I tried both. The Kawai is the first digital piano that actually fooled me. I couldn't believe my ears. Better even than the Yamaha N2. Have a try, you won't believe your ears.

KAWAI for classic music YAMAHA for pop music both are super good

The sound of the Kawai is better for me, it blossoms more, I like how the lower range sounds. Yamaha sounds too sharp for me

I tried both lines from Yamaha vs Kawai I liked the Kawai action a lot more...and also the sound was more natural and it blossoms. One thing to know is that these pianos have VERY EXTENSIVE sound settings options that can transform the sound completely !! Everything (and much more then I can remember), from cabinet reverb, decay, damping pedal settings, to how mellow or bright you want'em, to the key action weight and so on can be modified via the menus !!

Nice comparison, but one should keep in mind that the sounds can be changed significantly. The Yamaha comes with CFX and Bosendorfer, and even those two can be changed in lots of parameters. I realized than changing just the brightness parameter from 5 to 3 or something like this makes a real difference in the sound.

Very nice demonstration. We learned a lot from watching this video. Thank you.

I think that the key action is the most important factor for learners. Kawai Grand Feel Action 2 is really far ahead. Excellent.

Thanks for essential comparison. I agree that heavier touch response is becoming more and more important along my piano learning journey. Long time ago I used to feel that my upright piano keys are quite heavy already and playing it would exhaust me. But after doing hanon virtuoso exercise for some time, my fingers' stamina and power seem to increase significantly, and now my piano key feels too light for me. Obviously. Almost like a regular keyboard like yamaha psr series or so. And this thought really bugging my mind and often mess up my concentration when playing. So, 1 of most important factor to consider besides the sound quality is also that touch quality.

Thanks for very useful information! Great video, as always!

Kawai still sounds better

This is a big thank you for you Tony from Vienna. Please always know that you only buy a digital piano if you cannot get a real one. Yesterday we tried the Yamaha B1, B2, B2 Silent, NUX1, 685, 675, 645, 635... Kawai CS11, CA98, CA67, CN37, CN27, CN25. Yesss and a few Konzertflügel including Steinway. If you play a real piano before, then I don't think you can take the 600 series. When you try the NUX1, you will still think you cannot take the 600 series. If you have to get to 600 series, get the 645. The NUX1 has an excellent feel and sound, but at what price! We ended up with a Kawai CS 11, because we got a very good deal with Mr. Danzinger. Excellent feel, excellent look, excellent sound. Appr. 100kg, can be transported on our own & brought up in the flat (hopefully😂). And all the qualified comments below are very right. My daughter fell in love with the CS11, but would go for the cheaper one. She grew up with a Yamaha SU118C. In the end I canceled the 645 order, because I remembered Anna saying: Papa get the one that you would buy for yourself! Kawai CS11!

Went down to Reigate today and tried both these pianos (my mum and sister tagged along too lol) Excellent staff, really helpful! They actually wanted to help and were very passionate and knowledgeable about what they do. Loved it. Originally wanting to buy the Roland LX17, but instead both these pianos really shocked me in how amazing they were! I'm going to come back soon and have another comparison, but I just can't choose! :) thank you for welcoming in your store!

Great comparison. Both, fantastic instruments. It comes down to personal preferences as to which sound one prefers. I think it's an important point to bring up the heavier action on the Yamaha.

Thanks very much! Wish I could visit you in Eastbourne but I live in Florida at the moment (and, cough, pandemic).

The REALNESS is amazing. How far digital piano's have come. As you said if you covered up the key pad and didn't tell a stranger it was digital....and the sounds you can get...e.g. organ playing Phantom Of The Opera...

Excellent comparison of the weight of the keys. I always thought that Yamaha is vey dull and heavy. My arms hurt by playing this thing. I can´t do fast passages easily in Yamaha pianos.

Like many others commented in this thread, I played both and Kawaii was hands down the winner sound-wise. Deep, clear sound. Damn close to acoustic quality. And if the sound doesn't do it for you, then the key feel will. Really troubling how much inferior Yamaha was.

One thing to keep in mind is the full profile of force on the keys. The higher end Yamahas tend to have a lot of resistance at the top of the key. But once you overcome that and start pressing the key down, it gets lighter. Some other piano actions ease you into the key travel more gently and deliver more resistance as you get further down. Both have their merits. If you’re playing from the top of the keys, you’ll have trouble getting consistency in quiet passages on the Yamaha. But if you keep your arm weight “in the key” and transfer it from one finger to the next you have a lot more consistent control over dynamics.

My local store is only carrying Yamahas, so we are getting a CLP-685... :)

Kawai for me sounds more natural, with the wooden sound board. Tested the actions out too and as mentioned the yamaha is heavier, most performance concert grands fazioli, steinway, yamaha cfx and shigeru kawai are set between 60 in the bass through to 55 in the middle to 50 grams in the treble of down pressure anything more than that is considered too heavy. (Ask any professional piano tuner) So at 55grams tested in the middle of the piano, the kawai is spot on. Definitely feels better for me.. But of course its completely personal choice, just like when choosing a real piano they all feel and sound different.

Kawai better. It's more natural.

And what about a comparison between CLP685 and the new Kawai CA98?

Thank you Bonners! Came into your Eastbourne store and ended up buying the Kawai CA-78 (after having returned the Yamaha CLP-685 to another store). So glad i did, very happy, excellent service. No more Yamaha-CLP685 thud, Kawai lovely and quiet, only hearing the notes played not the keys being depressed.

Is the sound and/or keybed available in a cheaper, less fancy, format? ....... it's far above my price range but it just sounds so fantastic ......... Thank you for video!

I prefer the Yamaha. It has deeper more rounded tones. Beautiful playing. Thank you.

I've bought the Cs11 becouse it's listening more natural like n acoustic piano. The feel of the keys are very great and it looks like an small upright piano. The sound is amazing ❤️ the cs11 and I have a great bonding ❤️

The Kawai sounds more natural but the Yamaha sounds very distinct and beautiful

I've been twice in a shop in austria (sry for my bad english), trying the pianos. Some big thoughts: - The Yamaha Keyboard is much heavier than the Kawai. In my opinion, the Kawai Keyboard is much more realistic and better. But this is a matter of personal taste. - The damper-pedaling is in the Kawai much realisticer (e.g. if you press the Kawai damper-pedal without any key, you can hear the typical noise and the noise depends of how hard you press the pedal - at the yamaha there is nothing - and much more details) - Samples: In my opinion, the Kawai samples, especially the Standard Shigeru-Kawai, are not so good as the Yamaha samples. E.g., playing accurate or real fortissimo/pianissimo is much better on Yamaha than on Kawai. Which is better depends, like the keyboard, on the personal taste. - SOUND: You must be aware, that BOTH e-pianos sound much better via headphones than via speakers. I personally like the CFX very much, especially via headphones. I had good headphones and had to put them down and test if the sound is really coming from them and not the speakers - it was sooo realistic and beautiful. Also the Bösendorfer sample is very good, but it isn't bineural-sampled, so not on the same level of the CFX. The Kawai also sounded very good via Headphones. I liked it very much although there are no bineural samples. I personally prefer Kawai-EX. - VERY PROBLEMATIC is indeed the speaker-system on BOTH of the e-pianos. While on Headphones you sometimes could really think you are playing on a real piano (with a bit messy keys ;) ), on speakers they are both horrible. You can hear intereferences and the synthetical sound. Strangly there are some keys who, if you play them without dampers, make a big strange voice. I don't know if this should be and i never realized it while i was playing my real piano, but if you play the fis (1+2) without dampers you can hear additionally to the fis a synthtical voice which sounds horrible. It was an yamaha clp685, clp645 and kawai cs11 - but most audible on the Kawai. But via headphones this error isn't audible. - I want to test the NU1X and i also think about the CLP645, because it is having a more realistic keyboard than the 685 (but not so good as the cs11) and a better sound than the cs11. PS: I previously was playing on a Yamaha U1 - and i was never a big fan of Kawai Pianos. Maybe this is the reason why i don't like the sound. ;)

Good job Tony! Just to clarify, am I correct in thinking that you were using the default 'power-on' sounds for both instruments (without adjustments), i.e. the SK-EX Concert Grand for the Kawai, and the CFX Concert Grand for the Yamaha?

Listening to this on my iPhone I can’t hear a big difference. Guess I’ll have to go try both in store

Which digital piano,professional level, has the grand piano touch/feel and most realistic sound, in your opinion? I have acoustic yamaha grand but looking to obtain digital. My understanding is that Kawai and Yamaha are the best of the digitals? There are so many models.

Dear Bonners Music Superstore , Can make a new video between Kawai cs11 and Yamaha Nu1x ?..Tested the actions, quality of sound... ecc ecc.Best Regards

Hi Tony, Tanks for this video. Very little information about the Yamaha GrandTouch keyboard, can you comment about how it compares with de keyboard on the Yamaha NU1 or even best with the N1. Thank's.

Thanks, learned a lot, now prefer the Kawai with button cover, should be adopted by Yamaha!

What I hear here is that the response to changes in velocity is more even in the Kawai. With the Yamaha I can hear sudden (albeit small) jumps in timbre that I'm sure do not represent what is being played. THIS is THE big issue with all digital pianos. What I'm really talking about here is the jump to different samples as velocity is increased. Almost all digital pianos use only three dynamic levels and THAT is the problem that needs to be addressed by manufacturers. The other common issue is a not trimmed enough sample start point leading to a kind of local latency (which is rarely consciously recognised as such by the average player...). It's perfectly possible to make a digital piano that is near as dammit as good as a quality acoustic. But no-one's done it yet. Nord have the best quality samples but even they need to trim their samples and offer say 10 per note rather than the present 3.

2:10 I like most the woman who is smiling on the kawai! :D

Valuable information. Is it possible to add extra sounds and akkompagnements/styles via an ipad - for the kids to play and be creative? And if yes - what do one use and how does it works? I have considered Yamaha CSV 170, but like this one better since all actions on the CSV 170 is operated via an iPad...

I do find the sound from Kawai to be more mellow and delicate (classic?) and that from Yamaha more bright, clean and "sharp" (modern?) in general. I think it depends on everyone's tastes and pieces of music you want to play. I honestly couldn't say which one I do prefer. I love both. If I'd want to perform an Elton John's track I'd possibly go through the Yamaha, but the Kawai would possibly better match certain classical pieces. Both sound great in my opinion. The Yamaha a bit too strident sometimes, but the Kawai a bit too mellow sometimes too. If you could set the sound (mellow bright) in these two brands like I can do on my Roland, then bravo! you'd have both styles in one piano.

What’s the different between cs11 and ca98 ?

This is a great comparison. I had not looked at the CS-11. I have already just bought a Yamaha CLP685 (another supplier)... it sounded great in store but because of the cacophony of instruments being played I only listened to it through the headphones. When I got it home and played in my quiet living room without headphones i can heard a noticeable thud as each note is played. I have to push the volume up to cover the thud, but that is too loud for staying in my neighbours good books (or I have to only use headphones which i would prefer not to) Can you do a comparison of key noise without the sound turned on of the CLP685 and CS11? Right now I am contemplating returning the CLP685 and 'downgrading' to a Yamaha CSP-170... :(

Many requests for this. Please answer. What is the name of the piece at 2:11?

Can you make a video Kawai ca 99 vs kawai cs 11 please?

Am I right in thinking that the Yamaha has more of a singing tone, more like a straight line and the kawai is more cloudy and messy/nuanced in a realistic acoustic way, which I prefer the kawai for. Anyway you can adjust both instruments' sympathetic resonance to sound like a real grand piano can't you? Please could you make a video about that with showing us the sound with little and lots of resonance on both instruments, which will ultimately define which piano I will choose, as I can't go into the stores for them. Thank you for your helpful videos.

Yamaha always killing it! beautiful sound like it was mastered while kawai sound is beautiful too and much more natural piano sound

After 2 Months of receiving my Cs11 and considering my extensive experience of digital piano's I would like to give my critical review. The keyboard is the very best I've played. The build is faultless and beautiful in every single way. The Shigeru is not perfect by a mile, it's artificial sounding and irritating. The SK concert grand however is utterly superb and incredibly real in every way The SK5 is also excellent. Kawai have nailed it with the SK concert grand here

Yamaha is the best! Lovely piano. tried them both and both the key action and the piano samples on the CLP 685 are better. Feels and sounds soo good👌

Can u make comparison between kawai ca99 and yamaha clp 685

Because it is inherently flawed to box in the sound like an upright generally does, I submit that we need a new design for a digital piano, still a classical elegant style but free from the limitations and mistakes of the past. I'm thinking roughly the outline of a baby grand in piano gloss black, maybe accents reminiscent of the string frame of a piano or harp but thinner and lighter, not quite coffin boxy and with openings to allow the sound to be completely unfettered. Any display and controls should be touch and intermittent in a gloss black surface.

Sound of kawai is best.

Hi, would you happen to know what the weight of the CLP-775 and if it is even heavier than the CLP-785? ( if you could tell me the weight on middle C of both those models, I would really appreciate it!) Thanks so much!

Roland rp501 or Yamaha clp645?pls help me.

I find Yamaha acoustics heavy as well, although I have not tried a concert Yamaha. I tried the CLP 685 in my local shop and was quite surprised how heavy it was. I think it is personal preference, though and I would opt for a lighter action. I have tried Bosendorfer and Steinway concert grands and they are much lighter but then when you are paying £100k and more that's hardly surprising, eh? ;)

Actually the Yamaha is more natural. With "natural" I mean "like a accustic piano". Accustic pianos are sharp and not warm and soft. I agree that there seem to be some sort of filter active. Can anyone confirm this? Is this a settings thing?

Kawai's action is much much superior to the Yamaha in these models and it worth to emphasis more on this feature than simply comparing the key's weights. But Kawai is known to have more defected actions out of factory and you should be careful to check if there would be an easy way to replace the piano if there was an issue.

Do either of these pianos come ready built? The reason I ask is that I just watched a video showing how to assemble a Kawai piano.

I think depends on the thing you want to have a digital piano .TO me ,in my opinion Yamaha is the best in sound, reverb,pedal,but Kawai should have better keys,in acoustic pianos the mechanic MilleniumIII that does nos permit the dilatation and dangerous damns your Keys with the time.

What's that piece at 2:11 please?

What is the name of the song please ? ps : kawai sounds better for me i'm (maybe) gonna buy the cs11 for my birthday

Thanks for this review! I understand that the cs11 comes in one piece. I need to put my piano in the attic (with a not so wide staircase) so that model won’t be possible for me I think. Is this also the case for the CA98? And the CLP-685 has to be assembled?

Ultimately, if the manufacturer is trying to mimic the sound and feel of a piano that specialises in performing classical repertoire on the concert stage, this is the kind of music you need to hear someone playing on these digital pianos. What do they sound like when you play an Allegro movement from a Mozart sonata, a Debussy prelude, a Chopin/Liszt study, a Rachmaninov prelude? Anyone know where I can find a video like this? These pianos cost the best part of €4000. For that money you could find a very good second hand acoustic upright. So I would really like to see these pianos put through their paces.

I prefer the Kawai sound, it seems more close to a natural piano and sound good in the high notes. But the Yamaha is probably better to get used to having a good sound when switching to a real piano because most players using headphones don't push the keys enough, can be a bad habbit.

im sorry to ask whats perhaps a stupid question but were the piano sounds coming over an open mike or direstly into the recording sustem ?

Are you recording these both with microphone or line out?

Kawai 2:23 / 8:36 Yamaha 3:05 / 8:58

Yamaha acoustic pianos have a heavier action too I've noticed.

Yamaha is beauty!

Is the CS 11 a higher spec model than the CA99,i want the best piano sample.

What is the name of the demo song at 2:05? Wow, it was so beautiful!!! I played that part again and again and my heart just melted.Thank you so much Tony! You are an artist

what is the name of the piece you played at 2:10 ?

I find the audio on this is not high enough caliber to be judging. You have to at least hear it in person for that in order to be more subjective. Otherwise, commentators are left judging on pure speculation. To me the "feel" is the most important aspect as the two are very similar quality / features. As far as sound, if you listen to both in person I can tell you 90+ times out of a hundred samples that the Yahama is digital vs acoustic, where as with the Kawai that percentage would be far less. Both do sound great, not just good imo.

I have a Kawai Grand GL-10.

love kawai but I prefere heavier key actions

Both are very nice instruments, but I think the Yamaha CLP 685 sounds better to my ear.

I am such a KAWAI fan boy

Kawai!

I think it's an oversight to not showcase the room sound instead of direct electrical recording. As you would hear them, not as they would sound in headphones. Also as a general point, I hold it to be self evident that doing a digital upright is needless legacy when it could instead be a very short baby grand. The large upright box was one of mechanical necessity and indeed, acoustically awful since it entirely enclosed the sound. And the keys should have little lights as the optimal way to learn 'sheet' music.

Kawai is beautiful

Yamaha sounds much better, it isn't as muted at the Kawai, no contest but I don't like the heavy keys.

Kawai wins hands down.

Comparison at 2:08

First thing I noticed was that the Kawai keys bounce a little when released. The Yamaha doesn't. That would be a deal breaker for me on the Kawai, which is a pity, because I like their stuff...

The Yamaha is too sharp on the high notes, but the Kawai too soft on the lower tones. But yeah, the sharpness of the Yamaha is not coresponding to the soft playing style. Yamaha makes it sound like he is hitting the keys alot more than he actual is. But I agree with another assessment that the samples of the Yamaha sound more realistic than the ones from Kawai.

Id rather choose Kawai

Kawai sounds more like an acoustic.

kawai wins...

Look how lower keys bounce back on the Kawai then watch same on the Yamaha .Kawai seems to be better.

Kawai sounds better to me...but I would be happy if ever I would be able to afford any of them lol

Kawai keys bounce after beeing released, Yamahas don't. That is one difference i discovered here.

I wouldn't compare pianos due to a flap hahah

Kawai

KAWAI has more natural feel of an acoustic piano. I was into Yamaha until I went to try it in the store. Now Kawai is number 1 for me

kawai better

I am betwixt between these two, they are both nice pianos, the music rest is a big bugbear of mine, why couldn't Kawai incorporate this, it is very important when you are using new music books or thick" bumper books".for a couple of pounds more it would be worth it. I have the Yamaha clp 170 purchased 2005 and have had one keyboard change and sensors changed(technicians will know what I am talking about) and then there is the piano "keyboard thud", the first thing before trying any digital piano is play the keys before switching on, they are obviously going to make some noise but some pianos are more prone than others. What to do????(there are a lot worse problems in life!)

2:09 2:51

Yamaha wins!!!!

The yamaha sounds amazing

Kawai sounds much more better to me than the Yahama…

I have a Yamaha but I like the sound from Kawai more

Kawai sounds better.

yamaha bass