Hi there everybody,

I'm afraid i'm currently in quite a predicament at the moment as i'm really struggling to decide on which digital piano to settle for and i have to make a choice within a couple of days.

I have two questions which i would like to get some help on:

1) Which is better when comparing the CA71 to the CLP 280; i find that the sound of the 71 is not as great as the 280 but the touch is more to my liking and this is more important overall I believe.

I do not however, have extensive knowledge about what all of the other terms mean (e.g. 192 Polphony vs 96 polyphony) and was wondering if someone could please outline and explain some of these key differences and whether they should sway my choice of digital piano.

2) Secondly, i'm afraid a CA 91 is not currently available where live but will be coming through in around 2 months. Is there a substantial difference between the CA 71 and 91 for which i should wait an extra 2 months to purchase it? If so - what are these differences?

Thanks a lot for your time and i really hope that you find the time to reply to me as i am in real need of all of your help.
Thanks a lot and take care
Vishesh - South Africa

Polyphony refers to the number of musical events that can sound at the same time. Only ten fingers, but when you use the pedal they begin to over lap. Benifit of increased polyphony is when you do significant multi-track recording. It has nothing to do with the tone of the instrument.
I am a big fan of Yamaha and the 280. The quality of the Kawai product is good, but IMO the Yamaha instruments are more musical and user friendly.

Welcome to the forum, thedigitalvee!

The piano engine inside the CA71 is the same as in the CA91, but you get fewer demo tunes and native sounds (60 vs 80), less amp power (80W vs 110W), and --more importantly-- no resounding acoustic soundboard as an extra "speaker". It does sound somewhat less impressive than a Yamaha CLP270/280 because of the more rudimentary amplification. Still, contrary to Craigen (whose opinion I respect), I am more a Kawai fan myself. I believe that the CA-class pianos are just better musical instruments, closer to an acoustic piano, and a better value for the money. Their strongest point --as compared to Clavinovas-- is their real, all-wood keyboards[/b] made of one-piece, full-length levers, which make the feeling[/b] of playing them (any of them, MP8, CA51/71/91) immensely more satisfying than playing on Yamaha's actions. The CLPs all have a GH3 folded two-storey action which is basically some sort of a hoax and a clever illusion of reality as compared to an acoustic piano. This includes the keyboard they dare to call "Natural Wood" on the 280, which is but another GH3 with cosmetic (albeit real) wood inserts on the front parts of the white keys. Not really a different keyboard, only marginally so, and they charge you about $500 for that hoax. If you decide your preference is with Yamaha then it's much wiser to save a bundle and get a CLP270, which is the same piano without the made-up white keys.

Also I must urge you to give the Roland FP-7 a thorough road test before making any decision. This is a serious piano to consider as its price is extremely attractive considering what it gives you. Reviews about it are positive.

Good luck to you! Oh, and by the way, it's true that CA 71/91's polyphony is 192, but Yamaha's CLP280/270's, in all honesty, is not 96, it's 128, which is still acceptable by today's standards.

Regards,

Claude