Encompassing many of the traditional attributes inherent in an acoustic piano, the Grand Feel III keyboard action utilized by the CA701 merges realistic materials, motion, and mechanism to mimic the remarkable touch of the best concert grand pianos.

The eighty-eight black and white keys are fashioned completely from elongated pieces of wood, with delicately textured ivory and ebony-like surfaces employed to absorb moisture and improve control. These wooden keys pivot smoothly on a balance pin – the ends then rise and fall to provide the familiar ‘seesaw’ motion of an acoustic piano action. When pressed, the rear of the key rises, triggering a grade-weighted hammer to strike a sensitive pressure switch. The velocity of the keystroke and amount of force applied to this switch is then metered, and the corresponding note is produced with amazing tonal character and volume.

The magnificent Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano was envisioned as the next step in evolving the art and science of the piano. Securing its reputation as the ‘premier piano of Japan,’ it adorns the stages of musical institutions and concert halls around the world. With its universal acclaim for exceptional clarity and remarkable dynamic range, the SK-EX concert grand has repeatedly been chosen by world-class pianists at such prestigious events as the Rubinstein, Chopin, Hamamatsu, and Tchaikovsky international piano competitions. With its magnificent tonality and wonderfully responsive touch, the SK-EX can best be described with one word – incomparable.

In order to precisely reproduce the resplendent sound of a Shigeru Kawai concert grand piano in a digital instrument, Kawai has developed SK-EX Rendering technology. This distinctive, piano-only sound engine concentrates the Concert Artist’s DSP power, fusing multi-channel, 88-key sampling with advanced resonance modelling technology to provide crisp, clear concert grand piano realism.

Another new element in the CA701 is Kawai’s exclusive SK-EX Competition Grand piano. This sensational new version is in addition to the gorgeous SK-EX grand piano sound, with all new sampling data, acquired from the pianist’s perspective. The Competition Grand sound is distinguished by a full-bodied, robust sound with more natural bass tone and a sparkling duplex scale effect in the upper notes.

The wisdom and skill of an experienced piano technician is necessary to bring out the best of a fine acoustic piano. Kawai’s “Master Piano Artisans” are among the best on the planet. Aside from tuning each note, the “Master Piano Artisans” also perform painstaking regulation and voicing adjustments that allow the instrument to truly sing.

The CA701’s impressive Virtual Piano Artisan feature reproduces these refinements digitally, allowing discerning musicians to modify aspects of the selected piano’s character to suit their personal preferences without consulting an experienced technician.

The pianist may implement touch weight and voicing adjustments, alter hammer and key release noises, and fine-tune string, damper, and cabinet resonances. It is even possible to adjust the precise tuning, volume, and character of individual notes – all at the swipe of a finger.

The CA701 utilizes specially designed components designed for high-end audio reproduction. With innovative technologies such as a custom designed piano sampling filter and a dual DAC system, the Concert Artist’s enhanced power amplifiers reproduce the Shigeru Kawai grand piano sound with brilliant clarity, accuracy, and fidelity.

Kawai’s premium discrete headphone amplifier provides the user with an impressive listening experience when playing with headphones.

Complementing the instrument’s ultra-responsive Grand Feel III keyboard action and sonorous SK-EX Rendering piano sound engine, the CA701 contains a plethora of digital features that further enhance one’s musical gratification.

Updated Bluetooth® V5 connectivity and USB audio record and playback lets musicians extend the flexibility of their piano. The useful metronome function offers various time signatures as well as 100 exciting drum patterns. Integrated lesson functions, featuring classical etudes and songs from the best-selling Alfred course books, ensure that regular practice is engaging and productive for aspiring pianists.

All functions on the piano are accessible from the CA701’s full-color anti-glare 5″ touchscreen display, which allows sounds and settings to be selected from an uncomplicated user interface.

The screen can also be set to fade automatically while playing, thus maintaining the instruments’ acoustic piano-like appearance, and minimizing any visual distractions to the player.

With standard USB jacks for connecting to computers or other instruments, the CA701 also features integrated Bluetooth® V5 MIDI and Bluetooth V5 Audio technologies that allow the instrument to communicate wirelessly with most smart devices.

When the piano is paired with a phone, tablet, or laptop, Concert Artist owners can use a variety of exciting music-related apps that enrich their learning and playing experience. In addition, pianists can stream audio from songs and videos directly through the exceptional amplifier and speaker systems and enjoy playing along with their favorite tunes.

The CA701’s redesigned communication standard allows the user-friendly touchscreen interface to also be accessed via Kawai’s exclusive PianoRemote app for iOS and supported Android devices. The app connects to the piano wirelessly via the Concert Artists’ integrated Bluetooth, providing a seamless way to change sounds, or enjoy the vast array of built-in music content.

The CA701’s convenient lesson function allows aspiring pianists to learn piano with a comprehensive array of songs from the popular Alfred’s Basic, Adult, and Premier course books as well as classical Czerny, Burgmüller, Beyer, Bach, Beethoven, and Chopin etudes.

To further aid the piano student and improve dexterity, the Concert Artist also features traditional finger exercises, scales, and warm-up drills.

Augmenting the Concert Artist’s reputation as the most realistic digital piano is Kawai’s Grand Feel Pedal System. This novel feature precisely replicates the position and individual weighting of the damper, soft, and sostenuto pedals of the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano thus increasing the acoustic piano-like realism of the CA701.

Moreover, it is also possible to altert the half-pedal sensitivity of the damper pedal, and the effectiveness of the soft pedal using dedicated Virtual Piano Artisan parameters, allowing advanced pianists to customize the instrument’s response to match their individual pedaling technique.

The CA701’s Spatial Headphone Sound (SHS) technology intensifies the depth and realism of the instrument’s sound when listening through headphones or earphones. The pianist can select one of three different acoustic settings that modify the spatial positioning of the sound. The SHS feature is also instrumental in reducing auditory fatigue when using earphones or headphones for extended periods.

To further ensure an optimal listening experience, the CA701 also allows players to specify the type of headphones connected (Open, Semi-open, Closed, In-Ear, Canal, etc.)

The CA701’s impressive music rest is designed to handle the most ambitious musical works, with smoothly rounded edges and simulated leather lining the base. The CA701 has new score support pins built into the music rest base, for holding sheet music open.

Another convenient feature of the CA701 is the adjustable music rest. Like that of a grand piano, the viewing angle of the Concert Artist’s music rest can be adjusted to suit the performer’s height and position while playing or lowered to a special ‘composer desk’ angle for greater convenience when notating scores or sketching musical ideas.