Max, this is an excellent comparison. Most of the time sales people just play their usual pop music which just shows how great the piano they want to sell sounds. Classical music, especially the Beethoven Sonata you chose is a much better test for a piano. The nuances are much more demanding for Beethoven. Most salespeople are not capable of playing what you just played. It’s a pleasure to finally see and hear pianos demonstrated at this demanding level. Keep enjoying all of the music you play, your enthusiasm always comes through.
Thank you very much for the kind words! With the Kawai K-series being so meticulously crafted to the sky high musical demands of classical music, some late-era Beethoven seemed the most appropriate :) -Max
I tried a K200 yesterday, a brand new model - the touch felt great, and I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by it’s sound. I’m in London and my house is small, I have adjoining neighbours on both sides too. The K200 was not too loud neither. Here the K500 definitely sounded the best, but it would be too big for my home.
I upgraded from Kawai's NS10 to K500. Although I absolutely love this instrument, it feels a little too 'loud' for the room. IMHO, the room size should also be a consideration.
Definitely! Sorry your dealer didn't ask that ahead of time. ): Could look into treating the room's acoustics or having your tech make some adjustments to the action? Honestly not bulletproof solutions, but may be worth a try. Otherwise, I'd consider trying out the K300 if the dealer allows trade-ins (which they should). --Drew, 👨👨👦👦🎹
I would be interested to know your rooms size too, because I have a small room too but I am aiming for the K-200 but haven't had the chance to try it in a store yet. Thank you for your help, have a great day!
Thank you Max for this video. You do so well talking to the camera (and us :). I’m soaking up all videos I can about these comparisons so this is excellent for me to hear the same piece on 3 models. Thank you so much!
Fair and clear comparison: good, better, best. I was recently looking for a KAWAI because I like their warmer tone. I settled with an entry level Bechstein (Euterpe, now the W. Hoffman brand), that can be compared to the K-200 or U1, but indeed lacks dynamic subtlety and what I would call the well-rounded sound of larger pianos. It's certainly true that models don't say much. I played on two U1 pianos in the store as well as on several U3s, and the U1s couldn't be more different in sound. One was really bad (branded 'MIKI', supposed to be a premium Yamaha series), the other nice and mellow (and much more expensive). Picking a piano is not easy and I honestly wonder why anybody would want a smaller frame (under 120 cm) instead of a digital piano that is always in tune and sounding better. Final thought: pianos should be played without the front panel. A grand piano is also opened, so if you don't want to dampen certain frequencies, this is a must and it makes a huge difference for mid-size pianos in my view.
What a great comment. Thanks for taking the time to write it out. Here's a long reply since you're really inciting some good conversation. Hope you're enjoying your Bechstein nonetheless. I always tell people that there isn't a one "best" piano. It's going to be the best for them at the current moment. You have to factor in preferences for feel and sound, space, budget, etc. And of course, that's all subject to change over time. So it certainly isn't an easy decision. But in most cases, you're better off just getting started with something that ticks most your boxes. If you buy from a store, they usually have a trade-in policy, and hopefully it's a nice flexible one. Glad you were able to hear that for yourself too. It's easier to standardize instruments when they aren't made of thousands of little moving parts. Building a piano isn't forgiving. So yeah, models can give you the general specs and features, but each piano really is an individual. Now, 120cm (47") is quite the upright though. I agree that digitals are great for their own reasons, but the technology for the action and sound isn't quite at the same level as in acoustics. Playing them side by side, you'll see the differences immediately. For some, like yourself, the trade-offs are worth it. And I'd even agree with that some of the time depending on the budget. But a 120cm upright is well beyond a few thousand dollars, and I think that's a harder price category for digitals to compete in. I know in their high-end models, Kawai literally just puts their acoustic action inside the digital. Digitals are terrific, but they're not quite the same playing experience as acoustics. Anyway, this has a lot of nuance here so I appreciate your opinion. I do agree with the front panel! In fact, your comment prompted a conversation within the team. We might do more recordings with the panel open. The thing with that though is that I don't think that's how most people play in-home. And I would recommend playing it that way, but the latch mechanism is sometimes complicated, the panel is a delicate piece of wood, and if left open, the piano's action is more vulnerable to dirt and damage. Same thing with grands too -- we recommend keeping the lid closed when it's not being played. But in terms of sound? Yeah, much clearer. Maybe that'll influence someone's preferred piano too. I know some front panels open up entirely as opposed to the standard "lid on top" design. Makes that process more pleasant. Hope to see you in our comments more, my friend. Thanks for watching! - Drew, 👪🎹
He is, isn't he? Fun fact: he never repeats the same song for demos either. You can watch all of them, and get something different each time. I wonder myself if he'll be able to keep it up forever -- it's really impressive! --Drew, 👪🎹
Thank you for this video. In other videos in youtube, they just punch notes , not playing as it should be. So thank you so much again to play more professionaI then other channels bought Kawai K-300 today and i am waiting it from delivery. It sounds really nice in this video. Hopefully i will be practising on my piano in 2 weeks👍🏻 :)
@@johnflavin1602 Yeah, i got my atx3 k 300. ıt has a beautiful tone. I recommend it as a professional pianist. Nice key replie and deep , balanced bass. You might have very little metalic tone when you press D. But not a big deal. Better than yamaha B3 maybe U1 too.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for the comment, and let us know if we can answer any questions about that upgrade! Always happy to help. (: --Drew, 👪🎹
What is better on the K300, is action lighter, tone fuller, I only got the chance to try K15 and I loved the tone, but I felt the keys were a tiny bit smaller than a U1.
I've had my k500 since march 23' but have only just found out from a TUNA that they will likely be rather skittish and drift off temperament more rapidly early on, and need more frequent tuning than one may expect (at first) possibly even once every 8 weeks, depending on playing style and frequency of use, and other environmental factors, I have been told this is due to the strings coming off a big round drum, and still retain a slight curve until they've been through several tunings, however it does settle down after 6 or so tunings in the experience of my Tuner. And this instrument really does sound incredible immediately after being tuned.
The drifting you speak of is common to all new pianos as they adjust to their new environment and settle into new cycles of humidity and temperature. Usually takes 6 months to a year, and several tunings to reach stability. Totally normal, but quite alarming if you are not aware.
Decidi hoje pelo k300, que parece muito bom, para o meu primeiro piano acústico. Claro que o som do K500, parece muito melhor, mas é também uma decisão monetária. Feliz Natal a todos e obrigado pela demonstração. ❤️🎹❤️
Olá Cecília! Entendo totalmente sua decisão. Tenho certeza de que você não ficará desapontado com sua decisão; o K300 tem um excelente valor pelo seu preço. Espero que gostem do seu novo piano e obrigado por assistir aos nossos vídeos! - Jess
Thanks a lot for your wonderful comparison of Kawai K series! It really helps me deciding which one to choose. I'm now seriously thinking of getting the K-800, The vertical lid makes it even greater asset of K-800. It's feeling and looks are even more close to the grands !
We only stock up to the K-500, but I have gotten a chance to play and hear the K-800 at NAMM. Truly amazing. The K-500 is already a beast of an instrument too! I do want to correct you a bit though. The K-800 has a similar lid to any other upright piano. In general, that's not really a substantial feature either. You can open it and improve the sound. But the K-800s main improvements are the bigger soundboard, duplex scaling throughout the keyboard, and the sostenuto pedal. Those two things help the sound a lot, and the sostenuto pedal is usually reserved for grand pianos. But yeah, the action and therefore feeling is identical to the K-500s, and to the entire K Series lineup if you disregard the added NEOTEX key tops. But anyway -- if you have the budget and space for it, a K-800 is no doubt one of the best (and tallest) uprights you can get right now. Good luck with the purchase, and thanks for your comment. Happy playing! (: --Drew, 👪🎹
@@familypianoco Thank you for your kind reply. I purchased the K-700 in Japan which is actually same with K-500 in US but comes with vertical lid and has two tone spreader in the front of the piano. I'm sorry to tell you that this K-700 is probably japan exclusive type. I'm Japanese and love waching your clps at youtube! Thanks a lot for your precious information and kind advice!
Dear Max, i am currently on my way to upgrade from a digital Piano to an acoustic and now i am wondering how much louder the K Series gets with growing hight? Is the K-500 much more louder than the K-300? I don't want to disturb my neighbours too much (small flat with several other families) so i'd like the perfect balance between sound and "quietness". Thanks in advance and greetings from Germany.
I'm wondering too but unable to find any answer regarding this. I believe the volume grows proportional to the size of the soundboard (other factors have little difference though the larger cabinet will certainly contribute to some degree; the strings themselves don't produce much sound-without the soundboard they will be relatively quiet even when played on a large grand piano!). From the specification, Kawai K-200 has a soundboard area of 1.34 sq. meters, for K-300 it's 1.39 sq. meters, and for K-500 it's 1.45 sq. meters. Not much difference, within a few percent only. But their difference in size (and weight) is also just a few percent! They're all are quite large. I believe that any acoustic piano will be a challenge to use if the environment is not properly soundproofed (carpet under a piano, caster cups, a layer of soundproofing material behind the piano (but not touching the soundboard)). The piano can be voiced as well to make its hammers much softer, producing a more warm and much more quiet sound-this is the way that pianos are usually adjusted to sound well in these tiny rooms in academia! I've ended up ordering K-300 in beautiful polished white for my wife. :-) K-500 is much more expensive here, it's rarely available, and Kawai doesn't make them in white. But if you have the budget, I would suggest K-500 and hiring a sound engineer to soundproof the room and the piano's soundboard. Good luck!
Hey, Drew here! I actually have a similar background as you so I'm going to try to answer you with that in mind. To my novice ears, the difference between a K-500 and a K-300 is more than just the loudness. Our friend Vladimir left a great comment about the soundboard. And I agree with everything he said. However, while I wouldn't have thought just a few percentage increases in size make a huge difference, it kinda does. The K500 is much richer and fuller and clearer, and it's probably the best upright I've ever heard. In your case, I think you'll be fine if your concern is just loudness. The K500 has a practice pedal that you can leave on, and it's quieter than a K300 when it is on. So you'd have the option of modest practice as well as unleashing a concerto for your neighbors. Of course, I do hope you can make it into your local Kawai dealer to hear and play one for yourself. We have videos where you can hear a K300 and a K500. But truthfully, it's kind of impossible to capture an instrument's "entire sound" in a recording. Hope this helps! Greetings from Paris! --Drew, 👪🎹
@@familypianoco Thank you Drew for your answer. Interesting, that the K500 is potentially quieter with practice pedal than the K300. I will check them out at the Dealer near me as soon as i have the money. Have a nice day!
@@VladK-1 Hello Vladimir, i seem to have overseen your notification. Thanks for the answer, the informations and the input. Interesting, that the difference doesnt seem that huge. I've always looked for decibel comparisons, but simply can't find any. I will try them myself as soon as i have the money. Have a great day!
@@Drenalim I'm glad to share my thoughts! By the way, I've got the beautiful K-300, and...well, it's pretty damn LOUD! Around 78 db near it when my wife is playing some classical piece (with some strong forte), according to apps I've tried on my iPhone. We've owned other acoustic pianos before and I can say that Kawai K-300 is so far the loudest of them (perhaps the tapered soundboard as well as a larger gap under the keyboard are contributing to this, in our older Yamaha U1 and U2 the soundboard was not tapered and the gap was much smaller). But this one also has the best tone we've ever heard, pretty comparable to small grands. But yeah, it's very loud. We have a relatively large 3 bedroom flat (and the room with piano is 16 sq. meters so it's just right space for K-300), I can hear the piano well from almost any room, even when doors are closed. To deal with the overwhelming loudness I've ordered some hemp acoustic insulation panels (a safe alternative to Rockwool and other mineral wool) to try putting between the piano and the wall which will also help to reduce the amount of sound getting in the wall and propagating to our neighbors. I'm only afraid now that it might affect the tone badly (as insulation panels are cutting mostly 500 Hz+ range and cannot do much against
nice playing, mostly watching these to hear this guy's playing haha. But this is way beyond anything Beethoven had, per my understanding. Probably would have loved it though.
Thanks for watching! You're definitely right - Beethoven would have been overjoyed to have access to modern high quality pianos like these! He was always on the cutting edge of musical developments and pressed the boundaries of what the pianos of his day were capable of. The continuous development of the piano throughout his lifetime is one of the major reasons he had three very distinctive stylistic periods throughout his compositional life. With the full 88 keys, excellent sustain, tone projection, and highly refined sense of control of modern high quality pianos, who knows what musical directions he would have taken! -Max
Hi! My room is 25 m2. Would that be ok for the K500? I love the sound of it and i'm about to purchase it. My style of playing is also mellow. Aren't you able to control the volume on the K500 better than the K300?
Hi! At 25m2 I would say your room is enough for either a K-500 or a K-300 without it sounding overpowering for the room. The K500 gives a greater range of dynamic expression from longer string length, allowing for better dynamic control. Action/touch wise, however, they are the same Millennium III action and can handle advanced level dynamic control from a technique standpoint in the same manner. Either the K-300 or K-500 will work great for mellow playing styles. My advice would be to try them out in person with some pieces you've been working on with contrasting techniques and decide whether the K300 is "enough" piano for you or if the extra umpf of the K-500 works better for you. I'm thinking in terms of space either would work great for the room but the K500 will be richer and more enjoyable to play from better expression and the Neotex Ivory keytops vs. the more standard K300 keytops. -Max
He DID play the same piece, but he didn't start to play it at the exact same measure/bar, I think we still can get a sense for the overall tone this way, although timestamps to the same exact measure would be nice, I'm more than happy to give you that. :)
The K-500 sounds very good. I'm looking to replace my older upright, and I first was looking at the W. Hoffman T128, but after trying the K-500 I'm now hesitant. They're both great instruments. By the way, that last key on the K-500 you were playing was a little tired it seems lol
I haven't had a chance to try a W. Hoffman T128 unfortunately so I can't speak to that exact piano, but I've tried several similar Schimmel, Petrof and Bechstein uprights and have been quite impressed. Definitely a distinct (and excellent!) overall sound profile and sense of touch with the high end German/Czech upright pianos compared to the K500 (though I would guess the K500 wins on overall cost and musical value per dollar most likely if they're both new?). Personally, I'm more than a bit biased towards the feel and sound of the Kawai K-series and would almost certainly choose the K500 as my long term at-home instrument but my advice would be to compare both in-person very methodically with varied technical exercises, many contrasting style pieces, etc. and try to envision what would best complement your playing and make you the happiest in the long term! I'd be curious to hear which one you end up going with! -Max
They're the same. I'm pretty sure it's like "Medium Polish Ebony Polish" or something like that. It's confusing. I prefer the more standard "EP" for Ebony Polish.
sounds great, but you hear unevenness in the sound when you move up the scale. in addition, the seasonal changes affect it a lot, the hammers get stuck in winter. it needs to be tuned regularly. other pianos are more stable and more expensive on the other hand. quality is paid.
I disagree with your thoughts on the action, my friend! Seasons affect the piano most when they're not kept it in climate-controlled rooms. Watching its humidity, not placing it in direct sunlight, and tuning the piano at least yearly -- every piano needs that done if you want to keep it in good shape for as long as possible. And hammers do not get stuck in winter. If they're freezing or something, there is a huge problem! I'll also mention Kawai actions are actually extra fortified since they use carbon fiber parts. I'd argue this makes them more stable than wood-only actions, regardless of preference for how they feel/play. Quality is indeed paid -- it's the marketing that's extra! --Drew, 👪🎹
I saw there is the E-200 which seems to be literally the "unpolished ebony" version of the K-200. Do you think polished finish helps durability or helps against possible weather/humidity/etc issues in the long term? Thank you for your help!
Max, this is an excellent comparison. Most of the time sales people just play their usual pop music which just shows how great the piano they want to sell sounds. Classical music, especially the Beethoven Sonata you chose is a much better test for a piano. The nuances are much more demanding for Beethoven. Most salespeople are not capable of playing what you just played. It’s a pleasure to finally see and hear pianos demonstrated at this demanding level. Keep enjoying all of the music you play, your enthusiasm always comes through.
Thank you very much for the kind words! With the Kawai K-series being so meticulously crafted to the sky high musical demands of classical music, some late-era Beethoven seemed the most appropriate :) -Max
I tried a K200 yesterday, a brand new model - the touch felt great, and I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by it’s sound. I’m in London and my house is small, I have adjoining neighbours on both sides too. The K200 was not too loud neither. Here the K500 definitely sounded the best, but it would be too big for my home.
Thanks for sharing!
I upgraded from Kawai's NS10 to K500. Although I absolutely love this instrument, it feels a little too 'loud' for the room. IMHO, the room size should also be a consideration.
Definitely! Sorry your dealer didn't ask that ahead of time. ): Could look into treating the room's acoustics or having your tech make some adjustments to the action? Honestly not bulletproof solutions, but may be worth a try. Otherwise, I'd consider trying out the K300 if the dealer allows trade-ins (which they should).
--Drew, 👨👨👦👦🎹
Interesting comment. May I ask how tall your room is? I’m still pondering over wether I should go for the K300 or the K500.
I would be interested to know your rooms size too, because I have a small room too but I am aiming for the K-200 but haven't had the chance to try it in a store yet. Thank you for your help, have a great day!
Thank you Max for this video. You do so well talking to the camera (and us :). I’m soaking up all videos I can about these comparisons so this is excellent for me to hear the same piece on 3 models. Thank you so much!
Fair and clear comparison: good, better, best. I was recently looking for a KAWAI because I like their warmer tone. I settled with an entry level Bechstein (Euterpe, now the W. Hoffman brand), that can be compared to the K-200 or U1, but indeed lacks dynamic subtlety and what I would call the well-rounded sound of larger pianos.
It's certainly true that models don't say much. I played on two U1 pianos in the store as well as on several U3s, and the U1s couldn't be more different in sound. One was really bad (branded 'MIKI', supposed to be a premium Yamaha series), the other nice and mellow (and much more expensive). Picking a piano is not easy and I honestly wonder why anybody would want a smaller frame (under 120 cm) instead of a digital piano that is always in tune and sounding better.
Final thought: pianos should be played without the front panel. A grand piano is also opened, so if you don't want to dampen certain frequencies, this is a must and it makes a huge difference for mid-size pianos in my view.
What a great comment. Thanks for taking the time to write it out. Here's a long reply since you're really inciting some good conversation.
Hope you're enjoying your Bechstein nonetheless. I always tell people that there isn't a one "best" piano. It's going to be the best for them at the current moment. You have to factor in preferences for feel and sound, space, budget, etc. And of course, that's all subject to change over time. So it certainly isn't an easy decision. But in most cases, you're better off just getting started with something that ticks most your boxes. If you buy from a store, they usually have a trade-in policy, and hopefully it's a nice flexible one.
Glad you were able to hear that for yourself too. It's easier to standardize instruments when they aren't made of thousands of little moving parts. Building a piano isn't forgiving. So yeah, models can give you the general specs and features, but each piano really is an individual.
Now, 120cm (47") is quite the upright though. I agree that digitals are great for their own reasons, but the technology for the action and sound isn't quite at the same level as in acoustics. Playing them side by side, you'll see the differences immediately. For some, like yourself, the trade-offs are worth it. And I'd even agree with that some of the time depending on the budget. But a 120cm upright is well beyond a few thousand dollars, and I think that's a harder price category for digitals to compete in. I know in their high-end models, Kawai literally just puts their acoustic action inside the digital. Digitals are terrific, but they're not quite the same playing experience as acoustics. Anyway, this has a lot of nuance here so I appreciate your opinion.
I do agree with the front panel! In fact, your comment prompted a conversation within the team. We might do more recordings with the panel open. The thing with that though is that I don't think that's how most people play in-home. And I would recommend playing it that way, but the latch mechanism is sometimes complicated, the panel is a delicate piece of wood, and if left open, the piano's action is more vulnerable to dirt and damage. Same thing with grands too -- we recommend keeping the lid closed when it's not being played. But in terms of sound? Yeah, much clearer. Maybe that'll influence someone's preferred piano too. I know some front panels open up entirely as opposed to the standard "lid on top" design. Makes that process more pleasant.
Hope to see you in our comments more, my friend. Thanks for watching!
- Drew, 👪🎹
I love this guy! Thanks for making these nice and beautiful videos of these wonderful pianos. Max is the best!
He is, isn't he? Fun fact: he never repeats the same song for demos either. You can watch all of them, and get something different each time. I wonder myself if he'll be able to keep it up forever -- it's really impressive! --Drew, 👪🎹
Thank you for this video. In other videos in youtube, they just punch notes , not playing as it should be. So thank you so much again to play more professionaI then other channels bought Kawai K-300 today and i am waiting it from delivery. It sounds really nice in this video. Hopefully i will be practising on my piano in 2 weeks👍🏻 :)
Did your K300 arrive yet and and are you happy with it?
@@johnflavin1602 Yeah, i got my atx3 k 300. ıt has a beautiful tone. I recommend it as a professional pianist. Nice key replie and deep , balanced bass. You might have very little metalic tone when you press D. But not a big deal. Better than yamaha B3 maybe U1 too.
Great comparison, thanks. That really let us hear the pianos being played to their fullest capabilities. Considering upgrading from K15 to K300.
Glad you enjoyed the video! Thank you for the comment, and let us know if we can answer any questions about that upgrade! Always happy to help. (: --Drew, 👪🎹
What is better on the K300, is action lighter, tone fuller, I only got the chance to try K15 and I loved the tone, but I felt the keys were a tiny bit smaller than a U1.
Very nice comparsion. I have a K300 and like it very much. But sometimes I think about switching to a K500…….
Thanks for this comparison !!!
Glad you liked it! -Max
I've had my k500 since march 23' but have only just found out from a TUNA that they will likely be rather skittish and drift off temperament more rapidly early on, and need more frequent tuning than one may expect (at first) possibly even once every 8 weeks, depending on playing style and frequency of use, and other environmental factors, I have been told this is due to the strings coming off a big round drum, and still retain a slight curve until they've been through several tunings, however it does settle down after 6 or so tunings in the experience of my Tuner. And this instrument really does sound incredible immediately after being tuned.
The drifting you speak of is common to all new pianos as they adjust to their new environment and settle into new cycles of humidity and temperature. Usually takes 6 months to a year, and several tunings to reach stability. Totally normal, but quite alarming if you are not aware.
Decidi hoje pelo k300, que parece muito bom, para o meu primeiro piano acústico. Claro que o som do K500, parece muito melhor, mas é também uma decisão monetária. Feliz Natal a todos e obrigado pela demonstração. ❤️🎹❤️
Olá Cecília! Entendo totalmente sua decisão. Tenho certeza de que você não ficará desapontado com sua decisão; o K300 tem um excelente valor pelo seu preço. Espero que gostem do seu novo piano e obrigado por assistir aos nossos vídeos! - Jess
Thanks a lot for your wonderful comparison of Kawai K series!
It really helps me deciding which one to choose.
I'm now seriously thinking of getting the
K-800, The vertical lid makes it even greater asset of K-800.
It's feeling and looks are even more close to the grands !
We only stock up to the K-500, but I have gotten a chance to play and hear the K-800 at NAMM. Truly amazing. The K-500 is already a beast of an instrument too!
I do want to correct you a bit though. The K-800 has a similar lid to any other upright piano. In general, that's not really a substantial feature either. You can open it and improve the sound. But the K-800s main improvements are the bigger soundboard, duplex scaling throughout the keyboard, and the sostenuto pedal. Those two things help the sound a lot, and the sostenuto pedal is usually reserved for grand pianos. But yeah, the action and therefore feeling is identical to the K-500s, and to the entire K Series lineup if you disregard the added NEOTEX key tops.
But anyway -- if you have the budget and space for it, a K-800 is no doubt one of the best (and tallest) uprights you can get right now. Good luck with the purchase, and thanks for your comment. Happy playing! (:
--Drew, 👪🎹
@@familypianoco
Thank you for your kind reply.
I purchased the K-700 in
Japan which is actually same with K-500
in US but comes with vertical lid and has two tone spreader in the front of the piano.
I'm sorry to tell you that this K-700
is probably japan exclusive type.
I'm Japanese and love waching
your clps at youtube!
Thanks a lot for your precious information and kind advice!
Fabulous and very useful comparison. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it, Christine! Thanks for the comment! --Drew, 👪🎹
Very informative 👍
Muito bom…..mostrar o timbre e potência com obras bonitas…..❤️🎹❤️
My humble amateur ears prefer the K300, sounds clear and balanced, especially if you have a small house
thanks i like the k series!
Dear Max,
i am currently on my way to upgrade from a digital Piano to an acoustic and now i am wondering how much louder the K Series gets with growing hight? Is the K-500 much more louder than the K-300?
I don't want to disturb my neighbours too much (small flat with several other families) so i'd like the perfect balance between sound and "quietness".
Thanks in advance and greetings from Germany.
I'm wondering too but unable to find any answer regarding this. I believe the volume grows proportional to the size of the soundboard (other factors have little difference though the larger cabinet will certainly contribute to some degree; the strings themselves don't produce much sound-without the soundboard they will be relatively quiet even when played on a large grand piano!). From the specification, Kawai K-200 has a soundboard area of 1.34 sq. meters, for K-300 it's 1.39 sq. meters, and for K-500 it's 1.45 sq. meters. Not much difference, within a few percent only. But their difference in size (and weight) is also just a few percent! They're all are quite large.
I believe that any acoustic piano will be a challenge to use if the environment is not properly soundproofed (carpet under a piano, caster cups, a layer of soundproofing material behind the piano (but not touching the soundboard)). The piano can be voiced as well to make its hammers much softer, producing a more warm and much more quiet sound-this is the way that pianos are usually adjusted to sound well in these tiny rooms in academia!
I've ended up ordering K-300 in beautiful polished white for my wife. :-) K-500 is much more expensive here, it's rarely available, and Kawai doesn't make them in white. But if you have the budget, I would suggest K-500 and hiring a sound engineer to soundproof the room and the piano's soundboard. Good luck!
Hey, Drew here! I actually have a similar background as you so I'm going to try to answer you with that in mind.
To my novice ears, the difference between a K-500 and a K-300 is more than just the loudness. Our friend Vladimir left a great comment about the soundboard. And I agree with everything he said. However, while I wouldn't have thought just a few percentage increases in size make a huge difference, it kinda does. The K500 is much richer and fuller and clearer, and it's probably the best upright I've ever heard.
In your case, I think you'll be fine if your concern is just loudness. The K500 has a practice pedal that you can leave on, and it's quieter than a K300 when it is on. So you'd have the option of modest practice as well as unleashing a concerto for your neighbors.
Of course, I do hope you can make it into your local Kawai dealer to hear and play one for yourself. We have videos where you can hear a K300 and a K500. But truthfully, it's kind of impossible to capture an instrument's "entire sound" in a recording.
Hope this helps! Greetings from Paris!
--Drew, 👪🎹
@@familypianoco Thank you Drew for your answer. Interesting, that the K500 is potentially quieter with practice pedal than the K300. I will check them out at the Dealer near me as soon as i have the money.
Have a nice day!
@@VladK-1 Hello Vladimir, i seem to have overseen your notification. Thanks for the answer, the informations and the input. Interesting, that the difference doesnt seem that huge. I've always looked for decibel comparisons, but simply can't find any. I will try them myself as soon as i have the money. Have a great day!
@@Drenalim I'm glad to share my thoughts! By the way, I've got the beautiful K-300, and...well, it's pretty damn LOUD! Around 78 db near it when my wife is playing some classical piece (with some strong forte), according to apps I've tried on my iPhone. We've owned other acoustic pianos before and I can say that Kawai K-300 is so far the loudest of them (perhaps the tapered soundboard as well as a larger gap under the keyboard are contributing to this, in our older Yamaha U1 and U2 the soundboard was not tapered and the gap was much smaller). But this one also has the best tone we've ever heard, pretty comparable to small grands. But yeah, it's very loud. We have a relatively large 3 bedroom flat (and the room with piano is 16 sq. meters so it's just right space for K-300), I can hear the piano well from almost any room, even when doors are closed. To deal with the overwhelming loudness I've ordered some hemp acoustic insulation panels (a safe alternative to Rockwool and other mineral wool) to try putting between the piano and the wall which will also help to reduce the amount of sound getting in the wall and propagating to our neighbors. I'm only afraid now that it might affect the tone badly (as insulation panels are cutting mostly 500 Hz+ range and cannot do much against
Max. Thanks for the comparison.
nice playing, mostly watching these to hear this guy's playing haha. But this is way beyond anything Beethoven had, per my understanding. Probably would have loved it though.
Thanks for watching! You're definitely right - Beethoven would have been overjoyed to have access to modern high quality pianos like these! He was always on the cutting edge of musical developments and pressed the boundaries of what the pianos of his day were capable of. The continuous development of the piano throughout his lifetime is one of the major reasons he had three very distinctive stylistic periods throughout his compositional life. With the full 88 keys, excellent sustain, tone projection, and highly refined sense of control of modern high quality pianos, who knows what musical directions he would have taken! -Max
Hi! My room is 25 m2. Would that be ok for the K500? I love the sound of it and i'm about to purchase it. My style of playing is also mellow. Aren't you able to control the volume on the K500 better than the K300?
Hi! At 25m2 I would say your room is enough for either a K-500 or a K-300 without it sounding overpowering for the room. The K500 gives a greater range of dynamic expression from longer string length, allowing for better dynamic control. Action/touch wise, however, they are the same Millennium III action and can handle advanced level dynamic control from a technique standpoint in the same manner. Either the K-300 or K-500 will work great for mellow playing styles. My advice would be to try them out in person with some pieces you've been working on with contrasting techniques and decide whether the K300 is "enough" piano for you or if the extra umpf of the K-500 works better for you. I'm thinking in terms of space either would work great for the room but the K500 will be richer and more enjoyable to play from better expression and the Neotex Ivory keytops vs. the more standard K300 keytops. -Max
@@familypianoco Thank you for your advice!
Why didn't you use the same song so we can really compare the sound?
He DID play the same piece, but he didn't start to play it at the exact same measure/bar,
I think we still can get a sense for the overall tone this way,
although timestamps to the same exact measure would be nice, I'm more than happy to give you that. :)
Im thinking k500 has the same height of my old k20
K20! Nice! Those were 50" and the K500 is 51" -- so just about!
--Drew, 👪🎹
The K-500 sounds very good. I'm looking to replace my older upright, and I first was looking at the W. Hoffman T128, but after trying the K-500 I'm now hesitant. They're both great instruments. By the way, that last key on the K-500 you were playing was a little tired it seems lol
I haven't had a chance to try a W. Hoffman T128 unfortunately so I can't speak to that exact piano, but I've tried several similar Schimmel, Petrof and Bechstein uprights and have been quite impressed. Definitely a distinct (and excellent!) overall sound profile and sense of touch with the high end German/Czech upright pianos compared to the K500 (though I would guess the K500 wins on overall cost and musical value per dollar most likely if they're both new?). Personally, I'm more than a bit biased towards the feel and sound of the Kawai K-series and would almost certainly choose the K500 as my long term at-home instrument but my advice would be to compare both in-person very methodically with varied technical exercises, many contrasting style pieces, etc. and try to envision what would best complement your playing and make you the happiest in the long term! I'd be curious to hear which one you end up going with! -Max
Hello. Is there a difference between K200 M/Pep and the K200 Studio you're telling about? Do you know what does M/PEP stand for? Thank you.
They're the same. I'm pretty sure it's like "Medium Polish Ebony Polish" or something like that. It's confusing. I prefer the more standard "EP" for Ebony Polish.
sounds great, but you hear unevenness in the sound when you move up the scale. in addition, the seasonal changes affect it a lot, the hammers get stuck in winter. it needs to be tuned regularly. other pianos are more stable and more expensive on the other hand. quality is paid.
I disagree with your thoughts on the action, my friend!
Seasons affect the piano most when they're not kept it in climate-controlled rooms. Watching its humidity, not placing it in direct sunlight, and tuning the piano at least yearly -- every piano needs that done if you want to keep it in good shape for as long as possible.
And hammers do not get stuck in winter. If they're freezing or something, there is a huge problem! I'll also mention Kawai actions are actually extra fortified since they use carbon fiber parts. I'd argue this makes them more stable than wood-only actions, regardless of preference for how they feel/play.
Quality is indeed paid -- it's the marketing that's extra!
--Drew, 👪🎹
I saw there is the E-200 which seems to be literally the "unpolished ebony" version of the K-200.
Do you think polished finish helps durability or helps against possible weather/humidity/etc issues in the long term?
Thank you for your help!
Size matters
Crazy what a few extra inches can do for a piano, eh? --Drew, 👪🎹
Bigger the Piano better the sound.
yep, as a rule of thumb.