Hi everyone,

I am following this channel for quite a while now and reading many opinions about digital pianos with great interest.

As an intermediate player who played on an acoustic piano as a kid, I would like to get a digital piano (to be able to play in silence in my apartment) which resembles an acoustic one in the best way possible.

I started trying out different pianos and quickly fell in love with the Kawai CA 701 for it's key action - it just feels very close to an acoustic one.

Now I am faced with the question whether to get a used CA 79 (~1600€) or a new CA 701 (~2600€)

My main criteria (in order of importance) are the following:

1. Key action: I tested both and found both to be quite good which is obvious as they have the same Key action. But are they exactly alike or are there improvements in the CA 701?

2. Speaker sound: Here I am a little bit torn as I tested the CA 701 in a store with a big room and it sounded pretty different than the CA 79 which however I tested in a small apartment. The CA 701 sounded a lot more balanced with the CA 79 being quite bass-dominant and sounded a bit worse than the CA 701. However it is not easy to compare as I couldnt play them on the same day and in the same room. My room is obviously also smaller than the store and therefore I am not sure if the CA 701 speaker system will sound more similar to the CA 79 in the same setting - or if room shape even has that big of an influence.

3. Samples: I found the sound of the SK-EX Concert Grand to be the best, but I also enjoyed the new SK-EX Competition Grand on the CA 701 - but this is not a winning argument. But is there a difference to the old sounds like the SK-EX Concert Grand to be expected between the 79 and the 701 or is it the same sound, same processing same engine etc.

4. Reliability/Warranty: The used CA 79 is 2 years old and has 3 years of Kawai warranty left. However Kawai state that their warranty only applies to first-buyers in Europe... Has anyone had any experience with the Kawai warranty policy and of they will really invoke this policy? Also how can I expect the reliability of the CA 79, are there known issues which arise frequently, or is it unlikely that I will face issues in the next years? The new CA 701 will have 5 years warranty bought brand new

5. Value/Reselling: Also this should be one point to consider as I am still young and studying and my life circumstances might change a lot in the next 5 years. I am planning to keep the piano long term but if I would like something different in 3 years or so, it would be a shame to have to sell the piano with a big value decrease... This one is tough to answer but how is the used marked in your experience, what kind of value drop is to be expected off a CA 701 in the next years? I found that there is little demand and offer on the used market for the CA 79 and also the CA 701 but this might change

In the end I could afford both instruments but as the money is valuable as a student the Idea of saving 1000€ upon buying the used CA 79 is very appealing.

If you can comment or give your opinion on any of these points it would be very helpful for my decision!

Thanks a lot and have a great day 🎹

I am tossing up between Kawai's CA79 and CA99. Played both in a shop - through the speakers, the CA99 obviously sounds much better with its soundboard etc... just stunning.

The thing is though that realistically I'll be playing with headphones most of the time, as I live in an apartment.

Tried playing both with headphones on... in theory it should have been the exact same playing experience as they have the same action, same sampling/modeling etc. Despite this though, I still found playing the CA99 more enjoyable... even the action somehow felt better despite the fact that they are supposed to be identical.

Could it be that this was just a placebo effect? Or is there some other difference between them that would be apparent even with headphones on? Or am I just going bonkers??

Stu Harrison (who does excellent DP videos) mentions that the CA99 factory settings were on point right out of the box but that he had to play around with the virtual technician on the CA79 a bit before he was happy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQnn4G_9mhk ... I wonder if that was the issue?

I'd rather save $1.2K AUD and get the CA79 if I can, especially if this is just all in my head.

Any insight from someone well-versed in these instruments would be appreciated :)

As an aside, I played Roland's equivalent in this price bracket (can't remember the model number) and there really was just no comparison... all of the Kawais simply blew it out of the water. Kawai stands head and shoulders above the competition if you ask me.

Cheers