Kawai CA49 Review – One of The Best Digital Piano For 2021

Last updated on May 26th, 2021 at 01:29 pm

The Kawai CA49 is one of the newest digital pianos from the famous Concert Artist (CA) series from Kawai. It replaces the popular Kawai CA48. If you are a pianist looking to buy the best digital piano, you may want to consider the Kawai CA49. To know all about the features and interesting perks of this piano, keep reading; we would like to tell you all about it in this Kawai CA49 review.

DESIGN

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The look

The Kawai CA49 is made from an elegant wooden frame that comes in three color options; Premium Satin Black, Premium Satin White, and Premium Rosewood. It has a very simple design that I believe would sit well in any corner of your home or studio.

It has a solid key cover that slides in and out of its cabinet almost frictionless.

All the colors are great, but if I was to choose one, I’m definitely going for the Premium Satin white.

Kawai doesn’t love to brag too much about their instruments’ looks, so I would reserve most of my writing to where they love to be hyped most; sound and action.

Music Rest

The Kawai CA49 has a music rest that can be adjustable to one of three different angle positions depending on what suits your playing preference.

Like the CA48, the music rest is very wide and has a notch along its lower horizontal length to accommodate pretty much anything you would need to place there – tablets, music sheets, and so on.

Control

The CA49 has an improved cheek-block control panel that comes along with a modern OLED graphics display.

This digital control feature makes it easy to change sounds and select built-in lessons. From the cheek-block control panel, you also get the luxury of recording and playing back your recorded practice sessions.

The Kawai CA49 is compatible with the newest version of Kawai’s PianoRemote control app for Android and iOS devices. The app provides a seamless way to adjust settings and change the sound from your mobile device.

Keys

The Kawai CA49 comes with full 88 keyboards.

The keys are fully wooden and have a characteristic ivory touch surface that does a good job of gently absorbing fingertip perspiration to enhance playing control.

The surface is very smooth yet far from being slippery and wipes clean easily with a damp cloth.

Size & Weight

The CA49 weighs about 58 kg (12b lbs.)

 It has thedimensions of 136 x 46 x 91.5 cm (53.5″ x 18.2″ x 36″)

KEY ACTION

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The CA49 comes with Kawai’s fantastic Grand Feel Compact keyboard action to deliver a very realistic playing experience.

The Grand Feel Compact action is very good at providing a consistent touch weight with its extended pivot length.

Kawai used long wooden keysticks for all the 88 white and black keys as well as the famous seesaw mechanism that has been used for centuries in acoustic grand pianos.

Bass keys have a counterweight attached at the front to lighten the touch of the keys during pianissimo passages.

In the key detection department, the GF Compact action of the CA49 features a triple sensor system to enhance playing realism by improving the piano’s responsiveness when you play a particular key repeatedly.

It would be impossible for a more experienced pianist not to notice the CA49’s Let-off Stimulation that is particular to an acoustic piano action. This sensation can be quite subtle, but if you know what you are looking for, you should notice it while playing gently.

To cap up a great keyboard action, Kawai also added speed monitoring technology to monitor the speed it takes to lift each key in order to improve the release character of the piano sound.

SOUND

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With a brilliant dynamic range and exceptional tonal clarity, Kawai pianos graciously wear the crown of “premier pianos of Japan.”

The Kawai CA49 uses Kawai’s Progressive Harmonic Imaging Sound Engine and has 192 note polyphony and 19 onboard sounds.

With Kawai’s recent collaboration with Onkyo (a leading Japanese audio company), they have been able to deliver improved signal processing, amplifier quality, and sound quality.

If you place the CA49 side by side with a CA48, you will definitely hear a cleaner and punchier sound from the CA49.

Regarding power output, the Kawai has 40 watts speakers, 20 watts on each side, and a total of 4 speakers.

The Kawai CA49 is equipped with the SK-EX and EX grand sample sets, and they have both been individually sampled on every note on the piano.

These samples are the CA49 tone engine’s crown jewel and are responsible for the rich and complex sound the CA49 produces.

FEATURES

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In the CA49, Kawai hoped to deliver an instrument with great wood action, high sound quality, and a four-speaker system at a price as low as possible.

Therefore, you should expect some sacrifices with some features like connectivity. For connectivity, the CA49 only has two headphone jacks, MDI in and out, Bluetooth MIDI, and USB to host.

A feature that is worthy of note is the new and improved user interface. It is such a nice upgrade that makes the piano easier to use.

Listed below are some features of the Kawai CA49;

Sounds (19 total):

• Atmosphere
• Vibraphone
• Mellow Grand x2
• Modern Piano
• Upright Piano
• Ex Concert Grand
• Jazz Organ
• Slow Strings
• Choir
• New Age Pad
• Harpsichord
• String Ensemble
• SK Concert Grand
• Classic E. Piano
• Modern E. Piano
• Studio Grand x2

Polyphony: 192

Key sensitivity:

• Triple sensor detection
• Normal
• Light
• Heavy
• 1 user
• 2 user

Reverb setting:

• Room
• Lounge
• Small Hal
• Concert Hall
• Live Hall
• Cathedral

Modes:

• Dual-mode
• Four hand mode

Internal Recording:

• Three song recorder
• Built-in lessons

Connectivity:

• MIDI
• Pedals
• Headphones

App:

• Virtual Technician

ACCESSORIES

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The Kawai CA49 has the Grand Feel Pedal of the earlier CA series.

This accessory accurately reproduces the individual weighting and position of the SK-EX grand piano in order to further establish the CA49 as one of the most realistic digital pianos.

The instrument comes with a matching bench, and with its high performing speakers, you don’t have to buy an external speaker.

As always, a pair of high quality headphones is recommended for any digital piano.

WHO IT’S FOR

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The Kawai CA49 is recommended for an advanced or intermediate player looking for a good piano to practice for a concert or event.

It has just the right design and a plethora of features that are perfect for home use.

If you are a beginner looking to have a feel for wooden-key action, the CA49 is an excellent choice. It would cost you some money, but you wouldn’t have any reason to upgrade anytime soon.

CONCLUSION

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Without any further ado, I can easily conclude this article by saying; the Kawai CA49 is one of the best digital pianos available in the market right now. You get a high-quality sound engine and one of the best key action you can find in a digital piano.

In my opinion, it has almost everything, if not everything you are looking for in a digital piano.

Hopefully, with this Kawai CA49 Review, you have all the information you need to make a well-informed buying decision.

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

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OTHER OPTIONS

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Kawai CA49 vs. Casio AP710

Right off the bat, the first difference between these two pianos is the controls.

The Kawai CA49 has a much simpler dial-in control on the left-side cheek block where you can easily go through the control menu with a few buttons. On the Casio, all the control menus are laid out in tactile buttons just above the keys.

A significant feature that sets the Casio AP-710 way above the CA49 is the 256 notes of polyphony on the Casio. In case you didn’t know, that’s the highest polyphony power you can ever get on any digital piano in the market, and the Kawai has only 192 notes of polyphony.

The CA49 doesn’t have a line-out unlike the Casio AP-710 that does. If you plan to use the instrument for practice at home, this shouldn’t be a deal-breaker; however, for studio or even church use, a piano with a line-out would be ideal.

Considering the action of both, the Kawai clearly has better action. The Casio isn’t bad, but it feels slightly lighter and bouncier than the Kawai that gives better control.

With the Casio AP-710, you get 26 sounds unlike the Kawai that offers just 19 in total. Still on sound, the Casio has a louder sound system of 6 speakers that goes through as high as 60 watts of stereo power. When compared to the CA49’s 40 watts power, there is a considerable difference.

Overall, they are both great sounding instruments. If your main focus is the most authentic key action, the Kawai has a slight advantage.

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Feel free to leave us a comment; we can’t wait to know what you think about this Kawai CA49 review. And if you have used the CA49 before, we would really love you to share your experience with the instrument.