🎹 Kawai CA501: Unleashing the Full Potential of Your Music! 🎹
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- Опубліковано 5 лип 2024
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Description:
Join us as we take a comprehensive look at the Kawai CA501 digital piano, a year and a half after our initial preview at NAMM 2023. In this video, we delve deeper into the features and performance of the CA501, providing insights and tweaks to get the most out of this impressive instrument.
Action and Feel:
We start by examining the action of the CA501, which uses a slightly shortened key stick compared to the grand actions of the CA701 and CA901. This design creates a variance in the pressure needed to play between the front and back of the key, offering a unique playing experience. Both black and white keys feature a micro-textured matte finish, enhancing the tactile feel. The wooden key sticks provide a realistic lateral give, mimicking the feel of an acoustic piano.
Speaker System:
The CA501 boasts a powerful 100-watt speaker system, a notable feature for its mid to upper mid-tier category. We discuss the default EQ settings and share our custom adjustments to enhance the piano’s sound. By setting the EQ to mid boost, adjusting the voicing to dynamic, and increasing the hammer noise to seven, we achieve a beautifully balanced tone with clear mids and detailed highs.
Sound Engine:
Equipped with Kawai’s latest XL harmonic imaging engine and the new SKEX competition sample, the CA501 offers rich and authentic sound. We explain the differences between the original SKEX and the newer SKEX competition samples, highlighting the improvements in the newer version.
Build and Design:
The CA501 features a low-profile cabinet, which may appeal to those looking for a sleek and unobtrusive design. It includes 360-degree diffusers on the top-facing speakers, ensuring an even sound distribution. For pianists transitioning from acoustic to digital, the CA501’s dynamic response, tonal detail, and touch make it a standout choice.
Additional Features:
With a polyphony of 256, 50-watt amplification on each side, and four speakers (two facing down and two facing up), the CA501 delivers robust and immersive sound. It also offers stereo quarter-inch inputs and outputs, a user-friendly display, and is available in three colors.
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What wonderful playing as always!
I will be happy to pass along your compliments to Stu on your behalf! Thank you for watching! :)
Glad to see Stu's review on CA 501. Love this model that I upgraded to for a month, from a portable keyboard. It's great motivation for daily practice and fits nicely in my tiny apartment. In my piano lessons usually a heavier upright is used so my hands happily picked this one, yet about the same compared to the grands for random recitals.
Congratulations on your CA501! You made a wonderful choice. The CA501 is a top-performing digital piano in all regards. The quality of the touch and tone it offers is very impressive. :)
Very resonate sound🎹🎹🎹🎹🎶🎶🎶
Totally! The CA501 is a really spectacular sounding piano. :)
Interesting review. Thank you 😊
Thank you kindly! We appreciate it. :)
A noticeable higher midrange tone. I've been trying to find that in the 3-5K and this seems to have it.
Absolutely! The CA501 definitely aligns with that tonal profile. It is a wonderful instrument! :)
As someone who has more of a sideways interest in piano (I'm a guitar player, but had to pick up some piano as we needed it for live performances and apparently everyone else is too lazy to do so), I am always interested to hear these impressions of the less portable piano solutions. I'd be unlikely to purchase such an instrument myself as I need portability and don't just spend all my waking hours playing on---stringed instruments are a different story, but I digress---that means I'm out of touch with how the "real" players feel about them. So thanks for that :)
Hi! Brent from Merriam Music here! You're very welcome! Thank you for taking the time to tune in. I definitely understand where you're coming from. I've been in that situation before in bands. Someone has to be the martyr and be willing to pick up different instruments to fill the needs of particular arrangements. I have had to take on that role many times myself. Thanks again and all the best!
Stu was your playing in the end a microphone recording or line out? Thanks!
Hi! Brent here! Unless explicitly stated in the video, we capture the audio of the digital pianos using a line out. :)
HI STU and everyone that works there. I got last year my ca701 over this and I’m quite happy. Only issue is the base ( bass ) is sometimes too Wooffy like not clear. Any suggestions on setting ? Thanks
Hi! Brent here! Thanks so much for tuning in and congrats on your CA701! That CA701 is an incredible piano with a wonderful touch and tone. There are a variety of settings you can adjust in the Virtual Artisan feature. There are also alternate voicings of each piano sample. You may find that some of the other voicing options have a more controlled bass sound.
Hi Stu. Which piano would you consider the better buy: the Kawai CA501 or the Roland LX 706?
Hi! Brent here! I can't speak on behalf of Stu, but I don't think it is a matter of one of these models being better than the other. They simply offer different musical experiences. The CA501 has a warmer sound and a slightly lighter action with shorter pivot lengths. The LX706 has a more neutral, transparent tone and has a heavier, stiffer action with longer pivot lengths. The choice comes down to what your musical preferences are.
Wow! That's a great review! I was wondering for playing classical music the Kawai CA 401 is good enough, or you would consider only 501?
Given that both pianos use the same Grand Feel Compact action, either option would be more than suitable for classical playing/practice. The GFC action offers an all-wooden key stick and impressively-authentic feel. :)
@@MerriamPianos thanks a lot!
MerriamPianos, do you guys have any info, news or idea when the new Yamaha Clavinova models will come out, the 800 series 🤔
Usually, Yamaha updates their models every 3 years, i believe 🤔
Yamaha CLP 800 Series was presented by Yamaha in June. There are already a few videos of the CLP885 online. In Europe the first models will arrive at dealers in the next few weeks or months depending on the model.
@@Martin-id9ks Hi, thanks for the reply 🙂 Did not know they were released already. Was expecting the new models last year ... Hopefully they updated some stuff on the lower models (825/835) like midi & bluetooth.
The Yamaha CLP800 series models have already been announced. We will do our best to cover those models in review/comparison videos in the near future. :)
@@MerriamPianos looking forward to it 👍
May i know what is the difference comparing to the CA401?
Is it necessary to pay the extra for CA501?
The CA501 is the premium version of the CA401 essentially. It has a higher quality tone engine, a more elaborate speaker system (4-speaker array versus the CA401's 2-speaker array), and more built-in sounds, features, and connectivity options. In terms of whether it is worth the extra investment, that comes down to subjectivity of course. :)
@@MerriamPianos appreciate your reply!
would be nice to hear only one note at a time , at full sample length
Thanks for the suggestion! I will certainly pass it along to our production for you. :)
I don't think that would demonstrate much. Pianos are about how the individual notes blend with all the others. You have to hear how an instruments sounds when actually played. That's why Stu's videos are so good. He pushes these instruments to their maximum potential with his harmonic complexity. You hear how they sound when played by an absolute pro. One note at a time doesn't tell you anything, particularly since you are hearing your computer, not the actual instrument.
I preferred the older style of video where the information was interspersed with playing to illustrate the different points. Still a great review though!
Thanks for the feedback! Our production team is always experimenting with different formats to keep things fresh. But, we do appreciate the honest feedback and take it to heart when making production decisions. :)
Acoustic wood?
I'm not sure what you mean. The CA501 is a digital piano (not an acoustic). Also, the cabinet is not made of solid wood. That is seldom the case with digital pianos.
All brands should give this kind of front side, I find buttons or a display on the side acceptable but I don't want to see buttons or weird lights in front of the keys.
It is a matter of preference of course. There are some players that prefer the buttons/knobs to be more readily accessible in performance situations. With that said, there are a lot of options on the market, so every player should have an option that aligns with their preferences. :)