Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards My Kawai CA95 has arrived!

I really hope Kawai company responsible for the Asian market (especially China) Mr. (Ms.), capable of understanding and attention to these opinions.

In China, learning the piano very large number of people, which is about more than 20 million, of which a very large number of piano price at about $ 3300 (about not more than RMB ¥ 20000). Also, the living conditions of the majority of people can not guarantee the piano without harassment neighbors. For example, my piano teacher had a dispute with a neighbor that end.

In fact, compared to the same price of an acoustic piano, CA65 such DP, sound finger touch, pedal feel completely over the quality of most of the vertical acoustic piano. Not only that, it do not care about the effects of temperature and humidity, can not harass neighbors and family, there are many acoustic piano incomparable results. If the production of musical instruments in China, the price is quite acceptable, the market can be said to be promising ah!

I have recently purchased a Kawai CA95 and am a little disappointed hence I am asking what other people think.

The main issue for me is the sound. I have to increase the slider volume to almost its maximum to get what I think is a reasonable sound from the CA95; after all the speakers are 45 watts. I would have thought that this instrument should really be big in sound. Also I have noticed that the E and G in the treble section sound flat. This is not always the case, sometimes it's OK.

When I use the headphones all is great and a truly wonderful sound.

Has any one got any opinions or advice. I have sent an email to Kawai and await a response.

I read somewhere -maybe even here!- that they recommend to put the CA95 against a corner (not against a wall), so that you'll get the best from the soundboard.

Strange about the funny keys, especially if is not constant. Maybe they'll sound better with the above solution or you can try the virtual assistant? Have you updated the version? Kawai James left some link, I'll have a look for you and will edit if I find it.

Keep us informed, a member of my family is seriously considering buying this model after trying my CA65!

Something is definitely wrong there. The CA95 is very loud if turned to maximum - far louder than an acoustic. It should be blowing your head off at that level. I think I had the volume at about 2/3 to get a similar level to a big grand piano. About half to be as loud as an upright.

Thank you for the guidance; it is very useful and is exactly what I was thinking. I am waiting for Kawai to get back to me.

As others have noted, the CA95's speaker system is quite powerful - at maximum volume the instrument will be very loud.

My recommendation would be to raise this matter with the dealer from whom the instrument was purchased. You may also wish to visit the dealer's store to compare the sound of your CA95 with the same model in their showroom.

Kind regards,
James
x

1) perform a factory reset - so all mistakes with EQ settings are cancelled out
2) check if in Menu- Basic settings - setting 4 - speaker volume is set to 'normal'
3) while playing a piano demo , listen carefully at each speaker and behind the soundboard to determine if they sound right, or sound at all. A cable could have gotten loose during transport (easy fix).

Hope this helps. My CA95 is more than loud enough. Unless your living in a castle with grand ballroom (and even then).

Hi All,

Have been back to the dealer who has been very helpful. We shipped in another CA95 to compare with mine. I must admit it seemed very similar in volume so OK on this aspect.
I have been back to the shop several times and they are always very helpful. The odd thing is that I still have issues with key sounds D7 down to F6 including the sharps. These keys sound clunky and if I still had an acoustic piano I would say it was out of tune. The guy form the shop seems to think that they sound OK, but I think there is a definite lack of tone and brightness with these keys. I have tried factory reset and other adjustments but cannot get it to the point where they perform in unison with the other key, especially when playing a scale or music which requires single notes in the right hand (hope that makes sense). The other night I was playing and got a really bad resonance in the bass. I had to switch off and then it seem to cure itself. I must admit I think I am regretting getting rid of my acoustic piano. Unless I can get these issues revolve the CA95 has not lived up to my expectations.
I have notice other people posting about firmware updates, so I am not sure if my problem could be fixed by something similar.

My observations on the volume are the same as Ando's. Maybe there's something wrong with your electricity supply, so not enough power is getting through?


I think I know what you're referring to. Whenever I play bar 15 in Chopin's Nocturne in C# minor No 20, the con forza run starting on C#7 going down to F#6 sounds very "plinky" and the notes have very little sustain or resonance. It contrasts the the bigger sound I get with my Roland or on Pianoteq. I just assumed this is how a Kawai grand sounds.


I haven't experienced anything like that. Is it due to the acoustics of your room? You can adjust the volume on single notes using the Virtual Technician if this is the case. However, then you'll find those notes are too quiet when using headphones. The "solution" is to store the different settings in a Registration.

Unfortunately, the CA95's Registrations are totally dysfunctional. When you load your registration that contains your volume tweaks, you can now no longer select a different piano sound, change the touch, change any of the Basic or MIDI settings, or fine tune the note volumes while you have that registration selected! You can save the volume tweaks to your User Settings, but then you will have the same problem when you try to use headphones.


I doubt the samples will get updated in a firmware update. I remain hopeful about other areas being fixed.

Are you just using the factory preset? It's my understanding that the CA95 has a lot of ways you can adjust the sounds, even down to the specific keys. Try updating to the latest version first, then look into what options you have for adjustment.

I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if this has been addressed, but do you hear the same thing on headphones, or just out of the on-board speakers? It may be an acoustic issue in the room that needs to be addressed.

Are you experiencing this only when you play with speakers on? I have issues with some keys on my CS 10 as well (it has the same action as the CA 95), they have kind of a clicky sound, but is caused by the action itself not by the sound engine. When playing with a reduced speaker volume, this clicky sound mixes with the sound from the speakers an creates an impression as if the piano is out of tune. I already contacted Kawai Germany and they will send an technician to check the problem. Apart from that, I think the CS 10 is really fantastic. [/quote]



I noticed that the soundboard system on the CS 10 needs a certain level of minimum volume to really be effective. So on lower speaker volume settings, I perceive a lack of bass volume as well but I don't think this is a real problem (and our neighbors appreciate that for sure).

Additionally, perceived bass volume can be influenced by the position of the instrument in your room and distance and angle to the wall. Small changes of position can have great effect on perceived volume levels esp. in bass frequencies. Have you tried to change the position of your CA 95?

Kr,
Armin

Are these clicks like a different kind of thump when you press the keys hard, or something else? Is it mainly white or black keys or a mixture?

I have had a similar problem with a new CA95. There are 6 or so keys which make a click sound when played. For me this occurs with the piano switched off altogether and is audible when playing. It seems like there is a piece of felt missing at the bottom of the key bed or within the action itself. All the other keys have a soft quiet feeling at the bottom of the key stroke but these other keys make more of a banging feeling with an audible click or clunk. Most of the affected keys are either B or C.

I should add that the action feel for all the other keys is lovely and overall I'm happy with the instrument. I am hoping that Kawai will be able to fix the key bed/action issues. For me this is a backup instrument for practice at night time and when I don't want to disturb the family or neighbours.

Took one look at these and thought to meself "Trouble!"

So I buys a DGX instead . . .

I have recontacted the dealer and asked for a replacement from Kawai which the dealer has agreed to do.

I am well pleased with all the other keys and the way they perform; it's just the group from D7 down to F6. I have been and played my former piano teachers grand and the sound on that is as I would expect, bright, in tune, and good volume.

I have tried everything with the current CA95 to try and correct this issue, virtual technician, basic settings, but my main point would be: why should you have to do this on a brand new instrument?

Anyway, I'll report again when the new one arrives.

derek_900, could you make a recording of your old one and your new one so we can compare?

iceporky, having read through this thread, I'm intrigued to know the end of your story and what's happened with your keyboard issue. Do you have an update?

Haha! Well, the dealer is ordering a new CA95 for me. I'm now just waiting for a delivery schedule. Hope it works out this time.

My brand-new replacement CA95 arrived 3 days ago.

Bad news first. There's still a fluffy/thumping key in the new set. This time is the A key (the last time was the B key). It's in the same octave as the middle C. But besides that A key, everything is pretty much perfect.

Good news next. It could very well be that my mind is playing tricks on me so that I'll not be drowned in sorrows. But here's what I discovered about this new set (default settings):
- The Concert Grand sound is much more open (nice!)
- The keys are firmer to play on (super nice!)
- The black keys make a tiny 'tok' sound when I release it abruptly (cool!)

The firmer feel to the keys is great, but I guess it's because the keys have not been broken in yet. But, as of now, it feels really, really good.

Now, I had spent hours playing at a piano store where they sell "german luxury" pianos - I was eyeing a Schimmel K122 (super nice mellow sound). But to keep an open mind, I played on another Schimmel (C130), an August Forrester and a couple of Wilh Steinberg. I can clearly hear the key mechanisms on those pianos (esp. the Wilh Steinberg). The black key's slight 'tok' sound reminds me of the Schimmel K122 key action (see, I told you my mind is making all kind of inferences to comfort me).

Anyways, I'm not going to ask for another replacement set or let any clueless technician near my piano again. If that A key really bothers me that much, I can always do inversions to go around chords that hit the A key.

Sorry to hear that your replacement also has a keyboard problem. It is yet another example for the list, and it shows that those maintaining that these problems are rare, don't understand probablity. There may be some reporting bias towards problems, but when people who've already reported problems are getting second units with problems, there is only a tiny chance that this is down to bad luck.

"Fluffy / thumping key" sounds like it could be the front rail, but it's hard to tell without looking at it. You might have to try to fix the problem yourself: see a description here. I would still report it as a warranty issue though, and work with the technician to put it right, so you have some recourse.


I'm confused how it's even possible for there to be such variation between units...? Dutch Dhamma reported the same thing on her second one (link).

Yes, that’s still a mystery to me. My second CA 95 sounded much more alive, dynamic and fresh. Not only the Concert Grand sample sounded as Iceporky say’s “much more open”, but the rest of the samples sounded also better. Not only through the speakers and soundboard but also trough headphones. I can understand that in some cases a real acoustic piano can differ in sound from one model to another, but a digital piano? It just doesn’t make sense.

For what about the one noisy key in the second CA 95 unit of Iceporky. I’ am sorry to say but this proves IMO again that Kawai need’s to invest a bit more in factory quality control. I mean if you can get 87 keys right, why not the last one also? But I’ am still in love with my Kawai CA 95. Perfection is probably not something from this world
Greetings,
Dhamma