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Joined: Jun 2014
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Solon Offline OP
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I read this recent post which is related to what I have been thinking of.
My current piano is a fine C.Bechstein upright but it has a quite sharp tone so I always use ear props that are supposed to lower the volume by 25 dB equally over the whole tone spectrum. I am very tired of using these.
Alas I have constant tinnitus and do not want more, so I have to use them.
I haven´t had the hammers sanded and voiced for a number of years. Sanding and voicing would of course make the tone more soft, but would that be enough? Or would it make the tone quality too muffled? Impossible to answer, I know.

An alternative I therefore am considering is the Kawai CA97. It has not yet arrived to the local dealer so I haven´t had the opportunity to try it, but I have tried it´s predecessor.
It was the best DP I had played until then, with regard to touch and sound, with exception maybe for Yamaha AvantGrand, which is too expensive.
I got a little worried when I read the above referred post regarding CA97 and tinnitus. But the CA97 has the Virtual Technician and other settings which I can experiment with myself.
If I let a piano technician work on the hammers and find out a week later that more has to be done, I can not recall him by pressing a button. And I have to pay him, as opposed to the Virtual Technincian which works free of charge. But buying the CA97 would of course cost more than letting a piano technician work on the hammers.
Wise or unwise thoughts or experiences of this little predicament would be appreciated.

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There are days where I or a family member just turns down the volume of our CN35. We usually run it at a volume of an acoustic, but not every day.

I had a discussion with a family member who has an acoustic upright. He loved the DP. After a while of playing he was wondering if the lower notes were not overbearing, then reminded himself that comparing the sound of a grand piano to a upright would make him say the same. In any case, with the Virtual Technician he'd be able to tune that to his liking.

I'd say: go and test the CA97 and CA67. See if you like their sound and action. See if you need the soundboard of the CA97. You'll probably be allowed to bring your iPad with VT and play with the settings if you pick the right time of day.


Kawai CN35. Daughter wanted a piano, so we got one. Now who'll learn faster? ;-)
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First thing you need to make sure is if you like the sound of the CA97 DP. Even the best DP will never sound like an acoustic, but of course there are advantages like free of maintenance and adjustable volume. Compared to the "Virtual Technician" (or whatever that means), on my Kurzweil PC2X you can edit hundreds of parameters - but it will always remain a DP.

Bechstein pianos are often powerful. Yours probably needs voicing to soften the hammers and get more mellow sound. It's also possible to regulate an action to reduce power/volume (things like shorter blow distance, etc.) and this is of course revertible if you don't like it.

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With the post regarding the CA97 and tinnitus, I believe the problem can either be resolved with moving the piano and/or working more with the Virtual Technician (and there also may have been an issue with one of the speakers, if I recall).

At any rate, definitely test it out when it comes. You may want to avoid using headphones because of your existing tinnitus, but then again, it may not present a problem for you.

As far as the Bechstein, it really all depends on what is going on with it, how old the hammers are, if they were previously treated with a hardening agent (they used to do that with the thought it would make them last, but instead just made the sound harsh). Doing work on acoustics can get costly, and since it's not a grand piano, it may not be worth it for you.


private piano/voice teacher FT

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Just wanted to thank you for your input.


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