Kawai CA63 or Yamaha CLP470

[danlightbulb]

These are both around the £2,000 mark online.

They both have natural wood keys, but the Kawai has an action which looks very different to the normal digital piano action and looks quite unique in this.

Having been disappointed with my current Classenti because of a clunky action, I'm really looking for something very smooth, quiet and robust.

Also, does anyone have any experience with dawsons? (www.dawsons.co.uk). The reason being that they offer a pay nothing for 12 months finance deal, which i've not seen elsewhere.

Thanks

[MarkGoodwinPianos]

Dawsons are a well known high street musical retailer mainly covering the north west with something like 7 or 8 different shops. They have very nice stores but judging by their U3 prices they tend to be quite expensive. I'm not sure what their keyboard prices are like but I'd guess they aren't the cheapest either.

[danlightbulb]

The Kawai is £2025 on dawsons, which is about £80 dearer than Thommans. However in my nearest piano shop its £2295.

Id be really interested to know what you think of this piano? I'm prepared to spend this money if I can get the right thing. I don't want to make another costly mistake like I did with the Classenti I have.

[danlightbulb]

I went and tried the CA63 today, have to say the key action is lovely. It makes a reassuring soft , low, thud when keys are pressed, and I compared this directly to the Yahama GH3 action which sounded much more plasticky. The thud made on the GH3 was of a higher pitch than the kawai, I think this is what is most noticeable.

Both actions were considerably better than the classenti action, which although of the same weight, feels much looser by comparison.

[markymark]

The strange thing about keyboard action is that the voice setup and quality can also have a major impact too. In other words, which one sounded better? Personally, I think Kawai trails behind Yamaha or Roland.

[danlightbulb]

I'm gonna go back for a second try, and i'll compare the sound more then. On my first visit i couldn't really tell a difference, they both sounded great, in particular the treble which was very clear and sharp on both.

Its always going to sound different in a big shop than in my small living room. It will take hours of playing to decide which of the voices I like the best, but there are that many voices and set up options i'm sure it will be fine. The key action was the most important thing, I need a key action that is soft and quiet at low volumes.

Thanks

[TommyTV]

Hi
I too am looking to replace my ageing Yamaha CLP 123, and compared the Yamaha CLP470 with the Kawai CA63. I have to say I thought the Kawai action was very accurate, although a little too easy to play quietly compared to a Yamaha Grand. The sound in the low registers beat the Yamaha outhright, although I think a little tweaking will be required to soften the upper registers.
Overall I was very impressed with the Kawai. It was about £1960 at Sounds Great in Heald near Manchester.
Cheers
Martin

[markymark]

I'm quite surprised to see how Kawai and Roland tend to be priced higher than Yamaha's equivalent models. I know that Kawai can offer more extras such as 192 polyphony and give a lot of thought to their keyboard action but did no one else feel that the Kawai#s upper region (from say D5 upwards) sounded a little artificial or overly-stereo?