Digital Piano for Serious Headphone Practice – Kawai CA vs Roland LX?

Joao_Dias_da_Silva
12 days ago
44replies

Hello everyone,

I have a baby grand at home, but due to a busy schedule (and the fact that I live in an apartment), I often have to limit my playing time, especially after 9:30 pm. That is why I am now looking for a high-quality digital piano primarily for use with headphones. As a mature and serious amateur, I listen to and play piano regularly, and I enjoy studying pieces in depth. So I am looking for an instrument that offers a realistic grand piano experience in terms of action and sound, not just a lightweight-key digital keyboard that would not support sustained or expressive practice.

It seems like a great moment to buy a digital piano, with recent advances in both sound modeling and mechatronics. I am currently leaning toward the Kawai CA series (either the CA-701 or CA-901). They have received outstanding reviews and are praised for their responsive wooden key actions and Shigeru Kawai samples. The CA-901 even includes a wooden soundboard with transducers for added realism, but since I will mostly be playing through headphones, the CA-701 might already meet my needs.

I am also curious about the new Roland LX series (LX-6 or LX-9), which use modeled (rather than sampled) sound. From what I understand, this allows for a broader dynamic and tonal range, perhaps not more “realistic” in the traditional sense, but very compelling in its own right. Roland also offers progressive (continuous) pedal sensitivity, while Kawai still uses a more conventional half-pedal mechanism.

I would love to hear your thoughts:

Do any of you own or have experience with these models?
How do you find the key action, sound realism, and headphone experience?
Are there particular features that made a real difference for you in daily practice?

And while we are on the topic: do you have any headphones you would especially recommend for digital piano use?

Thanks in advance! I am very eager to hear your impressions and suggestions!

- Entrepreneur
- Markus_Hofmann.1
- 12 days ago
- Reported - view
I have a Yamaha NX3. I tried several Digital Pianos including Kawais and I found the Yamaha NX3 by far the best as far as touch and sound are concerned.
- Joao_Dias_da_Silva
  
  5 days ago
  
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  Thanks for your feedback! I have played several digital Yamahas and I usually enjoy the sound, but the touch always feels a bit artificial to me. Maybe it's just me, but I do prefer the Kawais (also on acoustic pianos!). Now I am not aiming at one of those top-of-line models, like the N3X or the Kawai Novus NV10S, not just because of budget, but also because of space - I must fit it in a specific space and I do not have enough depth for those models that fully replicate the action of a grand piano and, on top of that, include very powerful sound systems (I want it mainly for evening practice with headphones). All the best!
- NOAMW
- 11 days ago
- Reported - view
I found the best way to decide, is to go to piano stores and play the pianos there. This helped fill the piano and find the piano that I liked the most.

Regarding headphones, make sure to buy a studio headphones, that have neural response to frequencies. This will make it much more enjoyable to play, also make sure to buy an amplifier if you need one (depending on the headphones). And make sure you buy something that is comfortable for you.
- Joao_Dias_da_Silva
  
  5 days ago
  
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  Yeah, I am also curious about the right headphone configuration to look for, in terms of its main features (impedance/resistance, open vs. closed back, sensitivity, frequency response, etc.). I also learnt that I should look into the weight due to comfort. Will probably go with a Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic, in line with the review shared by Barbara Blakeslee some posts below.... Thanks!!
- NOAMW
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  happy to help!
  
  Regarding the open/closed back, I have HD600 which are open back, and when I play the piano using headphones the only sound that was leaking out was the bass frequencies and even then it wasn't loud at all.
  
  So it doesn't need to be a concern for you.
- Victoria_Macdonald
- 11 days ago
- Reported - view
I bought a Casio Grand Hybrid GP-510 and LOVE it. It combines the technology of Casio with the action of a Bechstein (hence "hybrid"). I've never encountered a digital piano that recreates a piano action as truly as this one. The digital acoustics even creates overtones and the shifting sound a real piano makes when you press the sustain pedal. You can use headphones and also record to a USB. Check it out: https://www.casio.com/us/electronic-musical-instruments/brands/celviano/gp/
- Barbara_Blakeslee
  
  10 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Victoria Macdonald
- Barbara_Blakeslee
  
  10 days ago
  
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  Barbara Blakeslee That's a beautiful piano! I tried it out side by side with a Kawai CA 701. I wound up buying the Kawai but it was a close contest and I can see why you love the Casio.
- Joao_Dias_da_Silva
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks for sharing your experience. I currently own an old Casio Privia PX-350M, which served for some years, but I have concluded that I cannot play it too much because it is too light, which makes it much more difficult for me to return to my baby grand afterwards. I once tried a GP-510, mostly attracted by the Bechstein action, and I must confess that I felt it was a bit awkward to feel several key vibrations (possibly due to the escapement or other action features). I will probably give it another try one of these days, just for curiosity (cannot properly remember the sounds, compared to other models), and even though it is also a bit out of my budget and intended physical depth; in any case, I have almost made up my mind to go with the Kawai CA701. Thanks anyway!
- Lars_Tobias_SkjongBorst
- 10 days ago
- Reported - view
I play on a Kawai NOVUS 10 S and a Yamaha NU1. I find the NU1 very good, and the keys feel quite like an upright. There are of course many grades of upright actions, and this one feels like a very light action from a lower to middle price range upright. The NOVUS 10 S action is a lot better than the NU1 action, and being a grand action, it has a different feel to it as well. The keys are also quite light compared to an acoustic grand. I compare it to a C.Bechstein M/P model that has an excellent action. I haven't had the chance to try the Yamaha AvantGrand actions yet.

When it comes to sound quality of the speakers, I find both the NU1 and the NOVUS to be lacking. Even the NOVUS, which has a subwoofer and all, but I guess they didn't spend too much money on the amp and speakers. They sound a lot better with studio headphones, for sure. None of them have even comparable sound to an acoustic in my opinion, but I get used to it sounding different. I'd like to try to plug in a serious Hi-Fi system at some point.

Both the NU1 and the NOVUS have issues with getting fff to sound right. It's as if it stops at ff, and even if the sensors in theory should be able to catch that it's being played at fff or even ffff, the sound engine doesn't sound like it has samples at three f's, so it all sounds like ff instead. Which is a bit annoying...

Other that that, practicing on a hybrid action is great for volume control. And it's very enjoyable after getting used to it. :)
- Joao_Dias_da_Silva
  
  5 days ago
  
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  Lucky you!! I do not have the budget or the space to afford any of those high-end models. In the end, I am not a professional player, so I think the Kawai CA701 will be just perfect for me, especially if coupled with some extra virtual instruments, as I have learnt from this forum. Thanks for sharing anyway!
- Barbara_Blakeslee
- 10 days ago
- Reported - view
I have a Kawai CA 701 and absolutely love it. I did try the 901 but it didn't seem all that different to my ears and I greatly prefer the cabinet style of the 701. Plus I also wanted a white piano. The action of the CA 701 is fabulous. I use Pianoteq and love feeling as though I own a whole range of grand pianos that would cost up to $250,000 each! Pisnoteq is fully modeled dnc is so alive and responsive. Yhe combination of the 701 and Pisnoteq seems unbeatable to me.
- Joao_Dias_da_Silva
  
  5 days ago
  
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  Hey , thanks for sharing your experience of using the Kawai CA701 with extra virtual instruments! Having collected all the good advice from this forum, I will most likely go for that option. Cheers from Portugal!
- Barbara_Blakeslee
- 10 days ago
- Reported - view
Here's a wonderful review of headphones. I used it to select mine, which I love. 5 Best Headphones for Digital Pianos (Buying Guide 2025) https://share.google/H7MlJrlIHEoMTfTt6
- Joao_Dias_da_Silva
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thanks for this as well! I will probably go for the Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic, with an open back, for a wider soundstage (as I do not have too much noise around). Will just check for the most recent models available from each brand, and check other features such as weight, and design as well!! Cheers!
- Barbara_Blakeslee
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  I have the open back and love it. Incredibly beautiful. I have the Beyerdynamicbut actually pre-wedding the Phillips, which was the first pair I bought. I was tempted by the Beyerdynamic but can't really tell how it's better and I find the Phillip's more comfortable. If I had it to do again I wouldn't have tried the "upgrade."
- Rene_GrosheintzLaval
- 8 days ago
- Reported - view
Please look carefully into the Yamaha AvantGrand NU1XA before you do anything else. That's easily the one digital piano I would go for, if I had to.
- Joao_Dias_da_Silva
  
  5 days ago
  
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  Dear , thank you so much for sharing your advice! I do prefer Kawai to Yamaha, also in acoustic instruments, but I have to admit that the Yamaha AvantGrand series has wonderful instruments as well. Most of them are out of reach for me in terms of budget, and they are also a bit deeper in size than what I am aiming for. In any case, thanks for taking the time to contribute to this discussion! Cheers!
- Jane_Fleming
- 5 days ago
- Reported - view
said:
I believe that the VPC1 is probably a great keyboard, but I would need to test it and compare it to the more modern Gand Feel III actions before any decision; at the same time, I am a little sceptical about how well all these "foreign" hardware pieces will align and integrate to provide all the sound nuances we would expect from a real instrument (given all the data/audio/sensoring/digital processes involved);

A young man who's working on his performance PhD uses the VPC1 for practice in between classes... and manages to make it sound quite good. (Yes, he's blind and still plays that well.)