I've been looking to replace my native kontrol s88 mk1. Partly because the keybed makes a lot of noise, partly because native instruments ceased to support it and partly because the action is not that great compared to grands I have access to (Kawai at my teacher, yamaha disklavier at a friend).

So I've been looking at different digital pianos. After testing, the best I found in term of both feeling and sound is the Kawai CA701 and CA901. There's only about 700 euros difference where I am between both so I'm leaning towards the CA901. I do have a few questions:

1. I won't be able to have a big gap from the wall. It'll be around 5-10cm maximum. I know that this will impact the soundboard but I'm wondering how much. I read that Kawai says 3.5 cm minium is needed with Wall EQ. I just want to confirm if a CA901 that's 5 or 10cm from the wall will sound much better than the CA701

2. I plan to also use VSTs and output the sound back to the speakers. I've read that using usb midi with audio sent to the line causes ground loop. Any effective way to mitigate that?

3. I live in a place with a very humid climate sometimes reaching 85-90% inside the house. Will that be problematic for the instrument?

4. It seems that where I live (HK) the warranty is only 3 years compared to 5 years in other countries. How often do problem appear between year 3 and year 5?

I just got a CA901 from Alamo Music center in San Antonio.

First off, this sucker is heavy lol. I wasn't expecting that. My wife and I got it moved ok but had to take a couple of breaks carrying it.

Secondly, I'm extremely impressed with it so far. I am upgrading from a Korg LP 380. While I absolutely love the korg it was time for an upgrade. The number of voices and customizations is staggering. It's going to take some time to get used to.

If you ever need an instrument alamo treated us well and shipped it to our house which is one state over. We worked with Patrick but I bet all of them are helpful. We paid around 5200 for it which is what I saw someone say they got it for on a piano forum prices paid thread.

Hey everyone,

I've been playing piano for about a year now and absolutely love it! I currently have a 15-year-old Yamaha digital piano, but I know I need to upgrade to something with fully weighted keys to keep improving. After doing some research, I’ve decided I want to invest in a Kawai.

I recently visited a store and tested a few models. They had the CA401 and CA901 in stock. The CA401 feels like a natural upgrade from what I have now, but when I played the CA901, it was on a whole different level—the sound and feel were just incredible. Even my partner, who isn't a pianist, was blown away and said, "Wow, get the 901!"

Obviously, the CA901 is a bigger investment, but I’m wondering if it makes more sense to buy it now rather than upgrading to the 401 and then wanting another upgrade in a few years. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? Would you recommend just going for the 901 upfront to avoid future upgrades, or is the 401 still a great choice for someone at my level

Edit: I went for it- and purchased the CA901 and got a great deal on it! I got it in the Walnut coloring- hard color to find! Excited to get home and start playing on it.

the CA901 is newer gland theoretically has the better newer sk ex concert grand piano, when only using good headphones, does the CA901 sound better? or does the NV5s has advanced techniques so that it sounds even better? and how is the latency for the piano samples? I only use a cheap midi keyboard Axiom 61 with Cubase + Kontakt player / piano library Ivory, it sounds extremely good, but I hate the latency (reduced with audio interface scarlet 2i2 to about 7 ms, but it's still too much and nearly unplayable for me, I am very sensitive). is a normal piano from kawai better? lower latency? more direct? I never played an original acoustic piano, I have no comparison, but I think they are very direct...