Promenade Music is proud to be a UK main dealer for the award-winning flagship Kawai ‘Concert Artist’ series model CA-901 which beat all other makes and models of digital pianos to win the Music Inc Editors Choice NAMM 2024 award. With stunning grand piano sounds, an ultra-realistic wooden-key keyboard action, premium audio, amplification, and speaker technologies, convenient Bluetooth connectivity, and a modern touchscreen interface, the Kawai CA901 delivers one of the finest grand piano experiences available in a digital instrument.
The Kawai CA901’s stunning Shigeru Kawai SK-EX piano sounds are processed using new audio hardware which incorporates a high performance DAC system and custom developed piano filter. This high-fidelity sound is then delivered through the instruments’ impressive speaker systems, with the flagship CA901 featuring a redesigned 6-speaker configuration comprising new front facing direct speakers and more powerful TwinDrive soundboard speaker transducers. Also featuring upgraded 360° top speaker diffusers, resulting in an exceptionally rich and authentic musical experience for players and listeners alike.
The CA901’s unique cheekblock touchscreen display features an improved anti-glare panel, with a smooth matte surface that reduces overhead reflections for enhanced visibility. The instrument’s user interface has also received various updates, including the ability to turn-off the LCD display after a defined period, thus minimising any visual distractions to the performer. Wireless connectivity has also been refreshed, with Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio components both adopting the latest v5 standards, ensuring ultra-low latency, improved reliability, and superior sound quality when paired with the latest mobile devices.
The the industry leading Grand Feel III wooden-key keyboard action has a pivot on a central balance pin to create a smooth, seesaw-like motion. This natural movement throws grade-weighted metal hammers located at the back of the keyboard, with their individual velocities precisely measured using triple-sensor technology for improved responsiveness and realism. The action has an extended wooden keys also boast an extra-long pivot length – matching that of a Kawai acoustic grand piano. This provides a more consistent touch weight when playing towards the rear of the keyboard, while additional counterweights placed below each key help to further balance the weight of the action during pianissimo passages. Finally, the Grand Feel III keyboard action also features Kawai’s Ebony & Ivory Touch key surfaces that gently absorb moisture to assist playing control, and possess a natural, matte finish that is smooth, but not slippery.
The CA901 utilises specialist components designed for high-end audio reproduction. High performance 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. Featuring a powerful 6-speaker delivery system that utilises premium driver units, and custom-engineered diffuser panels which help to expand the pianos’ tonal projection in all directions. These additional components create a 360° sound field around the instrument, ensuring a natural piano sound for both the player, and for those listening elsewhere in the room. In addition to conventional speakers, the flagship CA901 also incorporates Kawai’s latest TwinDrive soundboard speaker system. This unique acoustic projection technology harnesses transducer components to channel sound energy onto a real wooden soundboard, resulting in an even richer, more organic piano tone that faithfully reproduces the ambience of an acoustic piano. The CA901 also incorporate an audiophile-grade discrete headphone amplifier, which combines with Kawai’s Spatial Headphone Sound technology to ensure the finest quality and most engaging listening experience, even when playing in privacy.
In addition to a standard USB-MIDI port for connecting to computers, the CA901 digital piano also features the latest Bluetooth® MIDI and Audio v5 technology, allowing these instruments to communicate with supported smart devices wirelessly. Once paired to a phone, tablet, or laptop, Concert Artist owners can enjoy a wide variety of exciting music-related apps that enhance their learning and playing experience, or stream high quality, low-latency audio directly through the instruments’ premium amplifier and speaker systems without the need for any cables.
The CA901 digital piano features a full-colour, anti-glare 5″ touchscreen display discreetly embedded within the instruments’ left cheekblock. This high resolution touchscreen allows sounds and settings to be selected from an attractive user interface simply by tapping or swiping the display with a finger. This screen can also be set to turn off automatically while playing, thus preserving the instruments’ acoustic piano-like appearance, and minimising any visual distraction to the performer. As with all new Kawai models, the CA901 fully supports the PianoRemote and PiaBookPlayer apps for iOS and Android devices, providing an effortless way to control the instrument wirelessly from a smartphone or tablet, or to study the notated scores for many of the built-in classical etudes and piano pieces from the comfort of an armchair.
The CA901 is housed within premium quality wooden cabinet, with tapered legs and rounded edge details contributing to the instruments’ light and modern character. As the flagship model of the series, the CA901 adopts a classic upright piano-inspired cabinet design, featuring a broad, simulated-leather lined music rest and Kawai’s Soft Fall closing mechanism.
The built-in Virtual Artisan / Virtual Technician function includes the ability to change the Touch Curve, Voicing, String Resonances, Damper Noise, Undamped String Resonance, Cabinet Resonance, Key Off Effect, Fallback Noise, Hammer Noise, Hammer Delay, Topboard, Decay Time, Release Time, Minimum Touch, Stretch Tuning, Temperament, Temperament Key, Key Volume, Half-Pedal Adjust, Soft Pedal Depth.
Built-in Effects include: Stereo Delay, Ping Delay, Triple Delay, Chorus, Classic Chorus, Tremolo, Classic Tremolo, Auto Pan, Classic Auto Pan, Phaser, Rotary, Combination Effects x 4, Amplified Effects x 3. There are several Built-in Tuning Temperaments including: Equal (Piano Only), Pure (Major), Pure (Minor), Pythagorean, Meantone, Werckmeister III, Kirnberger III, Equal (Flat), Equal (Stretch), USER.
The Built-in USB Memory Recorder has MP3/WAV Record and Playback, A-B Loop; Internal: MIDI 10 Songs, 2 Tracks – max. 90,000 Notes. The Lesson Function has 542 Songs in total with songs from Czerny, Burgmüller, Beyer, Bach, Chopin and Hanon (incl. printed score books); Songs from Alfred without score books. Additional Finger practizes with 4 scales (mayor, n.minor, h.minor, m.minor), 2 Arpeggio-, 2 Cadence- and 2 Chord- trainings in all root notes with score function.
Other Features Include: Key Transpose, Song Transpose, Tone Control (incl. User EQ), Wall EQ, Speaker Volume, Phones Volume, Line In, Line Out Volume, Audio Recorder Gain, Tuning, Damper Hold, LCD Contrast, User Mmemory, Reset, Low Volume Balance, Lower Octave Shift, Lower Pedal On/Off , Split Balance, Layer Octave Shift, Layer Dynamics, Dual Balance, MIDI Channel, Send PGM#, Local Control, Transmit PGM#, Multi Timbral Mode, Channel Mute, Auto Power Off.
Call Promenade Music on 01524 410202 or email [email protected] for more information.
