Hello everyone! This is our Kawai CN201 review. We’ll examine what makes it different from other digital pianos and what’s exciting about it.
Launched in 2022, the new Kawai CN201 digital piano is to replace the CN29, a very popular 88-key digital home piano.
The Kawai CN201 is a remarkable addition to Kawai’s esteemed lineup of digital pianos. It is a worthwhile upgrade over Kawai’s entry-level series, the KDP models. The CN-201 offers a blend of authentic piano touch, rich sound quality, and modern features that cater to both beginners and experienced players alike.
In this comprehensive Kawai CN201 review, we’ll explore the piano’s design, sound, touch, features, and overall value. Our goal is to help you determine if it’s the right instrument for your musical journey.
Table of Contents
Specifications of Kawai CN201
Kawai, a Japanese company established in 1927 by Koichi Kawai, is renowned for its craftsmanship in acoustic pianos. Since the 1980s, Kawai has been a significant player in the digital piano market.
Drawing from decades of expertise in piano manufacturing, Kawai’s digital pianos are celebrated for their authentic key action, high-quality sound sampling, and innovative technologies. They closely replicate the experience of playing a traditional acoustic piano.
First, let’s take a look at the instrument specifications:
- Keyboard: 88 keys; Responsive Hammer III (RHIII) action with improved key cushioning
- Touch Sensitivity: Light, Normal, Heavy, and Off.
- Sound Generator: Progressive Harmonic Imaging (PHI) 88-key stereo sampling
- Max Polyphony: 192 notes
- Tones: 8 piano sounds plus 11 other instrument sounds, including the renowned SK-EX Concert Grand voice.
- Effects: Damper resonance, resonance, and 6 types of reverb
- Modes: Dual (Layering); Duet (Four Hands)
- MIDI Recorder: one track with approximately 10,000 notes
- Speakers: 12 cm x 2; and 40 W (20 W x 2) output power
- Connectivity: Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio; USB Computer (USB B type); two headphone jacks (mini stereo 1/8″ and stereo 1/4″)
- Dimensions: W – 53 1/2″ (136 cm); D – 16″ (40.5 cm); H – 34″ (86 cm)
- Weight: 95 lbs (43 kg)
Design and Build Quality
The Kawai CN201 boasts a sleek and elegant design that reflects the company’s commitment to aesthetic excellence and functional practicality. The cabinet features clean lines and a minimalist appearance, making it a stylish addition to any home or studio setting.
- Finish Options: The CN201 is available in three attractive finishes, including Satin Black, Satin White, and Premium Rosewood, allowing users to choose a style that best complements their interior decor.
- Compact Footprint: Despite its robust features, the piano maintains a relatively compact size, making it suitable for smaller spaces without compromising performance.
- Sturdy Construction: The build quality is solid, with a sturdy stand and well-constructed pedals that provide stability and durability over time.
User Interface and Controls
The Kawai CN201’s control panel is very simple, featuring easy-to-use buttons. In addition, an OLED display offers clear visibility and straightforward navigation through various settings and functions.
- OLED Display: The clear and bright OLED display interface makes it simple to operate the piano’s functions.
- Intuitive Controls: The layout of buttons and controls is logical and accessible. The power on/off button and the volume slider are on the right side, and the function buttons are on the left. While you need to use the up and down buttons to scroll through the function list or sound list, it is truly easy to use.
- App Integration: CN201 is compatible with Kawai’s PinaoRomote app. It enhances the user experience, enabling detailed adjustments and settings customization through a simple and interactive interface on smart devices. The Virtual Technician feature is included in the PianoRomote app.
Keyboard Action and Touch
One of the standout features of the Kawai CN201 is its exceptional keyboard action, which closely replicates the feel of an acoustic grand piano. Let’s have a detailed review of Kawai CN201’s key action.
Responsive Hammer 3 (RHIII) Action
The CN201 utilizes Kawai’s RHIII action, featuring graded hammers and triple-sensor key detection. This technology ensures a more accurate weighted feel and a smooth and responsive playing experience, capturing subtle nuances and dynamic expressions with precision.
Enhanced Cushioning
The Kawai CN201 keyboard has been renovated. It features more cushioning and reduced action noise when keys are pressed.
You may notice that some digital pianos can have quite a noisy key mechanism when the piano is played, especially at a low volume. When using headphones, others in the same house may not hear the music, but they can hear the piano key clicking noise.
Kawai greatly reduces the keyboard’s thumping noise on the CN201, making it an optimal instrument for silent play.
Ivory Touch Key Surfaces
The keys are coated with Kawai’s proprietary Ivory Touch material, which provides a textured surface that absorbs moisture and enhances grip. This allows for comfortable and controlled playing during extended sessions.
Let-Off Simulation
The action includes a subtle “let-off” feature that mimics the escapement mechanism of an acoustic piano, offering a realistic feel, especially during soft and delicate passages. In digital pianos, there is no need to have escapement since they do not have the physical hammers and levers. However, this “let-off” provides an authentic piano-playing experience.
Sound Quality
The Kawai CN 201 excels in delivering rich and authentic piano sounds, thanks to advanced sampling and sound processing technologies.
Utilizing Progressive Harmonic Imaging (PHI) technology, the CN201 offers seamless tonal transitions across different dynamic ranges, ensuring a natural and expressive sound that responds accurately to the player’s touch.
Sound Options
The CN-201 features 19 instrument sounds, eight of which are acoustic piano voices suitable for various musical styles.
The instrument features high-quality samples from Kawai’s flagship concert grand pianos, Shigeru Kawai SK-EX and Kawai EX, capturing the depth, warmth, and clarity of these esteemed instruments.
We reviewed the default piano sounds of the Kawai CN201 by extensive playing. These two sounds are slightly different. The Kawai EX concert grand piano sound is a bit brighter.
With these two beautiful voices, the instrument is ideal for performing different styles of music.
Beyond piano tones, the CN201 offers a selection of other instrument sounds, including electric pianos, organs, strings, and choirs, providing versatility for different musical genres and styles.
Here are the other11 instrument sounds:
- Tine Electric Piano
- Modern Electric Piano
- Jazz Organ
- Church Organ
- Harpsichord
- Vibraphone
- String Ensemble
- Slow Strings
- Choir
- New Age Pad
- Atmosphere
Powerful Speaker System
Equipped with a robust 40W stereo speaker system, the piano produces a full and immersive sound that fills the room, enhancing the playing and listening experience.
Speaker diffusers have been added to distribute the sound evenly within the room. This piano sounds great.
In recent years, digital piano makers have started positioning the speakers differently from the traditional facing-down position. The two speakers in CN-201 are still positioned the traditional way, face-down.
Effects
The reverb effect adds ambiance to the piano’s overall sound. Various reverb settings give the effect of playing in a room, on stage, in a concert hall, or in a cathedral. These effects add a professional touch to your performance.
Utilizing the Virtual Technician feature in the PianoRemote app, users can customize various aspects of the piano sound, including voicing, damper resonance, string resonance, and more. This allows for personalized sound shaping to suit individual preferences.
Features and Functionality
Digital functionality is a vital part of any electronic instrument today. This review of the Kawai CN201 would not be complete without checking on its modern features. The Kawai CN201 is packed with features designed to enhance learning, practice, and performance.
Built-in Lesson Function
The piano includes a comprehensive lesson function with popular practice pieces and exercises from renowned educational books, making it an excellent tool for students and teachers.
Dual and Four-Hands Modes
The Dual and Four-Hands modes are also commonly known as layering and duet. These modes allow for versatile playing configurations, enabling duets and layered sounds for enhanced creativity and collaborative playing.
For example, I’ve layered the sound of the concert grand piano with the string ensemble, which results in a really rich orchestral sound.
Metronome and Recorder
Practice with a metronome is very important to improve your timing. The CN201 has an integrated metronome that offers all the popular time signatures.
The built-in recorder on CN-201 allows players to capture and review their performances easily. You can use the recorder to either record a complete performance or just record one hand or part of a piece and practice the other part while playing back the recording.
Bluetooth Connectivity
There are two types of Bluetooth connectivity in the context of digital pianos: Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth audio. The CN201 supports both types of Bluetooth connectivity.
Bluetooth audio allows you to stream the sound from your portable device through the speaker system of the CN-201. This means you can play along with backing tracks produced on the device or stream from the internet.
Bluetooth MIDI allows the digital piano to communicate with a wide variety of music-related apps from Kawai and other third-party apps. It provides a more exciting way to enjoy the piano without needing additional adapters or cables.
Kawai’s PianoRremote app uses Bluetooth MIDI to communicate with the CN-201.
USB and MIDI Ports
Additional connectivity options include USB to Host and MIDI ports, providing seamless integration with computers and external devices for music production and interactive learning.
Headphone Jacks with Spatial Headphone Sound
Dual headphone jacks enable silent practice sessions, and the Spatial Headphone Sound technology delivers an enhanced and immersive listening experience through headphones.
The two headphone jacks, one standard stereo 1/4″ jack and one mini stereo 1/8″ jack, offer convenience for headphones of either size.
There is no dedicated LINE OUT on CN-201. Instead, you can plug in the external speakers system using the headphone ports.
Compatible with the PianoRemote app
The versatile PianoRemote control app enables users to choose from a variety of piano and instrument sounds, fine-tune numerous Virtual Technician settings, and enjoy a wide selection of built-in piano music, all via a user-friendly touch interface on your smart devices.
You can open up even more creative possibilities by connecting your favorite portable device, such as a mobile phone or tablet, using the CN201’s Bluetooth MIDI and Audio connection.
Pedals
The CN201 features a three-pedal system that replicates the functionality of a grand piano’s pedals.
- Damper (with Half-Pedal Support): Allows for nuanced sustain control, with half-pedal functionality enabling precise management of sustain levels.
- Soft Pedal: Reduces volume and alters the tone for softer, more delicate passages.
- Sostenuto Pedal: Provides selective sustain, sustaining only the notes that are held down when the pedal is pressed.
The pedals are well-built and responsive, contributing to an authentic and expressive playing experience.
Comparison to Competitors
When compared to other digital pianos in its class, such as Yamaha’s YDP series or Roland’s HP series, the Kawai CN201 holds its own with several standout features:
- Superior Keyboard Action: The RHIII action offers a highly realistic and responsive touch that rivals and, in some cases, surpasses competitors in the same price range. The improved cushioning further enhanced the playing experience.
- Authentic Sound Samples: The inclusion of premium concert grand piano sounds provides a rich and expressive sound quality that is highly regarded among pianists. Kawai’s proprietary Progressive Harmonic Imaging (PHI) technology set the CN201 apart from others.
- Customization Options: The Virtual Technician feature within the PianoRemote app offers extensive sound customization capabilities, giving users more control over their instrument’s voice compared to some competitors.
- Value for Money: Considering its features, build quality, and performance, the CN201 offers excellent value, often at a more affordable price point than comparable models from other brands.
Pros and Cons of Kawai CN201
As part of the Kawai CN201 review, here is a summary of the pros and cons:
- Excellent keyboard action: It offers an exceptional realistic touch and responsiveness. The enhanced cushioning reduces key noise considerably.
- High-quality sound: Kawais PHI sampling technology delivers rich and authentic tones. tones.
- Extensive customization options: The sound and effect parameters can be set through the Virtual Technician feature via the PianoRemote control app.
- Comprehensive connectivity: The Bluetooth MIDI and Audio make the connection to your favorite smart devices easy, without cables and adaptors.
- Elegant and compact design: It is suitable for various environments. The different color finishes will complement any decor.
- User-friendly interface: It is simple and easy to use, especially with a clear OLED display.
- Useful practice and learning features: The integrated lessons, onboard recorder, and metronome streamline the learning and practice process, making it more effortless and efficient.
- Few Sound Options: There is a limited variety of non-piano instrument sounds compared to some competitors.
- Absence of certain premium features: It lacks some advanced features found in some other models, such as extensive accompaniment styles or advanced recording capabilities.
- Facing-down speakers: While the speaker system is powerful and clear, it may not match the depth and resonances of certain models with a 4-speaker system with tweeters facing up.
Is the Kawai CN201 Worth the Price?
The Kawai CN201 is positioned in the mid-range segment of digital pianos, offering a balance between affordability and high-quality features.
Its pricing reflects its premium build, superior sound, and authentic touch response, providing excellent value for both aspiring pianists and seasoned players.
For aspiring pianists, this instrument serves as a reliable and inspiring tool to develop and refine their skills. Seasoned players will appreciate its nuanced expressiveness, making it an ideal choice for both serious home practice and professional use in teaching or performance settings.
The blend of durability, advanced features, and realistic playing experience ensures that it meets the demands of a wide range of musicians, solidifying its place as a worthwhile investment in their musical journey.
Conclusion of Kawai CN201 Review
Now we have reviewed the major aspects of the Kawai CN201, what is our verdict?
Overall Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars
The Kawai CN201 is a standout digital piano that successfully combines an authentic piano feel, rich and expressive sound, and modern functionalities into a stylish and compact package.
Its exceptional keyboard action and high-quality sound samples make it a joy to play, while its array of features and connectivity options enhance its versatility and usability.
Overall I feel the Kawai CN-201 is a really good piano for –
- All age groups of beginner pianists are looking for something better than entry-level without spending thousands of dollars on a flagship instrument.
- More advanced players need a compact piano where space is at a premium or a secondary practice instrument either at home or in a different location, such as an office.
Whether you’re a beginner looking for a reliable and inspiring instrument to start your musical journey or an experienced pianist seeking a quality digital piano for practice, the Kawai CN201 is certainly worth considering.
Its blend of performance, features, and value positions it as a strong contender in the competitive digital piano market, embodying Kawai’s dedication to excellence and innovation in piano craftsmanship.
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