I own a Kawai K 500. Every time I think that the sound could be better I stop at the local Piano store (Yamaha dealer an hour away) and play a U1 or U3 and even their smaller baby grands and realize I really have nothing to complain about because my Kawai K 500 sounds so much better. (And Neotex keys) Sometimes I need that wake up call to know I have a great piano with a great sound. My Piano Tuner was not that familiar with the Kawai K500 but twice a year when he comes to tune it he always comments on what a nice piece of artwork Kawaii has done with the ‘mechanics’ of it. When I bought it the dealer installed a piano saver system which has really helped hold the tuning also. Here in northern New England it’s very cold and dry for a few months then goes to very hot and humid for a few months. No complaints. I have nothing bad to say about the Yamaha at all. Just just prefer the sound of my Kawai.
I went to the piano shop just to verify that I should get the Kawei k500 after seeing all those reviews on YT. They only had a k300 and it was great. Loved it. Then I tried the Yamaha b1 and I fell in love with the crisp middle and more joyfull sound. Then back and forth between them and I realised that my spirit was more into Yamaha while my wallet loved the Kawei. Interestingly the b3 did to my ears not sound better than the b1, or maybe that was due to the noise in the room. Now I will be off to test U1 and U3 next week in a different shop. Ps something really absurd happened during the visit to the shop that I have to tell. I went into the shop and asked after the Kawai. She took me to the first floor and said on the way up the stairs that they are building a new elevator but I could still test the piano. There were literally a man with a cotton wheel cutting metal 10 meter from me with sparks flying inside with the pianos. I make a little joke and say, what a lovely cotton wheel smell in here and smiles. She pretends nothing is wrong, plays a few notes on the piano and tell me to sit down and play for a while. I ask her some questions and she can barely hear me but says she will be back in 15 min to check on me. I sit down, play a few notes and realizes how absurd everything is. So I find the lady again and tells her that I will be back later when I can hear something. She says ok, but tells me that I can test the k300 downstairs that has already been sold. The guy upstairs is finaly done cutting, so I agree. I sit down and test a few pianos and falls in love with the Yamaha sound. I test 3 of the Steinways Grand pianos that are also in the room. While doing so, all of a sudden, a pump inside the room starts. It is surprisingly noisy and for the next 10 minutes I try to hear the piano over the loud noise. I sit there and wonder, who in their right mind would ever install such noisy equipment in a room where they sell Steinways? Anyway, I leave the shop and as I drive home the absurdity of it all hits me. Why did she even attempt to bring me to that room above. Why were all the pianos not protected from the dust from construction? Who in their right mind will install a loud pump in a room where they sell Steinways for over 45000 euros a pice? And who in their right mind takes a customer looking to buy a piano into a room where a cotton wheel is being used close by and tells them to test a piano. I am filled with wonder of how unexpected life can be and just wonderful it all is. I will of course never buy a piano from that store but I absolutely love the absurdity of the whole situation. And since she asked for my contact details to call me when the normal sales manager comes back, I will thank him for that experience. It is something that I will never forget 🤣
Great comparison! Just what I was looking for. After playing both in stores I prefer the sound of the Yamaha and this video confirms it again. Some say it's too bright or harsh but I disagree. I find it more dynamic compared to the K300. Just my opinion anyway. Kawai has the millennium III action which uses carbon fibre and other composites to help with faster action and better tuning stability. From a tech perspective I really like what Kawai is doing. When was the last time Yamaha made any improvements to the U1? Bottom line is you really can't go wrong with either piano. Keep up the fantastic work guys. Love the channel.
I've heard so many videos comparing k300 to Yamaha u1 and b3. One thing I got to tell you guys, I'm buying the kawai. It's far better. Millennium action, much better keyboard touch, responsive, warmer sound, I don't like the crispy Yamaha sound. Kawaii is more elegant
I own a Kawai K 500. Every time I think that the sound could be better I stop at the local Piano store (Yamaha dealer an hour away) and play a U1 or U3 and even their smaller baby grands and realize I really have nothing to complain about because my Kawai K 500 sounds so much better. (And Neotex keys) Sometimes I need that wake up call to know I have a great piano with a great sound. My Piano Tuner was not that familiar with the Kawai K500 but twice a year when he comes to tune it he always comments on what a nice piece of artwork Kawaii has done with the ‘mechanics’ of it.
When I bought it the dealer installed a piano saver system which has really helped hold the tuning also. Here in northern New England it’s very cold and dry for a few months then goes to very hot and humid for a few months. No complaints.
I have nothing bad to say about the Yamaha at all. Just just prefer the sound of my Kawai.
I went to the piano shop just to verify that I should get the Kawei k500 after seeing all those reviews on YT. They only had a k300 and it was great. Loved it. Then I tried the Yamaha b1 and I fell in love with the crisp middle and more joyfull sound. Then back and forth between them and I realised that my spirit was more into Yamaha while my wallet loved the Kawei.
Interestingly the b3 did to my ears not sound better than the b1, or maybe that was due to the noise in the room. Now I will be off to test U1 and U3 next week in a different shop.
Ps something really absurd happened during the visit to the shop that I have to tell. I went into the shop and asked after the Kawai. She took me to the first floor and said on the way up the stairs that they are building a new elevator but I could still test the piano. There were literally a man with a cotton wheel cutting metal 10 meter from me with sparks flying inside with the pianos. I make a little joke and say, what a lovely cotton wheel smell in here and smiles. She pretends nothing is wrong, plays a few notes on the piano and tell me to sit down and play for a while. I ask her some questions and she can barely hear me but says she will be back in 15 min to check on me. I sit down, play a few notes and realizes how absurd everything is. So I find the lady again and tells her that I will be back later when I can hear something.
She says ok, but tells me that I can test the k300 downstairs that has already been sold. The guy upstairs is finaly done cutting, so I agree. I sit down and test a few pianos and falls in love with the Yamaha sound. I test 3 of the Steinways Grand pianos that are also in the room. While doing so, all of a sudden, a pump inside the room starts. It is surprisingly noisy and for the next 10 minutes I try to hear the piano over the loud noise. I sit there and wonder, who in their right mind would ever install such noisy equipment in a room where they sell Steinways?
Anyway, I leave the shop and as I drive home the absurdity of it all hits me.
Why did she even attempt to bring me to that room above. Why were all the pianos not protected from the dust from construction? Who in their right mind will install a loud pump in a room where they sell Steinways for over 45000 euros a pice? And who in their right mind takes a customer looking to buy a piano into a room where a cotton wheel is being used close by and tells them to test a piano.
I am filled with wonder of how unexpected life can be and just wonderful it all is. I will of course never buy a piano from that store but I absolutely love the absurdity of the whole situation.
And since she asked for my contact details to call me when the normal sales manager comes back, I will thank him for that experience. It is something that I will never forget 🤣
Great comparison! Just what I was looking for. After playing both in stores I prefer the sound of the Yamaha and this video confirms it again. Some say it's too bright or harsh but I disagree. I find it more dynamic compared to the K300. Just my opinion anyway.
Kawai has the millennium III action which uses carbon fibre and other composites to help with faster action and better tuning stability. From a tech perspective I really like what Kawai is doing. When was the last time Yamaha made any improvements to the U1?
Bottom line is you really can't go wrong with either piano. Keep up the fantastic work guys. Love the channel.
Thank you for that!
I got a brand new U1 a year ago. It has a really nice and sweet sound. It works well, even for classical music.
I've heard so many videos comparing k300 to Yamaha u1 and b3. One thing I got to tell you guys, I'm buying the kawai. It's far better. Millennium action, much better keyboard touch, responsive, warmer sound, I don't like the crispy Yamaha sound. Kawaii is more elegant
A new K300 now has an MSRP that is higher than the U1.
Not much higher, just bought one and it was close to a u1.