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.
Videos
So the Kawai ES120 launched a few months ago and slowly there are more reviews coming online.
My question - Does anyone else think the ES120 sounds way worse and more artificial than the 5 year old ES110? Is it just my ears ?! I would have thought Kawai would use exactly the same samples but just add a few more new piano options to the ES120 but it seems they’ve completely changed the new piano samples and they’re all really really bright almost artificial sounding. There are no music stores anywhere near where I live let alone having kawai in stock so I can’t test out the real thing for myself!
I’m guessing this Q was too specific!
I just wrote a long response to this question after seeing it online, but couldn't send it without logging in and then when I logged in, my text was deleted. So frustrating! I've got a Kawai ES 120 on order. Will let you know my opinion of the samples when it comes. I'm not sure that you can trust Soundcloud online samples as a definitive guide, but I realise it's awkward when you don't have a local stockist. I'm buying without seeing. Rather risky. I bought an ES 8 and an ES 520 without trying them out. Big mistake! I hated the ES 8 action and sold the ES 8 for half the price I paid after procrastinating for a year. The sounds were ravishing though. Such high quality samples! As for the ES 520, I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy. I'm on my third ES 110 and love them, but would be happy if the piano samples were improved as I understand they will be on the ES 120, as long as the 120 doesn't end up sounding like a newer Roland. I graduated from an ES 100 to an ES 110 and felt/heard the difference. I'm hoping that the upgrade from ES 110 to ES 120 will be as good, if not better. Of course, I'm sure you know that the excellent F-10H pedal isn't supplied with the ES 120. I've just bought one on eBay secondhand for £28, but new, they are around £50-£60. I think it was mean of Kawai to supply only a switching device of the type that you generally get with cheap keyboards. One could buy a generic pedal but I wasn't sure if a 'cheapie' would have the half-damping facility of the Kawai F-10H so I decided to play safe. I recently had to buy a new power cable for an ES 110 and bought a unbranded one for £15 after finding that a Kawai original part would have been around £70. Good luck with your research. Hopefully, you may discover that the ES 120 is just the instrument for you!
I currently own a Casio PX-S3000, and I'm looking to make a change. I had an FP-30, sold it after I quit playing for a bit and bought the Casio. The action on the Casio is starting to drive me a little nuts. It just feels too light, especially when I go to my teacher's house and try to play on an acoustic.
I'm sort of in between an FP-30x (maybe even RD-88... I'm a sucker for knobs and screens) and the Kawai ES120. I'd just grab a new Roland but worry that maybe the action is too heavy compared to my Casio.
I'm less worried about sound quality since I will most likely be using speakers and headphones. Also not too worried about additional sounds since my plan is to get some sort of piano software.
If anyone has tried out both and has some input, it would be appreciated.