Kawai CA-901 Digital Piano

■  Industry-leading Grand Feel III wooden-key keyboard action
■  Ebony & Ivory Touch key surfaces, 3-sensor, let-off, counterweights
■  Brand new and exclusive SK-EX Competition Grand piano sounds
■  Premium audio processing and amplification technologies
■  High-performance speaker system with TwinDrive soundboard

■  Latest Bluetooth® MIDI and Audio v5 wireless connectivity
■  Modern 5" LCD touchscreen display embedded within cheekblock
■  MP3/WAV/SMF playback, record, and overdub to USB
■  Spatial Headphone Sound for enhanced depth and realism
■  Contemporary upright cabinet design with SoftFall fallboard

Feel Inspired

A piano that will encourage enthusiastic players to become accomplished pianists, and transform living rooms into grand concert halls.  This is the ambitious philosophy behind Kawai’s latest Concert Artist series – premium instruments that capture the essence of playing a magnificent concert grand piano, and inspire musicians to realise their true artistic potential.

The Touch of a Grand Piano: Grand Feel III wooden key action

Embracing many of the long-established principles associated with an acoustic piano, the Grand Feel III keyboard action utilised by the CA901 combines realistic materials, motion, and mechanism to recreate the exceptional touch of the finest concert grand pianos.

All eighty-eight black and white keys are crafted entirely from long pieces of wood, with finely textured ivory and ebony-like surfaces applied to absorb moisture and assist control.  Each wooden key pivots smoothly on a balance pin – the ends rising and falling to replicate the familiar ‘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 tonal character and volume.

88-key Graded Counterweights

In addition to grade-weighted hammers, the Grand Feel III action also features metal counterweights, attached beneath each key, and graded across the length of the keyboard.

As with an acoustic piano, these additional weights help to balance the touch of the keyboard during pianissimo passages, while providing a feeling of greater substance and solidity when playing with force.

Triple sensor key detection

The Grand Feel III keyboard action also features an accurate triple-sensor key detection system for enhanced playing realism.

The added third sensor improves responsiveness when playing the same key repeatedly, and unlike conventional two sensor keyboard actions found in many digital pianos, allows the sound of a single note to be gradually ‘layered’ without the previous tone being lost.

In addition, Kawai’s action technology also monitors the speed at which each key is lifted, influencing the release character of piano sounds, and providing a greater range of expression between staccato and legato playing.

Ivory & Ebony Touch key surfaces

The exceptional CA901 features Kawai’s highly regarded Ivory Touch white key surfaces as standard.  This finely textured material gently absorbs fingertip perspiration and oils to assist playing control, and possesses a natural, matte finish that is smooth but not slippery.

To complement these premium white keys, Kawai has also developed Ebony Touch, a special black key material that reproduces the finely-textured grain and rich lustre of real ebony wood.  The result is a keyboard surface that looks and feels as luxurious as some of the world's finest grand pianos, inspiring musicians of all levels to become better pianists.

Let-off Simulation

As the most authentic digital piano keyboard action, Grand Feel III even reproduces the ‘let-off’ characteristic of acoustic piano actions.  This subtle ‘notch’ sensation can be felt when playing the keys of a grand piano very gently, and may be used by experienced pianists to aid control when playing pianissimo passages.

In addition, the Grand Feel III action supports playing notes from the let-off point (sometimes referred to as playing ‘off the jack’), allowing the most advanced piano techniques to be performed.

Premium audio technologies

Developed by Kawai R&D’s highly experienced audio engineering team, the CA901 utilises specialist components designed for high-end audio reproduction. High performance dual DAC (digital analogue conversion) components that utilise a unique filtering process specially developed for acoustic piano sounds, combine with the Concert Artists’ high specification power amplifiers to reproduce the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX sounds with stunning richness and clarity.