Best Kawai Upright?! K800 53" Upright Piano | Review & Demo by a Classical Pianist | Family Piano Co

[@joshbonner9409]

These are the best Kawia I’ve ever heard! The carbon fibre action feels amazing.

[@Stardustparadise418]

Thanks for this video Max. It is such a beautiful piece of art. I wish I could afford it because then I would definitely purchase it via you. You are also a very, very good piano player. I enjoyed it very much. Thank you 🙏

[@familypianoco]

Thank you for watching! :) -Max

[@vickigreene4288]

This is the best K800 review I have found in my search this morning. I wanted to hear it but also wanted to see how the music desk worked and what those vents looked like. Thank you Max!

[@familypianoco]

Glad it was helpful!

[@joshbonner9409]

I had to get this model, I was sold.

[@marnbu2936]

Great playing + the sound is just amusing it’s so rich and warm

[@SuperWils2010]

Thanks so much for your overview. It was very informative. I think the K800 will be the piano I buy. You play very well.

[@lisasimpson1492]

Thank you for the demo! Nicely done!

[@metalscholarsreact666]

What a wonderful, detailed review. Your improvisation is amazing. I'm looking forward to the delivery of my own K800. Having had to leave my Heintzmann cabinet grand (ca1910-14) behind, this is the only modern instrument that is coming close to offering a similar experience. The Kawai (and the Boston 132) are only starting to catch-up on where Heintzmann was 100 years ago from a case-design perspective (both designs are clumsy in the way they deal with the desk and opening the front in comparison) but of course, the rest of the technology has moved-on. I'm interested to see how it is, switching between the Kawai mechanism and my teachers' Steinway, but nothing can be as aweful as going from an epiano (arius) to the Steinway, which is what I have been doing!

[@familypianoco]

Thanks so much for watching! I'm sure you will LOVE the Kawai K-800! I used to own a Yamaha Arius about a decade ago, I can certainly emphasize - there's no comparison in terms of touch and sound to a real nice quality acoustic piano. I hope you find many years of enjoyment and musical success on your new K-800! -Max

[@clauzane]

Awesome review thank you so much!! If I may,what would you say is the key differences between the K400 and K800? Except for the obvious size and build,they both have a grand style music desk and also vents. But from a player's perspective would you say it's better to rather put in the extra penny's and get the K800? Regards Clauzane from down under (Aussie Land)

[@familypianoco]

Size is the biggest thing but there's extra features like NeoTex ivory key surfaces and duplex scaling for better upper treble tone. If you play them side by side the K800 is quite a bit more impressive -Max

[@surayayusaku8291]

thanks for this! Would it be comparable to a Bechstein R2 or R116? - or bette to save the extra for the Bechstein?

[@CP-ec3qd]

everything else being equal, would you choose the Kawai K800 or Kawai Gl10?

[@familypianoco]

Good question and tough choice! I think the average K800 is better than the average GL10 in complexity of tone and overall action refinement, but the GL10 has all the advantages of a grand piano over an upright. If it was an exceptionally good GL10, I might pick that. But most K800s I've played have been noticeably better than most GL10s I've played. -Max

[@georgena21]

For classical, do you prefer the K500 or K800?

[@familypianoco]

I'd say K800 for sure IF your space is big enough for it! Combines all my favorite parts of the K400 (Grand style music desk, front vents for better sound projection etc.) but several inches taller for a bigger, deeper tone and with some nice premium features like Neotex Ivory key surfaces and duplex scaling. -Max

[@felipecalanimusiccomposer1780]

I´m wondering but cannot experience the difference between K500 and K800. It´s a lot of difference ? Because the price is very different. Do you think k800 worth in comparison to k500 ? Very thankful for your attention and review.

[@amiaow]

I have played both (and just purchased a K800). The K500 is a very good piano, however I find that I have to work to get volume out of the treble, and the sound clarity isn't quite that of the K800- FWIW, I am used to playing on a grand and it is different to that. The K800 sings super nicely, excellent clarity, the keysticks are long and the keys are weighted like a Kawai grand (quite heavy but offers excellent control). The K800 is bigger than a K500, has a much better music rest and comes with a sostenuto pedal, not that you will use it often. If you want a good piano and have a fixed budget- the K500 will be fine, you won't be disappointed. If you're an advanced musician, you're aiming to be an advanced musician, you're taking upper level exams but don't have space for a grand, you're in music school, you're teaching, or you just want the best piano you can buy, get the K800 :)

[@NocturnalSurgeon]

@@amiaowThanks alot for your time and answer. Unfortunatelly, I discovered that K800 is difficult to have near my adress. So, maybe I´ll go with K500 and I wonder that will fit my musical needs. Again, thanks a lot !

[@amiaow]

@@NocturnalSurgeon There is a video here on yt with K500 vs K800 to hear the difference. I think you'll be very pleased with a K500 in any case, it's a good piano, they use them for early level exams (to grade 5) here in Australia.

[@NocturnalSurgeon]

@@amiaow thanks again @amiaow. Actually, K500 is above I can afford for the moment hahah but I go for it ! Best Regards !

[@goldenstasgs]

You should first observe how works autofocus of your camera and turn it off 😀

[@bikedawg]

downright annoying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@nostgeoffhi-fi]

The question now is, 5’ Baby grand or K800?? ugh..

[@familypianoco]

I understand the predicament, I think it's essentially a toss up but here's a previous comment I made when someone else asked a similar question: Good question and tough choice! I think the average K800 is better than the average GL10 in complexity of tone and overall action refinement, but the GL10 has all the advantages of a grand piano over an upright. If it was an exceptionally good GL10, I might pick that. But most K800s I've played have been noticeably better than most GL10s I've played. -Max

[@michaelbrown192]

At last a video of the k800 (or K600 for that matter as it's essentially the same piano) that sounds decent. I'm amazed at how ridiculously awful 99% of youtube videos sound and I'm even more amazed at how there are a bunch of comments who love the sound of those videos. What a joke

[@familypianoco]

Thanks so much for watching! We actually just invested recently in even better professional-grade instrument microphones so our more recent shorts and future videos are going to be noticeably nicer than the sound quality in this one so I hope you stay tuned! :) -Max

[@6511497115104]

What are the main differences with k600?

[@joaopaulomelosilva4292]

Kylo Ren?

[@pbasswil]

Great review; but this acoustically untreated room, closed lid, and the mic-ing strategy are doing that fine instrument no favours. Give the thing some space from the wall, and get some soft surfaces in there. That small chamber is currently tuned like a cheap banjo. :^/

[@familypianoco]

Agreed, I wish I had access then to the mics I have now... Thanks for watching! -Max

[@pbasswil]

@@familypianoco Honestly, imho cheap mics were the least of the issue, it was location and strategy and the room.

[@FingersKungfu]

If I could own one upright piano, it will have to be either this (K800) of the Yamaha YUS5. Too bad I live in an apartment so I have to settle with a digital alternative.

[@familypianoco]

I'm in a similar boat myself, of course it helps that I have access to all these fantastic acoustic pianos at work! I have a Kawai CA79 digital piano at home, predecessor to the current model CA701, and I absolutely love it both in terms of touch and sound. If you'd like to hear how it sounds, most of the Sheet Music videos on this channel are recorded on Kawai CA701, CA901 or CA79 which all have the same sound technology. Of course, once my living situation works for an acoustic I will be getting one - possibly a K-800 if I go upright though my dream piano at the moment is a Kawai GX-2 Aures 5'11" Grand. It's very common now for pianists to have both an acoustic and digital piano at home but there are also a lot of hybrid options that give you the best of both worlds in one piano. Perhaps those would be good options for you to explore as well - then you could just have one instrument and use the digital modes in your current living situation and have the acoustic option as well - this way you wouldn't have to make a separate acoustic piano purchase in the future . The K-200ATX4 might be worth looking at, it's VERY nice! -Max

[@FingersKungfu]

@@familypianoco Thank you for your reply, Max. My dream piano just happens to be the Kawai GX series as well. Regarding the noise, I read that the Yamaha YUS5 has a function where if you pull a hand lever it would muffle the noise and you can practice/play without disturbing other people too much. However, I’ve never tried it myself.

[@joonjeong4878]

​@@FingersKungfuSilent functined acoustic piano cannot have same touch feeling of pure acoustic.

[@familypianoco]

I believe you're describing the felt mute-rail for quiet practice, which is a standard feature on all new Kawai uprights as well! It does have a very slight change in touch (essentially it's a felt in front of the strings so there's a slightly different physical sensation while playing with it due to hammers hitting felt on top of the stings instead of directly hitting the strings, but close enough to the same touch that you can get good quality practice in while using it). In terms of electronic silent systems on pianos, there is a tiny touch difference when playing in digital mode due to the hammers not hitting the piano strings which is a part of the touch feedback (though even then, you're looking at a much more accurate sense of touch then nearly any 100% digital piano's action!), but there is no difference in touch when you're playing in acoustic mode as long as the silent system has been installed skillfully and correctly by an experienced technician. I just spent a few minutes going back and forth on a few of the Kawai hybrid K-series uprights versus acoustic-only K-series uprights and the touch differences are practically non-existent when in acoustic mode and a very, very slight difference from digital to acoustic mode as the hammers don't hit the strings so fewer vibrations are felt on your fingertips through the keys. -Max

[@alanclarkeau]

​@@FingersKungfuthis has exactly the same Mute rail as the Yamaha.