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 plan to play acoustic piano songs or accompaniments and looking for a natural sound with a realistic action and that led me to consider the CA49 and CA79. Clavinova is an option but heard it doesn't have wooden/realistic action.

I'm debating between CA49 and CA79 and idunno if I can justify the price difference when for me the main difference is:

1. better acoustic piano sound samples - this may not matter as I may opt to use MIDI instead of the audio signal, but if I do choose to record the audio signal, this will matter a lot

2. action - CA79 has longer keys and more realistic action

What doesn't matter:

1. Speakers don't matter at all, as this would not be used for live performance

2. All the fancy extra sounds don't matter

3. other extraneous features that may appear on more expensive models - fancy UI, etc.

Given all of this, should I save the money and get the CA49 instead of CA79 or will I regret this?