Kawai CN-201 Digital Piano

■ Improved Responsive Hammer III keyboard action
■ Ivory Touch key surfaces, triple sensor, let-off, counterweights
■ Progressive Harmonic Imaging sound with 88-key sampling
■ Shigeru Kawai SK-EX & Kawai EX concert grand piano sounds
■ High quality audio processing and amplification hardware

■ Integrated Bluetooth® MIDI and Audio wireless technology
■ Built-in classical etudes and Alfred lesson books
■ Spatial Headphone Sound for enhanced depth and realism
■ Cheekblock control panel with high resolution OLED display
■ Attractive, modern cabinet available in three wood finishes

Experience music, together.

Kawai’s latest CN series digital pianos provide a realistic full-sized keyboard, beautiful grand piano sounds, and headphone jacks that allow silent practise at any time of the day. These affordable instruments also offer a variety of inspiring features suitable for everyone in the family, and have attractive cabinet designs that will complement any room. The new CN series from Kawai – experience music, together.

The Touch of a Grand Piano:
Responsive Hammer III keyboard action

The CN201’s acclaimed Responsive Hammer III keyboard action has been developed to recreate the touch feeling of playing a Kawai grand piano. Each key is authentically weighted using metal hammers which are ‘graded’ (i.e. slightly heavier in the bass region, and lighter in treble) just like an acoustic piano. These weights also allow released keys to return to their original position without the aid of springs, resulting in a smooth, natural playing experience.

The chassis of the action mechanism is produced using reinforced materials that ensure the keyboard will remain rigid and stable when played with force. In addition, a series of felt-lined rubber cushions absorb movement energy from the keys and hammers, helping to reduce unwanted ‘thump’ noise, and earning RHIII a reputation as one of the quietest digital piano keyboards available.

Ivory Touch key surfaces

The Responsive Hammer III keyboard action features Kawai’s authentic Ivory Touch key surface material, which possesses an attractive matte finish that is smooth but not slippery. These characteristics are not only beneficial in aiding finger control, but also contribute to the overall impression of playing a high quality, authentic piano.

88-key Counterweights

In addition to grade-weighted hammers, the Responsive Hammer III keyboard action also incorporates counterweights embedded within each black and white key. 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

Supplementing its authentic touch weight, the RHIII keyboard action also includes Kawai’s latest triple-sensor key detection system for enhanced playing realism. This additional third sensor greatly improves responsiveness when striking the same keys repeatedly, allowing rapid trills etc. to sound much smoother and more acoustic piano-like when played.

Let-off simulation

As the most authentic digital piano keyboard action in its class, Responsive Hammer 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.

The Sound of a Grand Piano: Two world-class instruments

Earning a reputation as the ‘premier pianos of Japan’, Shigeru Kawai instruments grace the stages of concert halls and musical institutions throughout the world, and are prized for their outstanding tonal clarity and exceptional dynamic range.

The CN201 captures the magnificent tone of the flagship Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano. This peerless instrument is hand-built by Master Piano Artisans at the Shigeru Kawai Piano Research Laboratory in Ryuyo, Japan, and widely regarded as one of the finest instruments in its class.

In addition, the CN201 also features the distinctive sound of Kawai’s highly acclaimed EX concert grand piano, which has been selected by professional pianists in such prestigious events as the Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rubinstein international piano competitions, among others.

Both the SK-EX and EX are faithfully reproduced with full 88-key sampling using advanced Progressive Harmonic Imaging™ sound technology, to establish a new standard in digital piano tonal quality, and allow musicians to appreciate the contrasting properties of each.

Full 88-key stereo piano sampling

The rich, expressive sound of the SK-EX and EX concert grand pianos is at the heart of the CN201, with all eighty-eight keys of these world-class instruments painstakingly recorded, meticulously analysed, and accurately reproduced as high-fidelity digital waveforms.

Recording each key individually in this way – as opposed to stretching the same tone over several different notes – preserves the grand pianos’ unique harmonic character, and guarantees that the sound heard when playing any one of the CN201’s weighted keys is a faithful representation of the original acoustic source.

Harmonic Imaging technology

When playing a fine piano, the amount of pressure applied to the keyboard affects not only the volume of the sound produced, but also the unique tonal character of each note. Therefore, in order to construct a realistic acoustic portrait of each grand piano, not only is each key recorded individually, but also at a wide variety of different volumes, ranging from gentle pianissimo to thunderous fortissimo.

The CN201 offers a highly detailed acoustic portrait, employing Kawai’s proprietary Progressive Harmonic Imaging sampling technology to ensure smooth tonal transitions across the keyboard and throughout the entire dynamic range.

Variety beneath your fingertips

Alongside the classically voiced SK-EX and EX grand piano sounds, the CN201 also showcases a selection of Jazz, Pop, and Modern variations suitable for a range of musical genres. A traditional Kawai upright piano sound is also included, for pieces that suggest a feeling of nostalgia, or call for a slightly more intimate tonal character.

Personalised piano adjustments

The knowledge and skill of an experienced piano technician is essential to bring out the best of a fine acoustic piano. In addition to tuning each note, the technician also performs numerous regulation and voicing adjustments that allow the instrument to truly sing.

The CN201’s Virtual Technician ‘Smart Mode’ simulates these refinements digitally, with ten preset configurations that intelligently adjust characteristics of the grand piano to match different musical styles.

For greater flexibility, ‘Advanced Mode’ allows players to perform touch weight and voicing adjustments, regulate hammer and key release noises, and fine-tune string and damper resonances from a smart device using the dedicated PianoRemote app.