Hello Peter,
Interesting discussion - I believe all three models have their merits, however...
Playability may be another story however. . .I only want it for piano sounds now.
In this case, I would wholeheartedly agree with Hendrik:
Do you need portability at all?
Do need to record to a USB stick? If no, get the CA17 - HI-XL and wood in the action...
The 'RM3 Grand II' wooden key action on the CA17 is superior to the 'Responsive Hammer III' plastic key action on the CN35/ES8 (which is still a really lovely action, it has to be said...), and bettered only by the longer key sticks provided by Grand Feel/Grand Feel II.
Yes, it does need to record wav and pref mp3 too.
Ah, that changes things somewhat!
Are you really sure MP3 record/playback is more important than keyboard action realism?
Don't get me wrong, it's a very convenient feature, however I'm not sure I would value this above the keyboard action.
ES8 pedals. . . what they like? I usually have to play this thing standing up! Wi my foot on a single pedal unit.
The ES8 ships with an F-10H single pedal unit which support half-pedalling. It's well made and will last forever. The optional triple pedal unit which attaches to the optional stand shares the same 'Grand Feel Pedal' mechanism as Kawai's console models.
I guess Im just fishing for opinions off people who bought such models, and why. Itd be good to have a decent keyboard under my fingers!
I'm confident that you will be very happy with any of the three models on your short-list, however if acoustic piano is your focus, the CA17 is the winner. However, one alternative you may wish to pursue is seeking out a discounted CA65, as discussed
here. As mention in that thread, the CA65 lacks the latest Shigeru Kawai piano samples, however the rest of the instrument is superior to the CA17.
I hope this helps - please keep us posted on your thought process.
Cheers,
James
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