Kawai CA59 Digital Piano

Product Overview

Kawai’s CA Series have been among the most awarded home digital pianos for years. Recently, Kawai expanded this premium line by offering two slightly stripped-down, less cost-prohibitive models. The Kawai CA59 Digital Piano is one of these models, but when peeking under the hood so to speak, it’s clear that despite the lower price point, there’s not a whole lot sacrificed here.

The CA59 has many premium features, such as the wooden-key keyboard action Grand Feel Compact action, high-end sample-based tone engine built around the Shigeru Kawai grand piano, and a powerful 100 watts of speaker power, not to mention wireless Bluetooth Audio.

Improvements over the well-regarded CA58 include a new Motherboard developed in partnership with Onkyo for improved tonal clarity, an updated control panel layout with a modern OLED display for easier navigation, a new Low Volume Balance function for improved touch consistency at low volumes, and a new modern cabinet design modelled after larger the CA series instruments, among others.

This high-quality digital piano is a ‘must-see’ when shopping for a digital piano.

Action

The CA59 uses a slightly modified version of their Grand Feel III (GFIII) Action (reserved for the CA79 and 99) with the Grand Feel Compact. Like the GFIII, the Grand Feel Compact is a fully wooden-key action, with triple sensor key detection, let-off simulation, grad-weighted hammers, ivory touch texture on the white keys, and black key surfaces, as well as counterweights in the bass register. You can also find this same action in the CA49

This action provides a highly authentic playing experience, closely resembling that of an acoustic piano. For the price point, the only Kawai piano with a better action would be the MP11SE and its GFIII, but the MP11SE is of course not a home digital piano, and is built for a very different user.

Sound Engine

Upgraded over the CA49’s Progressive Harmonic Imaging engine (PHI), the CA59 uses the more advanced Harmonic Imaging XL engine (HIXL) with 256 note polyphony. This is a more refined, higher fidelity version of the PHI engine, and is built around the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX, Shigeru Kawai SK-5, and Kawai EX grand pianos. The SK-EX is a popular choice among many great concert halls worldwide.

The other big upgrade over the CA49 is the dual 50-watt amplifiers, for a total of 100 watts of power driving the 4 speaker array. This higher fidelity engine and more powerful speaker system result in a pretty dramatic sound improvement over the already great-sounding CA49.

There are 44 onboard tones making for lots of variety beyond the acoustic piano tones, along with 6 different types of reverb.

Connectivity

There’s a ton of connectivity options on this Kawai digital piano, which isn’t a surprise since this instrument was built to serve equally well as a home or commercial instrument.

There are dual headphone inputs so two people can play at once, MIDI In and Out, as well as USB to Host and Device, allowing for playback of MIDI, MP3, and WAV files.

Important for those looking at the CA59 as a commercial instrument is the presence of twin 1/4″ line-outs. This means the CA59 would be a great option for those looking for a CA59 for a house of worship or institutional setting.

The CA59 also has Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio functionality with APTX support. Bluetooth Audio is becoming quite popular throughout the top half of Kawai’s lineup, and it’s great to see it here as it turns your digital piano into a high-end stereo.

Notable Features

The Kawai CA59 is available in a beautiful premium rosewood or satin (matte) black finish. There is a matching bench with each piano and a huge selection of programmed music built right into the piano such as Czerny, Burgmüller, Beyer, Bach, and Beethoven etudes, or a collection of songs from the popular Alfred’s Basic, Adult, and Premier course books.

• Class-leading Grand Feel Compact wooden-key keyboard action
• Ivory Touch key surfaces, triple sensor, let-off, counterweights
• Harmonic Imaging XL sound engine with 88-key sampling
• Shigeru Kawai SK-EX & Kawai EX concert grand piano sounds
• Powerful four speaker, 100 W output system
• Integrated Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology and Bluetooth Audio
• MP3/WAV/SMF playback, record, and overdub to USB
• Built-in classical etudes and Alfred lesson books
• Spatial Headphone Sound for enhanced depth and realism
• Upgraded premium cabinet design with cheek block control panel

A really nice upgrade over the previous generation CA58, and something that deserves mention here is the new and improved cabinet design. Not only is the cabinet much more elegant and refined, but they’ve also expanded the finish options beyond Rosewood and Satin Black to include Satin White.

• Highly Regarded Grand Feel Compact Wooden Action
• Harmonic Imaging XL sound engine with 88-key sampling
• Grand Piano Sounds from Three of Kawai’s Top Acoustic Grand Pianos
• Dual 50 Watt Amplifiers for 100 Watts of Output Power
• Bluetooth MIDI and Audio Connectivity
• MP3/WAV/SMF playback
• Pre-loaded Classic Etudes ( Czerny, Burgmüller, Beyer, Bach) and Alfred lesson books
• Spatial Headphone Sound for Better Quiet Practice
• Four Hands Mode
• Grand Feel Pedal System
• Metronome
• Upgraded premium cabinetry design with Easy to use control panel

Conclusions

A step-up from the CA49, but not as expensive as the premium Kawai CA79 and Kawai CA99, the CA59 offers a perfect middle ground in the CA Series and is without a doubt one of the top upper mid-range home digital pianos on the market.

Browse more Kawai Digital Pianos HERE.

Kawai CA59 Owner’s Manual

• [English] CA59 Owner’s Manual

Kawai CA59 Related Resources

• [VIDEO] Kawai CA59 Digital Piano Review & Demo
• [BLOG] Kawai Digital Pianos Series Overview