance to play many of these instruments yet, and i have a feeling that when i start comparing them in their larger sizes i won't want to go the "baby" grand route.... but i need to be open to what we can fit and afford, LOL. I am starting to think the 5'8"ish size would be better than the 5'4"ers....for sound, that is...space conservation is a different issue. but, i doubt those extra couple of inches would really be impossible to fit in our small space.

Be aware that in some small spaces a grand might sound rather different from a large exhibition room in a shop. Depending on the room an upright *might* be a better solution - and there are brilliant uprights out there...

There are some great uprights out there, and they deserve strong consideration if the room is going to be too tight.

I love my 5'7" Ritmuller. IMO, it sounded better than the other pianos I tried up to 6'1". But different ears like different tones. I like a rich, warm tone with a strong bass. One of the nice features on the smaller Rits is the wider tail that allows richer bass for the size. To my ear, this design helps them sound about 6-8 inches bigger than they actually are.

But there are plenty of excellent options out there these days. I hope you find something you love.

Good luck,
Mike

Does the shorter grand with the wider tail sound better than a similar length piano with the standard tail? It is a contentious issue.
Steinway and Sons made much of this feature in marketing Boston grand pianos. Possibly to make a further point of differentiation between competing Boston and Kawai models.

However, Steinway have not changed the tail width of their own grand pianos.

Just increasing the soundboard area by widening the tail in my opinion, may not enhance the sound.

It is my view that the quality of design and manufacture of the soundboard and the string lengths are more critical in effecting improvements in tone.

Regards,
Robert.

I would not dispute that those elements are more critical, but I tried many pianos in my search and my ears told me that when the manufacture and components were otherwise equivalent in smaller grands (below 6 feet), the wider tail did make an actual positive difference in the sound.

fwiw,
Mike

k8, they're wonderful!

Forgive me if I am totally confused, but I see on another thread that you have also ordered a Yamaha YUS5 so that you may be having two very nice pianos. Lucky man!

I certainly agree with you about the Kawai RX6 which can be a fantastic piano.

Regards,

Robert.

The Kawai K8 is an excellent upright, but the difference of touch the grand piano has is well worth considering a grand over the upright. The Kawai millennium 3 action is THE best I have ever played, and grand pianos have a more responsive action with a better feel. You can actually feel the escapement. Word of advice, the GE30 is a very sweet baby grand with a great tone for its size, but don't buy one any smaller. An RX 2 also is nice and has a more solid bass. If funds are stretched, you won't be disappointed with the GE30!