This is my first post as I am new to the forum. I've been in the market looking for a grand piano and have been reading the forum comments, which have been invaluable. In my brief shopping, I had a chance to play a Kawai RX-1, Perzina T-161 and Estonia 168 (The Estonia and Kawai were side by side at the same store). I liked the feel of the action of the Kawai. Really responsive and amazing. To me, it had the best touch (though some would disagree given the Renner action of the Estonia).

I was quite surprised to find the tone of the Perzina and Estonia so similar to my ears, although I did not hear them side by side, which may be a factor. The Perzina really surprised me, as I wasn't able to find much about their T-series grands on this forum or elsewhere. At 5' 3", it is an amazing piano with a much deeper bass and tonal depth than the RX-1, even though the RX-1 is a 5'5". To me, the Perzina was hands down a better sounding piano than the RX-1, with greater depth and better singing quality, although the touch and responsiveness lagged behind the Kawai. One reason may be because the Perzina has a bigger soundboard and similar (or larger) sized no. 1 bass string than the Kawai even though it is a smaller piano. I'm not an engineer and wouldn't know, but I really fell in love with the Perzina.

I played the Estonia for good measure. At 5'6", it is my dream piano and truly gorgeous. The one I played was called "hidden beauty" with babinga, which was a sight to behold. The Estonia's tone was perhaps the best of the bunch, although my ears found the Perzina very similar and close. However, the Estonia also has a price tag to match, which is beyond my budget at this point.

At this point, I can't seem to get that Perzina sound out of my head. Has anyone else played any of these pianos side by side and have any comments to share? One concern I have is that the Kawai dealer opined wooden actions may someday be replaced entirely by composite actions due to the latter's greater durability and performance. He indicated Mason and Hamlin was already in that direction. How much emphasis should I place on the action's components and the touch? I will continue to try more grand pianos as I continue looking, but welcome your comments and thoughts.

Well, your concern about outdated "wooden" actions should not be a concern. The Kawai does have a wonderful composite action, but there are just as wonderful wooden actions. Piano makers have been using wooden actions for 300 years. Even today, only Kawai and Mason and Hamlin routinely put composite actions into their pianos, all other makers such as Steinway, Bechstein, Grotrian, Fazoli, Bosendorfer, etc use wooden actions. It's not like VCR's and DVD's that when one technology caught on the other pretty much faded away. Both wooden and composite actions will be around for a long, long, long time.

Hi Grandman - Welcome to Piano World!

You have done your homework well. You also have come up with three distinctive pianos that are in steps of ~$10K in successive order. I am familiar with all three and have played a significant number of each. Unlike you, I have never had a side-by-side with any of the instruments.

I agree that the Perzina and the Estonia are closer to each other, in tonal pallette, than to the Kawai. There is a "shimmer" in the Perzina which is quite lovely. The Perzina seems to be gaining in popularity in the U.S. as their distribution increases. It is a lot of piano for the money. One thing I would suggest is to upgrade to the Renner action as the Detoa is not of the same quality. The caution is that its track record is unproven. I'm not sure how long that tonal structure lasts. It seems to be a step up from the usual entry level Chinese piano, however.

It all boils down to what you, and only you, prefer in touch and tone. I consider all three of these pianos to be perfectly acceptable for a serious, skilled pianist in their initial response. The Estonia is, of course, at the top of the list.

Sorry bit it keeps amazing me, so Perzina is made in China, then entry level. Estonia, have you ever been there? in similar speech old poor ex-ussr country entry level as well then. And Kawai? who ever buys a Kawai when you have Yamaha made in the same city! Thou musical instruments they are machines, so dig it more on how their built and less on "that's what they are supposed to be".
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RAY930,

I'm not sure what you read, but your reply indicates that you didn't understand what I said.

What are you trying to say, anyway?

Grandman:

Interesting observations.

Welcome and - thanks for sharing!

Norbert

I like the Kawai action but that doesn't mean Estonia or Yamaha or Steinway use poor materials in their wooden actions. Wood is fine if properly designed, crafted, and maintained.