Yes and it stole my heart away for all the other options I've been considering. My God but for Covid I'd dash out first thing Monday morning and get a second job just to save the full price and have it by years end.

You must be poor if these budget electric pianos are messing with your bank account

@@gustavogo2915 You must be an a**hole for making such a shit comment

@@gustavogo2915 budget? is there even a more expensive option? :D

Oh yes I fully agree - I'm stunned and completely blown away. The sound quality of this video is brilliant and the sound quality came through so clear on both, but my heart simply melted with the nv10.

@Rene Darwin You think people will fall for that obvious scam??. In the great lawn of life you are the pile of dog shit in the middle of it.

@@JordansTake35 Just report it, it will go away and might actually do something.

Life is funny. 20 seconds into the sound of the NV10 my wife said, "I want the Yamaha, I like a brighter sound." FWIW I prefer the Kawai, but it's not going to be my piano. I'm excited, we have an appointment (Covid thing will never end?) at the dealer in 2 days to buy the N1X, assuming the play test audition goes well. I will be relieved when this piano buying exercise is finally over. The end of the 3 month journey is in sight.

@@msromike123 Hahaha. I feel you. My journey has been on-going since the Avantgrand N1 came out. Just when I had saved the money for it, they announced the upgraded models. Now I've been quarelling with myself whether to buy the N2 for its better speaker setup or the N1-X for the additional technology. Just then, Kawaii enters center-stage. 3 month, try 5 years, mate. :-)

Keyboard shops are an amusement park to me too :-)

It dosent come through here with the recording but I demoed both the grand and n1x today in the big London Yamaha shop and the action is identical and the sound through headphones is in my view as perfect a rendition as I could ever expect utterly amazing.

Right? I would love to buy a piano from this gentleman.

In the states, you would be hard-pressed to find a Yamaha and Kawai in the same store. I am torn between the Novus and N1x. Both have dropped in price, but the N1x is still $3K - $4k cheaper and since the nearest Kawai dealer is too far, I have to pay additional delivery costs. Now the difference is about $4K.

It's been reported that Yamaha plans on retiring the N2 model, and have no plans to release an updated N2X model

@@enriqueali yeah probably yamaha knows that kawai will only stick with 2 hybrids and they plan on cutting out the n2 out to compete

I agree. Having learnt to play on a 6' Steinway Grand, I think many pianists are too hard on these new generation hybrids. Once you've spent any amount of time playing a Grand Piano - which to me is what an acoustic piano is - anything much else is a compromise of one sort or another. Uprights are a compromise in action and sound, and I've yet to hear an upright that doesn't sound like what it is - a piano soundboard stuffed in a wooden box, with all the muffled colouration of the sound that entails. Freestanding them can help the sound, but upright pianos are designed as a compromise for space saving reasons, and usually pushed up against a wall for that reason. I've even known friends with uprights to place carpet behind them and up against the wall, to try and block the sound from penetrating into neighbours apartments. The finest uprights I've played have been Boston and an Steinway upright - but even then action and sound is not up to a 'proper' grand piano, and the expression you may wish to convey in music, especially in ppp parts is limited compared to a grand in terms of very fine finesse and control as regards the action. Here we are in the 21st century, and another compromise has arisen - another variation of a space saving piano - but this time with a proper acoustic grand piano action - which if you are a pianist with a light touch and serious about playing - you will want. Do they sound like an acoustic grand piano? No they don't - but then neither do acoustic uprights. And compared to an acoustic uprights compromised action, I will take a purists grand piano keyboard action anyway of the week if you're serious about playing with as much expression and emotion that the music can offer. Couple that with a small form factor suitable for apartments, condos, units etc, and the 21st century version of a piano suitable for a small space is a very attractive option for a serious musician indeed imho. In the scenario between choosing between an upright or a hybrid digital like the Avantgrand or Novus 10 for a small space, and with noise restrictions, I would take the hybrid with the superior action every time. I then have the additional choice of improving the sound with additional external amplification and speakers if I so wish. Would I choose a hybrid over say a 6' Grand piano? Not if I had room for the Grand piano, no, but if it was a choice for space or noise reasons, it'd be the hybrid every time over an upright. I really do think they're the 21st century replacement for an upright from most playing/performance points of view. Then again to be fair, I was in a pretty privileged position when learning, so I'm a bit biased perhaps against acoustic uprights, and we all have different needs and wants, but as I say, once you've spent time with a proper grand piano, it's hard to go back to anything else. These new hybrids appear to take you at least some of the distance towards a grand, and with few of the limitations of an upright - which to me is an amazingly good thing and well worth embracing.

@@Pisceanboi That's comprehensive endorsement; I've gone one better and purchased the Kawai. Apart from a couple of electronic glitches (fixed under warranty) it's a dream! And I've recently downloaded some new sounds which are reputed to be even better than the existing choices which are ALREADY superlative! My cup runneth over...

@@keyboarddancers7751 are you even able to download sounds on the NV5?

@@DavidIzquierdoAzzouz I've not looked in detail at the functionality of the NV5 but I'm guessing that it being essentially an upright version of the NV10, its software is the same so similar downloads should therefore be available.

The Kawai costs almost 40% more than the Yamaha ( US$13,000 vs US$9000)

Yes, you can. All you need is to hook up a printer cable from USB to host.

@@Tidus3960 hallo Tony Thanks very much

I am hearing the Kawai as brighter and in my view a bit brash ??? I may need to get my ears checked.

@@c47force15 yes, get your ears checked and get a better job while you’re at it. Kawai is King. I have a Kawai GL20 Baby Grand I got last year.

Yes, does anyone know?

@@Jon358902 Well, I figured out it must be an arrangement of jazz standard "My Funny Valentine" from the 1937 musical "Babe in Arms" by Rogers and Hart and which has been covered literally over a thousand times -- but I really love this arrangement and wish Tony would let it be known whether there's sheets available for this particular arrangement or not. I really appreciate Tony's pianistic skills and wish that in the future he would name the lovely pieces he presents in his videos.

Here's my observations from about a year ago. "I've tried both very extensively with and without headphones. Both utilise a form of the companies' respective grand piano actions (although the Kawai's benefits from carbon fibre componentry which enhances durability). The Yamaha's extremely good but on every score, the Kawai wins especially its control panel. The biggest thing for me is that the Kawai's key bed - the very bottom of the key travel - is softer whereas the Yamaha's is hard and unyielding which suggests it will be more fatiguing." Should be pointed out that the AvantGrand was first released onto the market about six years before the Kawai.

Think positive. And there will be plenty of second-hand available in the coming years!

Yes, yes and yes! In both instruments, the full action is used hence the necessary depth of the respective cases but instead of the hammer hitting a string it actuates a sensor.

CyberGene This is great information. Thank you. Is this also the case for the Yamaha P-515, that when you record using headphones it records with the better binaural samples? Your playing is excellent and I love the sound your N1X produces!

The binaural recordings make a world of difference. Your NU1X and N1X "spray" the tones in a decent mimic of the acoustic CFX.

@@fishchrome1332 P515 doesn't use multichannel sampling for its main CFX patch (the one used with the speakers), it's already stereo internally. Its binaural CFX patch (the one used with headphones) is supposedly the same as in the N1X. You need to test for yourself and compare how WAV files you record on a USB drive sound when using CFX stereo and CFX binaural. My point was that the CFX 4-channel on the N1X sounds fantastic when you play the piano through its speakers. However when you export a WAV file recording with the same patch, it's internally mixed down to stereo and IMO sounds slightly nasal when I listen to it on my stereo, or through headphones. When you plug in headphones and record your performance, a binaural CFX patch is used (unless you change a configuration setting to forcefully use the stereo mix-down of the 4-channel sample even with headphones). IMO the binaural patch sounds great both through headphones and speakers, despite Yamaha claiming that it shouldn't be used with stereo speaker system. I think they are not right, but of course that's a matter of taste :)

​Oleg: have a listen to CyberGene's recordings above^ to hear what the N1X binaural sounds like. Plugging the headphones in makes all the difference and is far better sounding than the NV10.​

The binaural samples were specifically recorded to be heard through headphones while playing and NOT through speakers (either while playing or recorded to be mixed and mastered later for playback). They placed the microphones in front of the keyboard about about six inches apart (approximately where the ears of someone playing the piano would be). This sounds very realistic through headphones while playing, but the spatial separation is all wrong for hearing (either live or recorded) through speakers placed apart from each other. If you want your recording to sound like they would for someone listening in an audience as opposed to seated on the bench, then don’t record the binaural samples they intended for live headphone use while playing.

The NU1X's "loud key issue" has been addressed with a software upgrade. Feedback is that it is virtually eliminated. It is for the NU1X only, not NU1.

​@@benjaminsmith2287 What about the N1X in this video.

si la meccanica di un nv10 è quella di un coda GX2. N1x non si può minimamente paragonale al nv10...io ho avuto la fortuna di suonare un coda SK-EX e credimi la meccanica dell‘nv10 si avvicina.

@@giovanniscancariello7874 problema risolto dal tecnico poche settimane dopo questo mio post, da allora tutto ok. Prima o poi proverò anche il Novus (più che altro da quello che ho letto è un po’ più “morbido” dell’N1X). Per il resto credo comunque che siano due ottimi “giocattoli”...certo le “vibrazioni” di un gran coda da concerto non si potranno mai riprodurre artificialmente, però ci accontentiamo 😂👍👋

And the most important thing: the default sound from the Yamaha is nearly perfect! You switch on the power and you can play. With the NV10 you first have to adjust for many minutes the sound with all the parameters. That's not what I expect from such an expensive instrument. And the speaker sound of the NV10 is really awful and muffled. That's the reason why I went for AG N1X, after I tested all the hybrids for months.

The Kawai is significantly more expensive as well (about 40% more). If you're planning on using primarily headphones I'd save myself a bundle and go for the Yamaha. If intended use was primarily with the speakers it'd be a harder decision for me. I'd definitely want to spend a fair amount of time demo-ing them side by side

I hope one day I'll be good enough with my hearing to discern what you wrote in your educated post. I suppose it's like how a wine expert can describe notes and aromas and a thousand other things I couldn't even begin to understand.

@@gregfam6250 So the Yamaha has a very flowery taste! ;-)

@@Schmidthorst69 interesting you mention the Kawai sound is muffled and one of the reasons you chose the N1X instead. My local piano dealers have not had any of these two pianos in stock to try out and compare. Only have these video’s to go by and judge sound. There is another japanese video with a girl playing and comparing these two pianos and although the video was not recorded with stereo microphones I can hear the Kawai doesn’t sound as clear like you say. She also plays bluetooth music on both these pianos from her ipad and I noticed the Kawai sounded awful to me compared to the yamaha. Yet to test these two hybrids out but I have a feeling the kawai doesn’t have a good sound system. I also noticed that the kawai has 135 watts maximum power while the yamaha has 180 watts of power. I also hate what Kawai did to the back side. No high gloss polished panel at the back. They just cover the back with what looks to me like cardboard and how dare they charge more than yamaha when the yamaha has a polished back. I’m thinking maybe the Yamaha is actually the better brand to buy.

One more question please: Could you measure the down weight of both piano's middle "C", please? That will give us a very "rough" idea of how the piano's are regulated from the factory. Thanks for this great video and playing, Tony!!!

That’s a good idea.

James Pavel Shaw (The Piano Forever channel) puts a weight on the Novus and the Avant Grand, and it depresses the Kawai but not the Yamaha.

The NV10 features a real acoustic piano damper mechanism (pushing the damper pedal lifts damper weights at the rear of the action), so that might explain the additional weight. Some Novus owners on the PianoWorld forum have replaced one of the springs in the damper mechanism to reduce the pedal resistance, and I heard that (based on customer feedback) Kawai were also investigating a similar change at the factory.

@@namakudamono - whatever the cause, I am sure that Kawai did not want it to feel awkward or fake. The whole point is to make it feel real, but manufacturers have spent a century minimizing the issues that it seems Kawai is MAXIMIZING. This makes no sense.

@@Philapiano Can you give an example of an issue that Kawai is "maximizing"?

@@namakudamono - Manufacturers have spent many years minimizing the effort of using the sustain pedal along with any difference in feel when using it. This same issue is being pointed out by Kawai and maximized. I don't know why they bother. It adds a layer of awkwardness that any fine piano builder would hate having on their instruments, IMHO.

@Pure Amateurism - funny you mention that. It’s the same with the B3 organ clone makers. For years Hammond engineers tried to minimize things seen as negatives on the original B3-such as the key click when you attacked the keys more slowly and lightly, and crosstalk, and the distortion from overloading preamp tubes. Modern clone makers boast about how you can artificially create these noises from the original B3 design. Here is where nostalgia for things seen as negatives at the time has carried them forward into modern designs.

This video doesn't have the n1x "CFX Binaural" patch which makes a world of difference.

So it's been 3 years already... How does it "work" now? 🤣 - a curious man who's thinking of getting one early 2023...

@@noazark1914 🤣🤣😂I can only say that after three years N1X has improved considerably (or maybe my technique has improved 🤣😉). The keys have softened slightly and the response of the keys is excellent, as if playing on a concert grand. If you have the opportunity to do so, before purchasing, test both the Yamaha N1X and the Kawai Novus ... to get a better idea. But I honestly wouldn't change the sound of the Bosendorfer Imperial for anything😉👍👋

@@dariodangelo8938 Sounds good! Sadly we don't have any Kawai hybrid here, so N1x is basically my only option to consider... I am thinking whether to get a silent yamaha acoustic or n1x... n1x seems a better option now but I was wondering if the lifespan of hybrid is also less than 10 years or so. Thx soooooooo much for ur kind reply!

@@noazark1914 You’re welcome👍 I tried both the silent acoustic and the N1x, there is no comparison ... take N1x and you will not regret it. P.S.: I played on a Bluthner B 131 (y. 1990) before…but N1X imho is much more better than Bluthner itself 😉

@@dariodangelo8938 thx! Sorry I saw this msg too late. One more q... how long do u think will this n1x last? Around 10 yrs just like any other digital pianos out there...?

For sure! Even some professional classical pianists use these as practise pianos.

In some countries you're expected to be familiar with an upright action for the practical grade exams (such as ABRSM) since an upright is used in the exams themselves.

No, the N2 is the old sound engine. There is no N2x. The closest in sound quality of both generations of sound engine is nv10 to an N1X.

@@benjaminsmith2287 Thank you for your answer.

Same here and as soon as it is Covid safe I'll be seeking a second job to hasten that purchase.

This reads like a Yamaha advert. I thought they had enough marketing already:)

Well, the same goes for the NV10.

You can also easily use your favorite DAW and VST Plugin to either redirect the source on the Aux In of the AvantGrand or just listen through your headphone from your PC.

Good try. But the Kawai uses the Millenium III action from their grand pianos. You're welcome.

Kawai sounds richer and fuller.

Very simple: just think for somebody living in an apartment. You don't have the space for a grand and you have neighbors on the other side of the wall. This would be your only choice.

Willy Milano As second option for playing in the night with headphones on

I agree. I dont need 100+ sounds and a nice touchscreen. What i need, is a controller with a proper action and damper mechanism, that gives me an authentic feel, for as small of a price as possible. You just need to think about what the actual purpose of an hybrid piano is/should be. I personally think, that a hybrid piano only makes sense, if u plan on playing acoustic pianos in the future, because for what reason would you need a real acoustic keyboard action otherwise? After thinking about that, we can think about which people plan on playing acoustic instruments in the future. I would assume they are either very enthusiastic hobby musicians, who plan on buying a real acoustic piano in the future, or they are music students, who need a practicing instrument for their home, that gets them as close to the real acoustic piano feel as possible, so they can properly prepare for exams, which you take on real acoustic pianos.-(btw, the reasons why people want/need an digital instrument are hopefully obvious -> neighbors, space, budget)-For both parties, the hybrid piano is supposed to be something temporary or just an addition because u can play acoustic pianos somewhere else, so the budget should adapt to that. Almost no Student can afford a 5k+ hybrid piano, and even enthusiastic hobby musicians probably want something more affordable than that. So for me, the right solution would be an affordable hybrid controller, with a real acoustic action and damper/pedal-system that cuts all the unnecessary shit and is priced below 5k (€). This wouldn't stop the companies from selling the hybrid pianos existing right now, but they would (imo) finally serve the real purpose of an hybrid/digital instrument right...If somebody made to the end of this comment, pls let me now if u agree/disagree.

I can see your points of view here. However, I love this type of piano. I don't particularly enjoy master controllers and VSTs. It's a poor experience, even if action and sound are superior. My Garritan CFX is hundreds of times better sampled (in GBs) than any digital piano but it doesn't sound hundreds of times better. It's a little better and really only on sustained notes and isn't without its own unique flaws. As for action, I love that these hybrids have wooden levers. The hybrid is far superior in action and sound to the standard digitals and portable digitals with their speaker system. Meanwhile it's a fraction the cost of an acoustic grand in price and maintenance and size (and for me, a good digital hybrid or not, trumps acoustic upright by miles). I'd love to own one for serious practice, recording and teaching on. Just my tuppence

@@niklasmennel215 I can somehow feel you. What I want is basically only a piano that I can put on headphone mode, because of neighbours. So I want an instrument, that sounds and feels as much as possible as a real piano and has headphones. I don't need other functions and modes. This could be achieved either by a "silent piano", where you have a real acoustic piano, with some digital upgrade, or it could be achieved, with a digital piano, that still has a really good sound, so you cannot differentiate it from an acoustic piano sound. All other stuff, makes them unnecessarily more expensive for me.

How much would you pay then for one of these hybrids in USD?

I'm not convinced that replicating the traditional action is the final answer. It should be possible to create a new digital action that is equal to or better than a traditional actions which tend to go out of adjustment. I've always had the feeling that the velocity sensors should be optical and measure the speed the key travels between two points.

I used to play VSL CFX / Bösendorfer through my previous DPs and at the start when I just got my N1X, but recently, I realised the beauty of the internal sounds over the VSTs. The internal voices don't sound as good but it provides more tactile feeling under your fingers as how you would normally feel on acoustics. If only they could make these internal sounds less muffled.

@@Tidus3960 Ok, yes dp's are definitely good at response. That said since I have a kawai vpc-1 and vsl's piano's I can't really enjoy anything else. The sound is just so amazing, and while dp's might still have the upper hand in response, I think the response is pretty much top notch as well, when you finally find the right settings, velocity curve etc.