New Products: Kawai CA49 and Kawai CA59 Digital Pianos

Kawai has upgraded its CA48 and CA58 digital pianos with the CA49 and CA59 respectively. Kawai produces a wide range of digital pianos, and the prefixes they use can be a bit confusing—we previously published a short guide to the various product lines for reference.

These two new pianos join the CA79 and CA99 (launched at the beginning of the year) in the Concert Artist (CA) Series. This is Kawai’s premium range of digital pianos. All employ Kawai’s advanced sound engines, traditional wooden keys, and top quality amplification. The CA pianos are designed to emulate that “grand piano experience” as closely as possible.

A rough guide to the Concert Artist range is as follows:
Kawai CA49: The entry-level model, but still featuring wooden keys and concert grand piano sounds.
Kawai CA59: The next step with top-mounted speakers, extra grand piano sounds and a broader range of additional features.
Kawai CA79: This piano features a touch-screen, more advanced keyboard, an additional sound engine and enhanced sound system.
Kawai CA99: The flagship instrument with more sounds, premium amplification and speaker
technologies, and an authentic wooden soundboard.
Note: there are other differences in each model’s specifications

Kawai CA49 and Kawai CA59 Main Features

• Grand Feel Compact wooden-key keyboard action
• Shigeru Kawai SK-EX, SK-5 (CA59 only) and Kawai EX concert grand piano sounds, with full 88-key sampling
• Onkyo Sound systems
• Bluetooth MIDI and Audio (CA59 only) for wireless communication with smart devices
• Key-block control panel with high-resolution OLED display
• Virtual Technician app for adjusting sound, touch and tuning characteristics
• Built-in Burgmüller, Beyer, Chopin, Czerny etudes and Alfred lesson songs
• WAV/MP3/MIDI file record and playback via USB memory (CA59 only)
• Modern cabinet design available in three different wood finishes.
  Full specifications can be found at the end of this article.

Comparing the CA49 and CA59 with their predecessors (CA48 and CA58) several new features are apparent. Most notable is the new sound system. This has been developed by leading Japanese audio equipment manufacturers Onkyo and produces a clearer, higher fidelity sound than the previous generation models.

The key-block control panels have been improved, and the CA49’s user interface has been made more thanks to the upgraded OLED display.

Both new instruments feature enhanced Shigeru Kawai SK-EX piano sounds, and the CA59 includes a new Shigeru Kawai SK-5 grand piano. Shigeru Kawai is Kawai’s premium acoustic grand piano brand. The SK-EX is the prestigious 278cm (9ft 1in) concert grand, and the SK-5 a 153cm (5ft) studio/mid-sized grand. Extra Virtual Technician (Kawai’s editing app) parameters have also been added on the CA59.

The Kawai CA59 now has enhanced Bluetooth Audio functionality. This allows audio to be wirelessly streamed through the the piano’s high-end audio system. The piano effectively becomes a high-fidelity stereo Bluetooth speaker.

The new models have updated cabinet designs. Both have taller bodies and rounded edge details bringing them in line with the premium styling of the CA79 and CA99.

Full specifications of the Kawai CA49 and Kawai CA59 are listed below, and more information can be found on Kawai’s global website.

Kawai CA49 and CA59 Specifications