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April 5, 2023 - While the ES110 also had tone ports, there weren’t really serving a true sonic purpose as the ES110 would start to sound overly treble heavy and sharp when the volume was pushing.

reddit.com › r/digitalpiano › kauai es-110 vs es-120

r/DigitalPiano on Reddit: Kauai es-110 vs es-120

October 21, 2023 -

I am wanting to upgrade to a better digital piano. The es-110 and es-120 both seem like incredible options. I currently have a Donner DEP-20 and while it is good for the price, the actions feels cluncky and not very responsive. I am wondering which piano would be a better option. I also have a triple pedal stand for the Donner and am curious as to if it would work with the es-110 or es-120.

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The ES120 is the new ES110,if the price difference isn't huge I'd definitely go with that. Afaik they've done some important upgrades,mainly they quieted down the action by a lot and the keybed feels much more solid (at least that's what Merriam pianos said in their comparison video,I never played an ES110 so I can't compare on the keybed side,but I can say the action isn't loud). I have an ES120 and I really like it, expecially if you plan tò use VSTs it doesn't have the old midi pins but an USB-B connection (you only need a cheap cable),I've heard the ES110's velocity output caps at something around 100,while I can confirm the ES120 can reach 120 (you can probably reach around 125-127 by smashing the keyboard but it's not worth it,I'd highly prefer tweaking the curve a little bit). I upgraded from a p45 and the difference is huge,it sounds much better (I never used internal sounds on the p45,now without thinking about it I realized I really enjoy playing the ES120 even without a VST) and it's much more responsive/dynamic. Another reason why I'd go for the ES120 over the ES110 is the Kawai app support,I find it very useful if I want to mess with the sound (honestly I wouldn't even try changing parameters without a screen...),I know the app has a very bad rating on the Play Store but it works really well for me...I guess it got better with newer pianos? Idk tbh. Cons about the ES120: for some reason,Kawai lags behind Roland in connectivity (pretty much on the whole portable line),it doesn't have audio over USB,and it doesn't have an audio IN connection . If you want to record the built in sound you'll need an interface,and if you want to play a VST through its speakers you can't. It's not a dealbraker to me,considering It already sounds nice through the speakers so it doesn't need it but everybody has his own needs. After trying out the Roland FP30-X again and again I confirmed I just can't stand the action,it feels heavy and slow,so I went with the Kawai and no regrets so far,BUT ACTION FEEL IS SUBJECTIVE (even thought it's a fact that it's slow and tiring),TRY THEM IF YOU CAN, Kawai's action is bouncy so some people may not like it for example. About the action: while I like it, the black keys don't feel that sturdy...it feels like you have to be careful about lateral hits, theorically they made it more solid on the ES120 so it may only be a feel but you know...better be careful. And it started making some plasticky noise pretty soon,it doesn't impact the feel but saying it is fair. Sadly I'm pretty sure your stand+pedals unit won't work on the ES120. ⚠️About the pedals: when I bought the pedal unit I was torna between the pedal bar (it's on the wooden stand) and the gfp3,for some reason they don't state it has optical sensors on the pedal bar product page so Idk if it has a continuous output or just a ON/HALF/OFF output,I went with the gfp3 because it had 3 continuous pedals. Well...apparently it's limited via software so while the ES120 does support the gfp3,the only continuous pedal is the sustain pedal! Hope it helps,all in all I'm very happy with it so I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy it as well (try it on person if you can tho,you may hate what I love or love what I hate in terms of action!). Feel free to ask

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The es110 is an amazing keyboard. I own 2 of them in two different locations. It came with an amazing damper pedal. Grand piano sounds great split bass. The organ sounds are close to a b3. I think you can still purchase one on Amazon for around $700.00. Feels like a real piano under my fingers. The Es120 I’ve never played but it supposed to be a huge upgrade. What I read is it comes with a cheap damper pedal. I did purchase the es510 which is a pretty awesome keyboard good feel under my fingers. However the organ sounds suck. I called Kawai up. They told me the same organ chip is in the es 120. I love Kawai but in my mind they have cheapened some things. They all play really well. They should have never changed the organ sounds. They were right the first time. Find a used es110 if you can’t find a new one.

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