Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards A little review of a very efficient DP: Kawai CL36

Thank you for the information.
I thought my piano was defective, but it was just like a real (acoustic) one.
So it does not matter if I like this behavior or not.
However, I find irritating this loud ringing of the g6 going on for 2-3 seconds while I continue playing.

Just get over it - pianos are meant to do that.

With which sounds? – The middle octave.

But in the meantime I noticed I had three DPs instead of one
One placed on a thick carpet (soft, muffled sounds), another one in the middle of the room, and a third one – the best one for me – on the wooden floor, close to the wall (10 cm). In the last case the sound is more defined and clear. However there are always notes that sound softer than the other ones, depending on the placement.
The difference is audible through headphones as well to a minor extent.
Could the manual in its next edition give ideas as regards placement?

Kind regards

That's a good suggestion, thank you.

I'm gradually rewriting all the Kawai DP owner's manuals from scratch, so I expect information about placement will find its way into the next CL3x model in the future.

Cheers,
James
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Today I went back to the store, now with the sound of my CL 36 in the ear, to see how other DPs compare with mine. I used my old Sennheiser headphones.
• CN 23: same sound, same touch
• CN 33: almost the same sound; same touch
• CN 43: slightly different sound; same touch
• CA 63: different sound, light touch (RM3)
• KDP 80: very light touch, as if the keys were not weighted
• Yamaha YDP-161: sound is from another family; touch is different.


On all Kawais the middle octave is soft.
Key noise: these DPs make more or less the same key noise.
The CL 36 proved to be the best buy for me.

As regards headphones, I don t know which way to go.
The AKGs (at least the 601s, that I tried) are difficult to drive without an amp (that I would like to avoid if possible), they say the Sennheisers (500s, 600s) are also hard to drive.

Actually by spec CA 63 and CN43 have 2*50W CN33 and CN23 have 2*20W speakers, CL-36 has 2*15W.
Action CA63 RM3, CN33 RH+tear-off, other RH
Sound CA63 UPHI, others PHI.
CL36 has really lot of value for the money...
Edit : CL26, is less interessant : 2*15W, no PHI, no RH...
BR

Hi, I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas on which headphones are suitable (without needing an Amp.) for the CL-36. Or perhaps someone can give some info on suitable headphone specs.? I've read in another forum that 32 or 40 Ohm headphones don't work well. Would 50 or 55 Ohm be ok? I am totally clueless about headphones and the such.. It would really help if anyone can provide some info..

Yes, 50 or 55 ohm headphones work fine with a digital piano or most any other jack. For high end headphones, those are low impedance (this range is becoming more popular in part because it can be used with good results without an amp). High impedance cans are typically in the 300-600 ohm range and benefit a lot from a headphone amp.

Now, there may be some benefits to having an amp with a 50 ohm set of headphones, but they definitely sound fine without it.

Yes, I think you are right as my new Kawai CA95 doesn't sound quite right to me (with raspy, metallic buzzing notes) as I haven't really figured out if it is just the nature of the main "Concert Grand" sound, or, if it could be a fuzziness from the speakers / soundboard or maybe a cabinet vibration of some sort. The main piano sound is grating on my ears (with certain notes above middle C), so I try to mute this defect by using the "Mellow Grand" preset, instead.

Not happy with the main piano sounds on the CA95, although my cheaper Kawai EP3 actually sounds far better and has none of the fuzziness. The EP3 has great clarity in its piano tones, as the CA95 does not.

As for now, since I can't figure out how to clear up the fuzzy sounds on the CA95, I prefer the EP3. Did I waste 4K on the CA95?

What's up with that, in a flagship digital?

pv88, please refer to my post in the correct thread:

https://www.pianoworld.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1972554/Re:%20Kawai%20CA95%20-%20Raspy%20metalli.html#Post1972554

Kind regards,
James
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I bought our very first piano Kawai CL-36 White 2 weeks ago. Well, my story goes ....
My wife & I wanted to have a piano for a long time. I had no experience with any instrument before but she did.
We were thinking to play or practice together. And we do love classic piano sound.
I had been look for it past few months. Roland F-120 or Yamaha P-105 were my first choice, but local shop don't have it. Lucky, there was Japan Trade Fair at my city (I'm in Yangon, Myanmar[Burma]), the lovely appearance of CL-36 attract our eye, which placed behind the Baby Grand (I forgot the model). We did some research about CL-36 on the internet, on this forum, Sumsar review & a friend who is music composer help me to buy it. My very first sight of CL-36 is the compact size, secondly it's weighted with Iovy touch full 88keys, finally it's only worthy 5 times of my monthly income. We are really please with what we did. I had never felt such a very happy day in my life before. The only compliment from my wife is that she felt it like upright string piano she experienced. And she pleased with it.

Sumsar review about key-noise about CL-36 is real, but we can bear with it, using headphone or 70% volume.

I will upgrade my CL-36, may be after few years later.
I will be expecting something that is a digital piano which will feature
1.. compact size (ideal one is CL-36)
2.. touch feel of concert grand (Ideal for now is Kawai EX)
3.. sound of concert grand (Ideal for now is Kawai EX)
4.. 3 Pedal support
5.. Headphone support or better speaker (like BOSE)

Key-cover, MIDI, USB, many voices, sound effects or many others functions are not important for me.
My ideal is more like ... a compact size Concert Grand Digital Piano with a single voice & touch of itself is enough for me.

Thank you, Sumsar & pianoworld.com

Thank you ToeNi!

James
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I don't see any problem with key noise. I find mine extremely quiet? For the price-point I still think it should come with a built-in hard key cover.

Enjoy it! I still love mine

A friend of mine compliment about how I chose the Kawai CL-36.
He stated like this "You bought a piano with touch & sound of it, not the look of it."
I reply "Exactly, but you can feel the full concert grand if you closed your eye."

I've been playing my MP6 mostly with the default grand piano sound and I love the keyboard and the sound of it. Yeah, could be better of course. But digital pianos can always be better. What I miss is speakers for the rare moments when I have guests and I need to play for them. I miss triple sensors for some rare pieces where I play fast repetitions. I miss a simplistic and compact IKEA-style white cabinet to match my interior. CL36 is the perfect candidate. I guess an eventual CL37 with RH2 and slightly better fidelity sampleset would be something to made me wanna buy it James?

CyberGene, Jame

How about this CL-46 with Grand Feel?
I'm gonna buy it even without
No Concert Magic, No Lesson,
No Metronome, No Sound Select.

Nice idea, but I think the Grand Feel action is rather too big for a 'compact' instrument (CL = Compact Line).

Cheers,
James
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I had the same problem with AKG 701 (low level of volume) then I replaced them with Sehnnheiser HD 598 and the Kawai MP6 sounds great. Before that, I had AKG k520 and it produced a very good, linear sound with the nice bass.

Dude, yet another Kawai acronym that actually means something. I guess every letter pair that comes from Kawai has a hidden meaning. There should be a dictionary for this stuff.

That makes me wonder if things like CLP and YDP mean something on the Yamaha side.

I expect CLP is probably an acronym for "CLavinova Piano" and YDP "Yamaha Digital Piano".

Cheers,
James
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