KAWAI CA701 Digital Piano

Incorporating many of the time-honoured principles associated with an acoustic piano, the Grand Feel III keyboard action utilized by the CA701 combines realistic materials, motion, and mechanism to emulate the responsive touch of the finest concert grand pianos.

All eighty-eight black and white keys are shaped entirely from long pieces of wood, with delicately textured ivory and ebony-like surfaces applied to absorb moisture and assist control. Each wooden key pivots effortlessly on a balance pin with the ends rising and falling to replicate the conventional ‘seesaw’ motion of an acoustic piano action. When pressed, the back of the key lifts, triggering a grade-weighted hammer to strike a pressure switch. The amount of force applied to this switch is then measured, and the corresponding note played with authentic volume and tonal character.

The Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano was conceived as the next step in evolving the art of the piano. With its stellar reputation as one of the premier pianos of the world, it dominates the stages of concert halls and musical institutions around the world. Receiving universal acclaim for its exceptional clarity and dynamic range, the SK-EX has frequently been selected by professional pianists at such prestigious events as the Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rubinstein international piano competitions. Revered for its magnificent tone and wonderfully responsive touch, SK–EX can best be described with one word – incomparable.

Accurately and faithfully reproducing the stunning sound of the Shigeru Kawai concert grand piano digitally is a monumental task. To accomplish the incredible results heard in the CA701, Kawai engineers have developed SK-EX Rendering. This special, piano-only sound engine focuses the Concert Artist’s DSP power, combining multi-channel, 88-key sampling with the latest resonance modeling technology to deliver a new standard of pure acoustic piano authenticity.

The CA701 features the new, exclusive SK-EX Competition Grand piano. This exciting new sample is in addition to the impeccable SK-EX grand piano sound, with all new sampling data, recorded from the pianist’s perspective. The Competition Grand sound is characterized by a bright, crisp sound with more natural bass notes and a clearer duplex scale presence in the upper notes.

The knowledge and skill of an experienced piano technician is essential to bring out the best of a fine acoustic piano. Kawai’s “Master Piano Artisans” are among the best in the world. In addition to tuning each note, the “Master Piano Artisans” also perform meticulous regulation and voicing adjustments that allow the instrument to truly sing.

The CA701’s powerful Virtual Piano Artisan function simulates the skills of these elite technicians digitally, allowing discerning musicians to shape aspects of the selected piano’s character to suit their personal preferences without requiring the expertise of an experienced technician.

The pianist may perform touch weight and voicing adjustments, regulate hammer and key release noises, and fine-tune string, damper, and cabinet resonances. It is even possible to adjust the precise tuning, volume, and character of individual notes – all at the touch of a finger.

The CA701 employs specialized components designed for high-end audio reproduction. With leading-edge technologies such as a custom-designed piano sampling filter and a dual DAC system, the Concert Artist’s optimized power amplifiers reproduce the Shigeru Kawai grand piano sound with brilliant clarity, realism, and power.

The premium discrete headphone amplifier provides the user with an unequalled listening experience when playing in privacy.

Complementing the instrument’s class-leading Grand Feel III keyboard action and dazzling SK-EX Rendering piano sound engine, the CA701 boasts a large selection of digital features that further enhance one’s musical pleasure.

Updated Bluetooth® V5 connectivity and USB audio record/playback allows musicians to extend the versatility of their piano. The convenient metronome offers various time signatures as well as 100 drum patterns. Integrated lesson functions, featuring classical etudes and Alfred course books content, ensure that regular practice is engaging, enjoyable and productive for aspiring pianists.

All internal functions are accessible from the CA701’s improved anti-glare full color 5″ touchscreen display, which allows sounds and settings to be selected from an intuitive user interface.

The screen can also be set to turn off automatically while playing, thus preserving the instruments’ acoustic piano-like appearance, and minimizing any visual distractions to the pianist.

In addition to standard USB jacks for connecting to computers or other instruments, the CA701 also features integrated Bluetooth® V5 MIDI and Bluetooth V5 Audio technologies that allow the instrument to communicate with most smart devices wirelessly.

Once paired with a phone, tablet, or laptop, Concert Artist owners can enjoy a wide variety of engaging music-related apps that enhance their learning and playing experience. In addition, one can stream audio from songs and videos directly through the instruments’ premium amplifier and speaker systems and enjoy playing along with favorite songs.

The CA701’s redesigned communication standard allows the user-friendly touchscreen interface to also be accessed via Kawai’s exclusive PianoRemote app for iOS and supported Android devices. The app connects to the piano wirelessly via the Concert Artists’ integrated Bluetooth, providing an effortless way to change sounds, or enjoy the vast array of built-in music content.

The CA701’s convenient lesson function allows aspiring pianists to learn piano with a large collection of songs from the popular Alfred’s Basic, Adult, and Premier course books as well as classical Czerny, Burgmüller, Beyer, Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin etudes.

To further aid the piano student, the Concert Artist also features traditional finger exercises, scales, and warm-up drills.

Reinforcing the Concert Artist’s reputation as the most realistic digital piano is Kawai’s Grand Feel Pedal System. This innovative feature accurately replicates the position and individual weighting of the damper, soft, and sostenuto pedals of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano to further enhance the acoustic piano-like realism of the CA701.

Additionally, it is also possible to adjust the half-pedal sensitivity of the damper pedal, and the effectiveness of the soft pedal using specific Virtual Piano Artisan parameters, allowing advanced pianists to personalize the instrument’s response to match their individual pedaling technique.

The CA701’s Spatial Headphone Sound (SHS) technology intensifies the depth and realism of the instrument’s sound when listening through headphones or earphones. The pianist can select one of three different acoustic presets that adjust the spatial positioning of the sound, while also reducing auditory fatigue when using earphones or headphones for extended periods of time.

In addition, the CA701 also allows players to specify the type of headphones connected (Open, Semi-open, Closed, In-Ear, Canal, etc.) to ensure an optimal listening experience.

The CA701’s broad music rest is designed to accommodate the most ambitious musical works, with smoothly rounded edges and simulated leather lining the base. The CA701 has score support pins built into the music rest base, for holding sheet music open.

As with a grand piano, the viewing angle of the Concert Artist’s music rest can be adjusted to suit the performer’s height and playing position, or even set to a special ‘composer desk’ angle for greater convenience when notating scores or sketching musical ideas.