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Hello Flyingblind, welcome to the forum!

Great to read that you have chosen the CA99 to start learning the piano!

Regarding your queries, if you have space, I believe the CA99 will sound best when positioned around 20cm away from a rear wall. There are settings to optimise the instrument's EQ depending on the type of material used for walls also.

The CA99 features both Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio, which should allow you to continue to use your iPad for practicing MIDI files. If these MIDI files usually play through the iPad, the sound can be routed via Bluetooth Audio through the instrument's speakers. Even better, if the app that you're using supports transmitting the actual MIDI data, this can be sent via Bluetooth MIDI to the instrument's sound engine, allowing the pieces to be played using the CA99's piano sounds.

The CA99 also has quite an extensive range of built-in lesson songs/pieces, with functions to mute the left or right hand to allow practicing. Depending on your location, printed scorebooks for many of these lessons are also included with the instrument.

I hope this helps - best of luck learning the piano!

Kind regards,
James
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@ Flyingblind
To answer your question, my CA99 EP is now in my living room (quite big living room) against a wall, but I let around 10-15 cm between the wall and the piano. It sounds outstanding, great spread of the sound in the room and feels great for the pianist as well !

Regarding your second question, i have not tried yet to play music on the piano (from my iphone/ipad) while playing along but from the owner manual i believe this is possible. I will try and let you know.
The soundboard of the piano really has an outstanding sound quality, especially for the bass !
Hope this helps

@ KawaiJames
I have checked the pedal support bolt beneath the pedals and it was already fully lowered (i had checked when setting up the piano). With the weight of the piano i cannot move it left or right so i assume it is fully lowered. The noise from the pedal is rather a mechanical friction (i wonder if it's because my foot is slightly more on the right edge of the pedal, hence inducing not a full vertical movement but a side movement - but i have no choice since the pedal is so short). No a huge issue but i am afraid with time this gets worse unless i find how to solve the issue (maybe just a bit of oil)

ag_jazz_piano, thank you for checking the pedal bolt.

If you're hearing some mechanical friction when the damper pedal is pressed, it could well be a lubrication issue.

I would recommend giving your dealer and/or Kawai distributor a call to see what they recommend.

Kind regards,
James
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Hi Folks,

so now for the update on my CA99:

First a short explanation, because I got the feedback that my situation with "waiting for Kawai service" was not 100% clear for everybody:

Here in my area of Austria service for all Kawai instruments is in the responsibility of the official (and exclusive) Kawai dealer and is not carried out by Kawai Europe (located in Krehfeld Germany).

So when I wrote about my experience on Kawai Service = I ment Service of my Kawai Dealer.


So finally this week a got a "slot" and my favorite Kawai (Dealers) Technician Markus showed up at 10:30 - HURRAY! As the noises of some of my black keys ALWAYS happend Markus could make himself a good "picture" of the Problem.

After totally opening my CA99 EP (I hardly got a heart attack but he did a marvelous job) the keyboard was open in front of him.

He took (key by key) all black keys out, checked every part and … also checked that enough of the white grease is between keystick pivot and hammer and putted them back in place and HURRAY > ALL DISTURBING NOISES ARE 100% GONE.

Seeing the GFIII in parts and in reality is WAY more impressive as the picture on the KAWAI Homepage :-) :-) :-). There are really hardly a dozend of clever new design details I really liked (this is my 5th Grand Feel Keyboard and I am a curious Design Engineer).

We (or better Markus) is not 100% sure if something was also "cleaned out or realigned" by taking the keys out or if "only" the grease was the solution. At the end of the day: The new GFIII (also hours later and in all playing situations) is UNBELIVABLE realistic and JOY to PLAY.

Of course Markus (I know him since my CA93) left his card on my desk and YES HE SAYED HIS FAMOUSE SENTENCE AGAIN: Give me a ring whenever I can do something for you. I will return as often as necessary until you are 100% satisfied with the result :-).


KAWAI count me in - THIS IS AS IT SHOULD BE...


Galuwen

...and I was impressed by the new loudspeakers and the clever alignment of the new tweeters > Pianist is now sitting in the very center now :-).

Ah and the little KAWAI logos on every "hidden end" of the white keytops…

Galuwen - sorry now I am over-enthusiastic :-)

I was very disappointed when I sat down to play a CLP 685, I found the speakers to sound like they were actually facing away from me, does the sound from the CA99 feel more direct and realistic in your opinion?
The Yamaha is known for its bright character. But all I could hear was muffled sound. Thanks

Glad it was fixed, hurray!


Btw, this would mark quite a change from the GF-1 and GF-2, which has explicit instructions to NOT apply any grease between the keystick tape and the capstan on the hammer. I guess the change to the plastic sleeve around the key now utilizes some grease.

@ InspiredbyKawai
Yes, definitely, the sound is incredible when you sit down at the piano playing it ! More than just the sound you get the vibrations from the soundboard (at least for me with the CA99)

@ Galuwen
Very happy for you and reassured to see that the pbm was entirely fixed. At the same time i wonder if i could get such a good technician showing up to my place (in France next to the swiss border) in case i have such an issue.
I was actually wondering if it is easy to open the CA99 as i just cannot see how/where to open the top or the keyboard or even the bottom part. Everything seems to be just 1 piece. I can understand you almost got an attack at seeing the technician dismantle it ...

Overall, i am still super happy with the CA99 and really think this is closer to a great piano than to a digital piano.
My only concern is that it seems quite sophisticated both from a digital and mechanical perspectives therefore i hope it can last long and the mechanic part will not suffer with time (grease, small noises, frictions, etc ...). I am sure they test the pianos and simulate 10-20 years of playing agressively before releasing them so should be fine, but time will tell !

What I can say and saw: The new GFIII looks totally free of adjustment. Just perfect out of the box. There is even an split cushion to dampen the fallback of the hammer weight. And the new pivot definetly had grease on it :-).

At the end of the day there is no rubbery feelling of the silikon pad any more. Really feels like a perfectly regulated grand action.

Also my all time favorit editor of okey! magazin simply called it the most realistic action of all Kawai digital instruments- if not of all brands- so far (there was a test if the CA99 in the last issue)...and I would like to agree.

Galuwen

So this grease - that probably means that the keyboard has to be periodically disassembled and serviced?

Galuwen,

So this Markus guy, did he ask you not to take pictures and not to record a 4K video in your own home?
What's the deal with that? Where are the autopsy pictures?

I had a similar issue with a DP in the past. In my case, the pedal bolt was over tighten. I would suggest loosening the bolt and only tighten the necessary amount so that the pedal assembly doesn't move when pressed.

how's that possible when kawai makes the millennium 3.

It seems someone is in a heavy Honeymoon Phase....

thank you, will try (provided i can find how to access the pedal mechanism !!!)

Thomas Karasek's Review in the last edition of Okey! Magazin (sorry its a German Magazine but one can translate maybe):


Das CA99 ist zweifellos das neue Flaggschiff der CA-Serie. Dieses luxuriös ausge-
stattete Digitalpiano bietet die beste Klangqualität, Tastatur- und Wiedergabe-
Technologie, die Kawai derzeit zu bieten hat. Die Grand Feel 3 Tastatur ist für mich
derzeit die beste Tastatur in einem Digitalpiano und nochmals eine deutliche
Verbesserung zum Vorgänger. Sie lässt sich ausdrucksstark und dynamisch sehr
präzise spielen. Man könnte provokant formulieren: wer es nicht besser weiß,
glaubt ein akustisches Klavier zu sehen, zu hören, und zu spielen. Mit Features wie
5” Touchscreen, Bluetooth MIDI & Audio (inkl. aptX Support!) oder der neuen
“Piano Remote”-App für Smartphones/Tablets beweist Kawai, dass man technologi-
sche Trends erkennt und in die eigenen Instrumente implementiert. In der Tat: Man
kann Gutes also doch noch besser machen… Chapeau!

Galuwen

Translation:


The CA99 is without doubt the new flagship of the CA series. This luxuriously designed digital piano offers the best sound quality, keyboard and playback Technology that Kawai currently has to offer. The Grand Feel 3 keyboard is for me currently the best keyboard in a digital piano and again a clear Improvement over the predecessor. It can be very expressive and dynamic very play precisely. One could provocatively put it this way: those who don't know better, believes to see, hear, and play an acoustic piano. With features like 5" touchscreen, Bluetooth MIDI & Audio (incl. aptX support!) or the new "Piano Remote" app for smartphones/tablets, Kawai proves that you can use technology- trends and implement them in its own instruments. In fact, one can make a good thing better... chapeau!

Decade after decade it's the same bullcrud:
"... those who don't know better, believes to see, hear, and play an acoustic piano." (cringe)

That's not a review, is it? It's either ...
(a) hackneyed trade gibberish, regurgitated again and again
or
(b) crap prose lifted from a press release.

Pull up some "review" or promotional material from 1985 and see whether you find the same words spoken about those digital pianos.

+1

Or....open the purse and buy a new Piano :-).

Galuwen

P.S: In fact that is one of the only honest reviews. If you read the full article he comes to 1 1/2!! pages of totally destroying the Touchscreen and new UI of the CA99 :-(. That is maybe the reason why Kawai Germany does NOT relink this article on their homepage....

Better not show it to Kawai James! And it doesn't sound like an acoustic to me.