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Another buyer just posted in the prices thread, now there’s four of us yay! Congratulations pianokat123!

Last Saturday I decided to test the speaker system. The volume knob is at min position at say 7 o'clock and turning it clockwise tops at say 5 o'clock. I think for the small living room putting it a 2 o'clock gives the most realistic experience of real grand. Lower than that is too quiet. Higher than that it gets unrealistically powerful. Left it at that position and played for a 10 minutes. Well, played a Bortkiewicz piece that has some fff sections. Then my phone chimed and the neighbor that lives two floors below complained in a rude way which ultimately led to me having quite a heated chat, since according to the laws in Sofia, I am allowed to play an instrument between 10:00 and 14:00 and between 16:00 and 20:00 and it was 17:00. But I believe he's simply some grumpy nut because he's always complaining of every little noise in the building. So might not be very objective test of loudness But in any case it was loud enough and sounded to me very realistic.

However I was very frustrated by the neighbor's reaction. Legally he can just go f**k himself since I'm allowed to play the piano in the allowed hours. On the other hand I don't feel comfortable bothering people and going into arguments I already started researching ways to move into a house. That might take a lifetime But at least I have the reason.

Maybe just change your phone number?

Well, there is at least one PW member, CadenzaVVi, formerly Jouishy, who told of buying a house so she could buy a piano. And here you are thinking of buying a house for your piano. But my advice to you is that never tell your wife you are buying a house for your piano - the correct answer is always that you are buying the house for her and your daughter!

BTW, your description of your neighbor's call reminded me of the scene @ 14:09 in this film short about classical piano. (There are subtitles in English for those that need to understand what the neighbor is saying.)

And also, there is, from the neighbor's perspective...

Chrispy's semi-review of sound on the N1X still remains the only independent review of the N1X on Youtube. Is this because the only ones buying the N1X so far are players who are not confident enough to post reviews of DPs? Or some other factor? It's been over 2 months since NAMM.

BTW, I don't need a review myself. The owners on PW have given great reviews (thanks David B, CyberGene, and Chrispy!). I'm just wondering if I should be concerned that there are few reviews to be found outside of PW?

You'll find the same dearth of reviews for the original N1/N2/N3 released nearly a decade ago. They're extremely high-end, niche products and the market for YO-WASSUP-BOI-ITS-YA-MAIN-BRUH-PIANO-DUDE-HERE-WITH-ANOTHER-YOUTUBE -FIRST-HAAANDDSSSONNNN-REEEVVVVIIIEEWWW!!!! is quite limited.

I can't explain the NV10's relative popularity on this board other than the fact that it takes a lot to discover and commit to a minority player like Kawai rather than going with the default-Yamaha juggernaut? I'm not trying to say that Yamaha purchasers are ill-informed or poor-researchers, but IMO it takes a lot more effort to find out about Kawai, research it, and take the plunge (and thus be willing to talk about it) than it does to simply visit a normal shop/piano store and just buy a Yamaha, which seems to be regularly represented in most stores.

In regards to reviewing stuff on YouTube, I'm rather old-fashioned and I still prefer reading about stuff rather than watching/listening to videos Well, I've seen a lot of YouTube reviews about digital pianos but more often than not I'm bored and usually scroll to listen to actual playing rather than hearing some facts I can also read myself. Which is why I decided that recording a few pieces is much better than trying to review. Besides, I've never done a video review. I don't think my verbal English is good enough, although I speak everyday since I work for a US company but still I would prefer not to embarrass myself in such an obvious way And it would be rather comical to create a review in Bulgarian, because it's almost certain there won't be more than a few sold over here

When I play my N3 using speakers I usually put the knob at 2 o’clock or 3 o’clock. Anything quieter than that does not feel real and I feel like I can not control my dynamic. Anything louder than that will drive my neighbor crazy.

BTW, I forgot to ask, why not between 14:00 and 16:00? Because instruments interfere with the digestion of lunch? Disruption of children's homework? 14:00-16:00 is the traditional nap time of Bulgarians? Seriously though, this is just very odd to me!

Not sure if you’re asking seriously and I haven’t researched whether that’s only a Bulgarian thing or widespread (which is why you’re joking?) but yeah, 14:00-16:00 is the traditional nap time As a kid I’ve been forced by my grandma to sleep in that time and as you can imagine I couldn’t sleep nor I wanted to stop games On the other hand I would be so happy to be allowed to take that nap now as an adult but employers don’t observe it

I was serious and the nap time thing was just a wild guess. Wow! I should buy a lottery ticket today!

I don't know if this happens in other countries. For example, south of the US border or Mediterranean countries, I would think are most likely to have a traditional nap or siesta time. Not in the 5 countries, I've spent the most time in: USA, China, Netherlands, UK, and Russia (at least not in Moscow, although I can't speak for the Regions).

Thanks for the cultural explanation and your personal story

That's a nice way of putting it ...Anything on You Tube that starts with WASSUP is instantly rejected here. I don't expect professional-level content, but I have no tolerance for crap.

This fear is unfounded, I think ...How many reviews are needed anyway? I really only need a product announcement, followed by a trip to the piano shops.

Once there I will conduct the only review that really matters: my own.

Hm, I did a quick research and indeed it seems like nap is a regional thing. It’s so common around Bulgaria that I thought it was something around the world. Apparently it doesn’t apply for working people, however it’s very strictly observed around residential buildings and is a widespread residential law everyone observes about not doing noises in that time. I think that even loud construction is not allowed around residential areas unless an urgent repair or something. Also, seems there are some health benefits with napping, especially for preventing heart problems. I take this nap sometimes during weekends

So I finally tried plugging in my AKG headphones. They are only slightly louder. Maybe I'm losing my hearing, but I'm still flabbergasted that David is reporting that if he puts the volume past half way with headphones he risks hearing damage. As it is, I definitely feel like the headphones are just barely enough, and I'm loathe to go to max volume as it seems like it distorts a little at the top end when I max it. I need to bring my headphones to the store and try it out and see if it's just my unit.

RE CybeGene's volume settings on speakers, I've basically found exactly the same thing, about 2 o'clock is the "correct" setting to make it sound like a grand that belongs in my house. I have cranked it a bit more and it is extremely loud, like it would probably fill a symphony hall loud. I will say the "Organ Tutti" at volume is earth shakingly gratifying. The bass response is surprisingly on this instrument, it supports the lower spectrum well.

Also, man, I wish we had nap time here in the US...

Your AKGs should actually be a little quieter. Your MDRs should be loudest. See this post. I'd say this this test probably shows your headphones are working but (possibly) the headphone amplifier stage of your N1X might be defective, or at a minimum, there is a configuration option you haven't yet discovered. It's good you are taking your headphones to the store. You should take the MDRs also since those should be the loudest.

You folks should know that this thread is giving me massive G.A.S.

For the gas inclined, Cunningham Piano in Philadelphia has 5 units showing up at the store around this Friday. As far as I know two are already pre-sold. If I get the chance to go up there I will go to compare it side by side with the N3X. Hopefully Rich and Hugh are planning on doing a side by side recording of both units with Hugh playing. They only use microphones to do their recordings. Would be a great plug for their store.

Come on Rich and Hugh do the comparison for us! I know you are reading this Rich...

Had a big disagreement with wife whether or not to get a digital piano or acoustic piano. She wants an acoustic where as I don't want to deal with the hassle of tuning the piano every now and then. She tried heaps of piano YUS1, YUS3, YUS5, C1X, CLP 689, NU1X...etc and insist that the touch in an acoustic piano is far superior than a digital piano. I don't know if that's more of a psychological or actual feeling, but given that she hasn't played for 10 years I would weight the psychological factor more.

So in the end, I made the executive decision to get the N1X without even trying on the actual piano. Full payment paid and just waiting for the piano to arrive now.

Would be interested to hear what she says when the piano arrives.

You are brave my friend. Good luck!

Who is the piano meant for? For you, or for her?