Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Digital Pianos - Electronic Pianos - Synths & Keyboards Kawai CA79 v ES920 or MP11se + Monitors

Good evening,

I own a es920 and some iloud mtms hooked up to it, I also use vsts through it all. I've come to grow to love the kawai samples inside the es920, so much so that i am abandoning the use of vsts all together.

Now here's the thing, do i get a CA79 as the next logical step up, i mean in terms of overall playing enjoyment? I like the GF3 action more than es920 action, and I'm guessing the built in speaker system on the CA79 will be an overall pleasing experience.

You may ask why not just keep the es920 set up if you're liking it so much, well i dont like the action as much as the CA79 GF3, no where near, although it's probably faster it feels quite bad compared to the longer pivot GF3.

So my question basically is, would a CA79 be an improvement sound wise compared to my es920 piano with iloud monitors? Is the sound system on the CA79 very good, i presume the cabinet and speakers would make a more involved experience, or could they just make the sound boxy and not open like i currently have with the iloud mtms?

Its my understanding a cabinet speaker system is always going to be superior when considering piano as opposed to monitors just hooked up to a slab piano, and I'm not referring to vsts etc...

Try it.

Sound advice, if you can’t find a dealer with both I might be tempted to take my mtm’s into a dealer which had the ca79 and try them with that.

However I don’t think most people are paying the £750 over the cost of an MP11SE for better sound, I’d suggest it’s for the form factor. A single elegantish piece of furniture. That may or may not appeal.

For me I like what the MP11SE gives me. I like layering sounds (default piano with a hint of pad 2 is my favourite), and like the fact it has a flattish top for my computer monitor (used mainly for displaying sheet music but sometimes YouTube lessons/tutorials).

I’m not sure that’s true. There’s a bunch of constraints when designing a speaker system to put in a piano - cost, size, position, power. With monitors the skies the limit.

In my opinion, maybe don't. The gap between digital actions compared to the gap between digital and hybrid actions is noticable but small IMO.

It's a lot to pay to get the CA79 with limited gain. Instead, I would start saving for a hybrid. If you want better sound, I would argue that decent monitors are an investment. IMO, iLouds MTM aren't the solution. Midrange monitors that might be better and would cost around the 'Focal Alpha 50' level of expenditure. If you want really nice sound, the amount to spend goes up to monitors like Neuman KH120A. I would not do that either, as it's nearly £950 for monitors that good. However, they would last at least a decade.

I would instead consider waiting until the new MP series comes out. If you still want an upgrade, sell the ES920 for what ever replaces the MP11SE, so that at limited increase in expenditure, you get the sound quality level of the ES920 but with the grand feel action.

If you do that, the monitors or a good set of cans would complement an MP12 and get you an action upgrade without breaking the bank.

However, if money is less of an obstacle, why not go for the ca99 or straight for a hybrid or silent piano.

One of the factors in getting the optimal sound is the sound of your room. There are rooms that make a good piano sound glorious and other rooms that make a glorious piano sound awful.

If your room sounds good then you might want to go with a sound system that throws the DP sound widely. The CA79 touts ‘360 deg sound’.

But if your room doesn’t sound good, then you might want to go with quality studio monitors that sit close to your ears and somewhat minimize the room effect.

Probably, it would be possible to alter the acoustic properties of the room if you have the luxury of a dedicated practice room.

Probably the only way to determine if the room is retarding the sound experience would be to try your instrument in a few different rooms.

Thanks for replies, the room acoustics can be adjusted to with the calibration from the mtms which i haven't done yet. I think I'll wait for a MP11se successor tbh.