I will be selling my Kawai ES8 if anyone is interested as storage is always a problem at Milan Recording Studios. It is as close to mint as one could expect being played only for the reviews and comes with the original box and all packing materials. If you have interest feel free in contacting me at the following link. www.milanrecordingstudios.com/ The new Kawai ES920 apparently isn't supposed to be released until February, but I have managed to get my hands on one anyway. In this video I review it to see how good it is, and what has changed since the old ES8. Many things are the same, but many things are also different, and I will be releasing a video of the ES920 compared to the ES8, as well as compared to the Yamaha P515, so stay tuned for that! My second channel: ru-vid.com/show-UCu1LrpmWwK1ztTvIayRar9w My Patreon account: www.patreon.com/thepianoforever
please tell me what piece are you playing at 16:20. I watch all your videos just for how well you play this one piece.. Iam new to western music. Hence I dont know it.. tell me which piece it is?? thanks
I think the "reduced build quality" could also be seen as being "improved portability" as it weighs about 37 pounds. The MP7se is basically the same thing with more sounds, no speakers and built like a tank weighing about 50 pounds.
Yes, but it lost the amazing premium feel that the ES8 had. I think perhaps a higher-quality plastic might have been a good move. It is lighter, for sure.
I bought the ES920 (in white, yes it's beautiful...) Several times you said "I don't really like the build quality of the ES920" while demonstrating the lighter plastic construction in places. As others have said here, I think it's evident that Kawai stripped off as much weight as possible to improve portability. The one place where I would agree with you is the front plastic between your knees and the key bed -- it's capable of twisting and is a little cheesy feeling. But the remarkable thing is that the speakers do not create any rattles or plastic vibration-sounds even for loud playing in the bottom registers -- that shows Kawai retained just the right plastic for strengthening. Being an engineer myself, I know what they must have gone through (much redesign pain and retesting) in order to get excellent results combined with reduced weight. I'm really impressed with it. However please do not take this little criticism too harshly -- your reviews are absolutely first class, and the fact that you do not sell pianos is a big plus. One thing you may not realize your viewers miss though, I think many of your viewers would like to know the names of some of the pieces whose excerpts you are playing to demonstrate, so please do say or list them. And one final thing... the church organ sound on the ES920 is maybe, not quite as bad as you implied in the video -- at least, I like it... though I would have liked also a classic "cathedral" organ sound too.
Which brings up one more question, maybe you can answer it in the ES920/ES520 comparison - does it seem like the available amplifier power is the same between the two units? For the extra money, it would have been nice to have more power in the ES920.
@@ac-mb6gj - in my opinion, the action is excellent. It is a little light, but very even. It's slightly harder to get very even pppp passages due to the light keys, compared to a concert grand, but I don't think it is going to be easy to find a digital piano with better action.
Already want to say, in the first minute of watching, that this is the exact instrument that tops my wishlist even though my playing skills do not deserve this yet. Thanks for featuring it.
Honestly, I love your reviews. They are the most honest in my opinion. Other reviews - from piano shops - are kind of polite to every brand. So they don't dare to say something that can be interpreted negative. Obviously those reviewers don't want to risk having trouble with their suppliers. Another reviewer out there (and it is also a good reviewer) leaves always a bit of a suboptimal taste on Yamaha products. But looking to his piano shop, it does not list Yamaha brand to be sold - except used ones. What a coincidence... Keep your channel alive - I appreciate your work. Thank you!
James, well done, I love your reviews, the minute detail of each instrument down to the packaging and even the plastic wrap. Excellent. I always search your reviews out. Keep going, you're doing a great job!!!
James, thank you so much for the candid review. I pre-ordered the ES920 based on playing Kawai acoustical pianos and seeing their digital pianos reviews that it would live up to Kawai's reputation of quality. I expect delivery of mine tomorrow. Since I am getting back to playing after 15 years, I am very happy to hear that you believe it to be good for relatively advance classical pianist to practice. Always appreciate your in-depth analysis and wonderful playing skills. Looking forward to the upcoming comparison reviews!
Awesome, that's exciting! Something I didn't mention is that the unboxing experience with Kawai digitals is always very nice, they put a lot of thought into where everything should go and there's even a diagram on the flaps if you ever want to re-package it!
Thanks James, as always a balanced honest review. I've had the Yamaha P515 for 6 weeks now and would love to see the comparison video against the Kawai ES920. It seems to me that these two instruments go head to head. I bought the Yamaha P515, among other reasons based on your glowing review, and am extremely happy with it.
Excellent review. Glad you talked about key noise on release. I never was satisfied with the menu structure and interface on my ES8 so I donated it to the local high school music department.
Using the term 'build quality' implies a manufacturing quality problem rather than deliberate design choices made to achieve multiple competing goals. I am considering an ES920 but it will likely stay in one place for it's lifetime so I would trade the plastic for the Es8 materials any day, but I don't have that choice. Even so, as long as it plays and sounds as good or better than the ES8, it will stay on my short list.
Great review! Regarding the construction, I totally get your point when comparing with MP11. Having said that, MP11 is 2 times heavier! Keep up the great work :)
James, I've been following your channel for well over two years now, and I can easily say that all of your videos are exceptionally knowledgeable and informational, and just as equally entertaining. I adore your style of reviewing instruments and all the little bits and bobs you do, you're really thorough, and have a really engaging, individual, and honest way of reviewing things. I personally find it criminal that you haven't amassed a much larger audience for how well put together and professional your videos are! This was a lovely review as always, and you've convinced me to want to buy this (and many other) instrument(s)! Thanks for all the great videos, and I hope you keep them coming for a while :D Love the Pigstep at 35:06 by the way ;)
Thanks for another great review James. I really appreciate the fact that you point out things you would like to see improved on the products you review. No product is 100% perfect so all the reviews out there with nothing but positive things to say are really worthless in my opinion. Regarding the noise of the action: have you ever thought about recording the sound of an acoustic piano action back to back with the noise from the digital for comparison? I know when I first started my piano journey I was not familiar with acoustic pianos and I was at times irritated by the noise of my digital action. Only after getting my acoustic grand did I realize that those sounds are present on the acoustic as well so I was more tolerant of the digital. I think one of the main issues with action noise on digitals is the fact that they can be played at such low volumes so naturally the sound of the action is more noticeable. After watching your video I tested the key return on my ES920 vs. my Kawai grand and it seemed like the overall loudness was pretty similar but the ES920 did have a slight second thump or "bounce" vs. the grand which was just one thump and no secondary bounce. I have to say I have not noticed this at all while actually playing the ES920, but I'm also not an expert player like you. I'm curious if you notice it while playing with the built in speakers on at high volume or you only notice it while using headphones or using the line out and there is little ambient noise to mask the noise of the action. Anyway, keep up the great work!
Awesome review man! This is a portable keyboard, 17 kg, could it be the case that the plastic is there because it is lightweight? Other "portable" models are 20 kg and above. Another question, have you checked the Bluetooth functionality? I wonder if you can stream music from your phone and listen to it together with the piano with the headphones plugged into the Kawai, since I always see playing along with Bluetooth specifically mentioned using the speakers. And another one! Is the sound in your review coming from the speakers?
I haven't tried that with headphones but it definitely streams music from your phone through its speakers. I don't see why it couldn't do what you want it to. All audio from the digital piano in this video is from the line output, not the speakers.
*I was excited about Roland FP-90 until hearing sounds on multiple RU-vid videos. My top contenders for the price point are Kawai ES920 versus Yamaha P515.*
I guess the tradeoff on the "build quality" issue you mention is portability. I ordered and cancelled the p515 because of its weight (49lbs) and now have the es920 on order. I hope the playability and sounds, etc. are as good, and I was willing to live with plastic to save the extra difficulty in moving.
This is a very useful video for anyone thinking about purchasing the ES920 or who has just gotten one as I have. As a beginning keyboard player, I am struggling to make use of the myriad of accompaniment options on the ES920. As detailed as the manual is, it doesn't suffice to help me understand how to fully use this instrument. I would love to see you do a video on how to use the accompaniment options on this instrument. In just 3 months, your video review of the ES920 has gotten 25K views. If you could do a second video on how to use its accompaniment options, I believe your second video would merit just as many views, if not more. Only a musician with your skill could do such a video. Anyway, thanks for this excellent, concise, and useful video.
Another great review! ThePianoForever is easily my 1st choice for keyboard reviews! ...thought you'd be hangin' out at NAMM and wouldn't have time for the review. I did see Yamaha announced the release of the DGX-670 (upgrade to the DGX-660) so, I'm looking forward to your review of that as well. Thanks for giving some attention to the action and noise level of the keys. I could certainly hear the key action "thuds". Very odd that there's so much on the return and it bounces too! I'd have thought Kawai could have (should have) dealt with the the noise at the top of the key action. Note from the ES920 manual about the registration function for saving settings: "The Registration function allows the current instrument setup (sound/style selection, all settings, etc.) to be stored to a registration memory, and conveniently recalled at the touch of a button. Each of the seven registration buttons contain four banks (A, B, C, and D), allowing up to 28 different registration memories to be stored. Registrations can also be loaded from/saved to USB memory devices" So, pretty much unlimited saves.
Great review! I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the sound coming through the onboard speakers and via headphones as opposed to the line out.
The difference in sound quality is noticeable, finding the sound much more satisfying over good quality headphones or external speakers compared to the embedded speakers.
Hello! New to the channel! I really enjoy how I'm depth you go! Plenty of great information. I'm curious though, do you plan on sound a review on the fp60x and if compares to this piano. I've been on the fence on whether to get a fp60x or not. Thanks!
Hi James, many thanks for another great review. I ordered an ES920 which should be arriving in the next couple of weeks. After watching your review, I am a bit concerned with the keyboard noise and as there isn't time for me to wait for your comparison with the P515, I was wondering if you can comment on whether the P515 has a quieter keyboard. Unfortunately to Covid here in the UK, I am unable to try any pianos in person so really appreciate your opinion. Would also love to hear from others with experience of the P515 as this was my other choice.
I have an ES920 and it is lovely to play. I don't notice any keyboard noise while playing although it is no doubt happening. It just isn't enough to disturn my personal playing experience.
Hey, James! Hello from Russia. I watch your videos with great interest. This new Kawaii seems expensive to me, but what about the new FP-X series from Roland? Do you have any information?
I can see that they have made several tweaks that align well with the improvements I suggested in my earlier videos of the FP-30. I'm trying to get an FP-30X, but since they were released just a few days ago they're hard to get right now.
@@ThePianoforever Hello James, I loved your videos on FP30 and pointing out the weaknesses. To compare it with the ES920 it would be fair to use the FP90x. (or at least fp60x) would be great if you could get your hands on those. if the FP-x fixed it's issues(I personally returned my Fp90). Thanks for reviews that dig into the problems of the pianos (like the casio that had flawed key action of black vs white keys). Roland listened and put the output on fp30x, maybe thanks to you :)
@@ThePianoforever sorry for this long post James, I am interested in buying kawai es920 but I'm waiting for Rolands FP-x series reviews. If you could get your hands on those I would really appreciate if you could look into these issues if they fixed it and compare it with the Kawai ES920/yamaha p515. I personally used the old fp90 but I returned it because Roland had horrible volume differences in the organ section(especially sound called Rising Sun, within this sound some keys were insanely loud, lower keys C2 area - I could not believe how bad it was!) 2nd thing the seller told me I could record my piano + microphone together if I use an USB and select mp3 format. which was not true for the mic. 3rd flaw was playing keys next to each other quickly(quick triplets for longer duration) on the PHA50 key-action, it felt strange.(cheaper pha4 feels better) Strong part of the FP90 should be that you can assign pedals(L+center) to do pitchbend, even turning pages on a tablet via BlueT (could be attractive for you since you like long note stands), and modulation (es920 should have that too so if you could demonstrate it that would be cool).Also you forgot to explain the Sound Recording on the Kawai ES920, the loop option interests me. Sorry for this long post, I wanted to write you an email but I couldn't find it. thanks for reading
Thanks for the review! I guess Kawai stepped away from their usual (ES8, MP series) built quality because portability is one of the main reasons for buying a "slab" piano... so I'm very curious about a ES8 vs ES920 comparison.
Peace be with you😌 I love your channel. Your in-depth comparisons & reviews are excellent! My observation about the sound quality of the pianos, the Manufacturers next frontier is to improve the sound of their electric piano’s speakers. Specifically adoption of “Spacial Audio” & DSP technologies better creating the resonance of piano strings all the more immersive. It’s no longer enough to stick a pair of speakers into the digital piano’s cabinet. Bless you🙏
James, does the Grand Feel action in MP11SE has this bounce effect a la springboard for jumping water? And how would you compare Grand Feel and RHIII actions?
Yeah, Kawai's different keyboards are VERY confusing. - Grand Feel I (MP11SE), Grand Feel II (CS11), Grand Feel III (CA99, 79), Responsive Hammer III (ES920, MP7SE), RM3 Grand II (VPC1). I'm lost.
Since you mentioned you will be doing a Yamaha P515 and Kawai ES920 comparison, and other ES920 vs. other digital piano comparisons, will you also do gram weight comparisons? New viewers who are new to piano and digital piano in general might be more interested to compare the action key weights in the digital pianos you will be comparing against.
Would it be possible for you to do a review on the Korg Grandstage . I’d really be interested to see how it compares to the SV-2 and the Yamaha CP-88. I remember you played one just a bit at a NAM show once but I don’t remember you actually doing a review and comparison to other keyboards in that price range. It looks like a high quality built keyboard with a ton of pretty usable sounds.
It really seems to be geared for the stage. To be fair it's hard to judge sound quality at NAMM but the sounds seemed bright, thin, and lackluster. Ideal for cutting through a thick rock or pop mix, but not much else. I've never been impressed with Korg's acoustic piano sounds. Many of the other sounds seemed rather "meh" as well. I don't hate it, it has a nice action, but for me it's not at the top of my priority list. It's probably just the right thing for someone out there, though.
Thank you for the detailed review. I have been waiting for it for months. Could you please give us your opinion about the quality of the internal speakers and the headphones sound as they will be used by the vast majority of the home users?
I recently bought a Kawai CA79 but I still enjoy watching your reviews. Have you seen the new Roland FP-30x? They finally added audio line in and out, as well as USB audio. I wonder if your review of the FP-30 inspired Roland to add these features?
Thank you for this review James. Is the keyboard noise (as demonstrated at 30:22) related to the keyboard's lightweight build quality, or the light plastic keys? It seems like a heavier or more solidly built keyboard might be able to dampen or diffuse that sound, by having more mass to absorb it.
It seems to me that key bouncing effect and the resulting sound are caused by the action's internal mechanics rather than the keys themselves which seem fairly sturdy.
I know it's a tough question but which action do you prefer? - One feels legit but responds meh or one feels meh but responds legit. In other words, P515 or ES920 according to your previous comparison with ES8, if I'm not mistaken. Thank you for great videos as always.
Hi James, great video as always! I wanted to ask if you could review the yamaha PSR-E373, im going to start music classes soon and my budget only allows for around that tag price, it would be great if I could hear your thoughts on this keyboard. It's an upgrade from the E363 so if you could also make a comparison between those too it would be sweet. Thanks
I think low weight is definitely something Kawai wanted to do. Pianos are awkward to move around and keeping the weight under 40lbs helps a lot. I don't think it's necessarily built poorly. But I think what James is getting at is that the plastic feels cheap. It might be very durable and last a long time, but it doesn't feel especially nice to touch.
I have this piano about two months - I’m noticing a strange sound with some of the keys at the end of the notes. A ringing type sound at the end of the note. I’ve called Kawai and they will look at it after lockdown but wondering if you noticed anything similar ? Eg E5 key in particular . I’ve reset setting but same issue .
Love your reviews James!!! I had the chance of trying out the Yamaha P515 and then briefly the ES920 at another store. I agree with the build quality- Kawai looks a bit cheap and the keys do bounce a bit as well as make more noise (not as much as my Casio Privia PX 350 that I'm upgrading) compared to Yamaha. Yamaha felt a bit heavy on the initial press down on the keys but had a very solid feel. If it wasn't for the bouncy keys and noise, I would be happy with the action of the Kawai. I'm about to place an order for one of them but I only just started taking piano lessons six months ago. Considering I'm not likely to take it out anywhere and not concerned about weight, happy with the piano sounds in both of them, what action is better or more authentic given your experience in playing many acoustic pianos? Or would you recommend the MP7SE or MP11SE to get the closest authentic feel of an acoustic?
Hi James, great review, I have a question though. I'm on the fence between the ca79 and the ES920. I'm not sure if the ca79 is worth the upgrade. I will mostly be playing with headphones and the sound is not that different i.m.o. Besides that the action does feel similar. I Tried them both but just can't make the final decision. Do you have any advice on which would be the better pick? Thanks
Bought es520 with their wooden stand a month ago and very happy with the sound and the action (RHCII instead of RHCIII, the difference is that RHCII doesn't have any counterweights). Bought it as a first piano instrument and based on some early reviews of es920 and your review of es110 without trying due to the lockdown constraints. Almost always use it with the headphones and I find that there is very slight humming noise coming out when the Bluetooth Audio is turned on. Also Bluetooth Audio on/off setting doesn't seem to get saved after turning off. Not sure if it's because Kawai couldn't avoid the humming noise and that's why it is always turned off when switching on....? The other thing I realize now is the problem of finding a good dust cover. Not a lot of good covers on the market. Now watching reviews of the sewing machines to make one myself.
@@ThePianoforever just rechecked. It's a very low volume high pitched periodical noise, but it appears only when the Bluetooth Audio is on, but the Bluetooth device isn't connected. When the device connects, that noise doesn't appear. So it seems like some radio interference while it's waiting for a Bluetooth device to connect.
When you mentioned Kawai and Nord doing a past collab, I thought immediately of the Nord Grand. I searched and didn't find a NG review amongst your vids. Is one planned? It definitely has some annoying quirks (no aux/recording outs from the speakers!), but it's overall a very inspirational instrument, and a lot of that comes from the Kawai-built keybed, I think.
Great Review as always. Two weeks ago I ordered a Kawai ES 110 as I am a amateur and have to relearn lots of stuff. I hope it will arrive next week. Every retailer currently has the Kawai ES 110 marked as sold out and they currently have supply issues due to the pandemic. It's interersting to see what digital pianos at a way higher pricepoint have to offer. Will you also review the new Roland FP-X Series? Also I've seen a lot of people requesting a review to the Alesis Recital Pro, even though I know that you do not like it reading from some comments you made.
I may review the Roland FP-30x, but have been slow to review the higher Roland series (FP60, FP90) because the FP-30 I reviewed was less than what I had hoped for. The Roland FP-30x seems to have addressed at least some of my concerns.
Thanks for the review. Can you also test the Kawai ES520 (the little brother of the ES920)? How good is the action and build quality of the cheaper model?
I had them both side by side for a little while. Build quality is identical (the entire case is identical except for the equaliser the 520 doesn't have). 520 is a few kg lighter presumably because of the different action. I found the sound of 920 to be noticeably fuller and warmer on the default voice which I was not expecting since they sample the same source piano.
Waiting for your ES-8 vs ES-920 review! Thanks! BTW I think the reason the build quality decreased is that they wanted it to weigh less, and it indeed weighs 5KG less than the ES-8. Don't you think it's worth it?
The ES-8 vs ES-920 will be uploaded today. It depends on what you are looking for when you compare the ES-8 to the ES-920. If you were not going to be traveling the ES8 might be a very interesting option.
Regarding the sound after letting of the keys - isn't there a similar "delay bump" with regular pianos when the hammer reaches the bottom? The key reaches the initial position before the hammer does. That is what is trying to be mimicked with the RH3 as far as I understand it.
Interesting comments on the keybed. I'd be interested in hearing you play a technical and expressive pieces across different types of keybeds to hear if the keybeds change your playing. BWV 846 maybe? I have no idea how to make it interesting as a video :)
My audience is more interested in reviews than performance-only videos, which is why I created the second channel for music performances from guest artists as well as myself. Good video idea, though.
I wonder if the cut backs to the built quality was due to the fact that Kawai had to pay the personnel that made the "improvements" to this version of the E.S., 920; improved features like better action stability (side-to-side movements), sound quality improvements, Bluetooth, and the changed interface with E.Q.? I look forward to the video of you comparing the pianos mentioned. Also, will the sound improve if you had a better speaker system rather than the built in ones? Overall, I found your body language to speak for itself when you played on the SK sampling, and yes, I do admit it did have a more realistic sound to it, but, however, if they only improved on one piano sampling than that is a problem.
This is a pretty nice digital piano, I’m enjoying my Yamaha P-515 and am wondering what is a good 5’ piano in the 10-15k price range. Even used in this price range... hmmm review ideas and thoughts 😀
1. They probably wanted to have lightest instrument with RHIII action possible, it is why they used mostly plastic. 17 kg is great weight for 88 key hammer action board. 2. ES8 also had registrations, amp sims etc. P-515 does not have registrations nor amp sims. 3. The pedal that comes with ES920 is half damper (F-10H?). The pedal FC4A that comes with P-515 is not, it is a switch. FC3A is half damper, but has to be bought separately. 4. Ballad organ is quieter because has less drawbars pulled out. 5. Seems like ES920 is better than P-515 when it comes to seamless sound switching. On EPs the effects weren't seamless but there was no sound cut or volume level jump, also when you showed strings sounds, or pianos, the changes were pretty seamless - because no DSP effects applied. On P-515 the effects also aren't seamless and also sometimes there is a little moment of silence when switching between certain sounds. 6. ES920 has more advanced accompaniment I think, there is auto fill-in. P-515 has only one variation and no fill-ins. And only drums or drums with bass.
1. True, i just think that the ES920 lost the "premium" feel that the ES8 had. Perhaps a higher quality plastic might have helped? 2. Yeah, the P515 has no registrations, some people have reminded me. Honestly I never use them on either instrument, the default sounds are nearly perfect in most cases IMO. Not too big of a fan of the amp sims on the ES8/ES920, so I don't use them much either. I'm used to the really gritty sounds you can get with something like an SV2. 3. Can't say I noticed the difference when playing the two side-by-side, to be honest. I do prefer the F-10H anyway, so... 4. I get that, but to me the volume difference is weird. Can't they just boost it a bit to make it match the other organs? The reason they probably didn't is because it already makes the speakers freak out and buzz like crazy in the bass. This isn't a ES920-exclusive problem though, other brands have it as well. 5. I've played $200 digital pianos that have truly seamless sound switching, I don't know why a $1500 digital piano can't do it too. 6. I just don't like the accompaniment in the ES920, it's a bit messy IMO. I demonstrated this later in the video. The drum patterns are pretty awesome though.
@@ThePianoforever @ThePianoforever I get your point. That's OK. But the Kawai pianos have one big flaw: Bosendorfer sample missing :) hahaha. I play P-515 personally, and also got SV-2 73 recently for EPs mainly and as a portable alternative (17 kg like ES920 but 73 keys, P-515 with 22 kg is rather heavy). All of them are great in their own ways :). I'm not the fan of Kawai sound because of that 'thin' sound you mentioned. But it surely isn't bad sound. Just different. And also read a lot about quality issues. They said they improved RHIII, so we will see...
Great review, thanks for that! If I would be on the lookout for a (new) digital piano, this would be my first choice. I'm still using an ES7 (for which I have no reason at all to upgrade) which has some small 'bugs'. They were possibly already fixed in the ES8, but I never had the chance to play one. If I let off a key and immediately press the pedal after, I would be too late to let the note sustain since the strings are already damped right? Well, not for the ES7; the sustain magically re-appears. I wonder if this is the case for the ES-920 too.
That's funny! I've noticed that before on some digital piano (can't remember which one, it wasn't an ES7 because I've never played one), but I didn't notice it on the ES920.
Yes, that really is a very nice, clean piano sound. For me 37.5lbs is a bit too much as a gigging piano. The ES520 is 5.5lbs lighter (and $400 cheaper) and could be more manageable, although at exactly the same size I'm not sure where they shaved off the weight! The key bounce is concerning too. I'll have to try one out...
Yeah, the plastic case was used for weight saving, but the ES920 still doesn't strike me as being "light" or "ultra-portable". I would have preferred they stick with the metal case. Thinner metal or perhaps a different type of metal would have still provided a premium feel but shaved off a few pounds too. If I had to guess I'd wager that the speakers in the ES520 are different. It also uses a different action, and the old RHC was very, very light, so that is probably factoring into it as well.
I am quite interested in the comparison you are going to do between this one and the p515 and the e10. The p515 was/is on the top of my list but this one.. let’s say it’s a uprising star. I like the sounds although I am not a big fan of the auto pan. In my opinion it’s a little bit to much. But the rest of the sounds are really good. A little more sounds like a guitar and so on would be nice but I am not going to miss it either. You did a nice job here with this review. One little remark about your whisper room. Is it me or is the LED not consistent. I noticed a couple of time that the light was or seems to me less then a moment earlier. Maybe me. Looking forward to the comparison and thank you for sharing and playing.
Can I have your and others honest opinion. I am a beginner and plan on buying a beginner piano like the Roland FP30X because I don't know if I can completely tell the difference in sound and key action yet. But if you had the money, would you buy the Kawai ES 920? Do you think it sounds and plays a lot better? Thank you.
I'm actually editing a video of the FP30X right now! Honestly the Kawai ES110 is a solid instrument for the price point, and between the two it is the better instrument. You totally could buy the ES920, but the ES110 will be more than enough for a beginning pianist! :D There's also the ES520, which is better than the ES110 and nearly the same as the ES920 (which means it's very good), but is a bit more affordable.
Kawai wanted to keep the weight down so less metal than the ES8 and lighter plastics. They may still be durable, we'll see in terms of reports from Es920 and 520 users. They also went to plastic keys which I'm not sure I'm a fan of. As far as the Yamaha P515 comparison goes, I think that'll probably get revised as a P615 or P520, I'm not sure what they'll call it, but it'll have some of the updates of the CLP700 series. So, I expect it to be somewhat behind the ES920 as it is now an older keyboard. I just think one prefers Kawai or Yamaha so whatever preference one has will be the instrument one likes more. Compared with the ES8, action is improved so that's a good thing but I'm not sure why the bounce is still present. Good to see a comprehensive owner's manual. As far as the sound, incrementally improved from the ES8 and that's what I expect in new models from Kawai or Yamaha or Roland (though Roland's changes are sometimes more dramatic and less evolutionary). One interesting thing is although on the SK sample the top is still sparkly, there's more subtlety and richness to the bass. In the old ES8 it sometimes bordered on a "boomy" quality. That seems to have been tamed in this new model. There's more clarity in the sample.
When I do a comparison of the ES8 vs. ES920 I'll have to weigh them. The ES920 didn't strike me as being particularly light. You say they went to plastic keys, didn't the ES8 also have plastic keys? (edit: the ES8 definitely has plastic keys, just pulled it out of the box.) I thought the wooden keys were reserved for the Grand Feel action line.
@@ThePianoforever OK, I thought the ES8 had wood keys but I was mistaken. I think the weight of the keyboard was brought down about 10 pounds or more from the ES8 to the ES920. The ES8 is something like 49 pounds and the ES920 is much lighter.
hi from France James ! Excellent work as usual ! Do you still have your Schiedmayer's practice piano ? If you're interested, I own one and have some informations about it and it's history.
Cabinet Resonance, undamped resonances, and some others virtual technician components are the pros of this es920 compare to es8 I think. Tweaking the Cabinet Resonance can make the sound more accoustics. Plus you can connect it with Piano Remote Aps. I will do review it first😁. Yes What I don't like is when I changed the register, it cannot switch smoothly(naturally). I don't know maybe I miss some settings maybe. The firmware(software) can be updated via usb stick. Hope the annoying switch register can be fixed on the next update.
James if you could possibly do a review on the new Roland FP-90X that would be great. The new line of FP-X pianos seem to have added capabilities and better specs but the price tag might not be worth it. I’d love to hear your honest opinion on it, as opposed to RU-vid salesmen
