Luxurious appearance, stunning sound, impeccable touch:
The new range of Classic Series luxury digital pianos –
crafted by Japan’s premier acoustic piano company.

Luxurious, elegant, classic – nothing says piano quite like the refined beauty of polished ebony. The evocative character of a silky smooth, rich black cabinet elevates the musical instrument to that of a piece of fine furniture, while simultaneously raising the artistic aspirations of the performer.

Kawai has been creating world-class musical instruments for over 80 years – maintaining traditional handcrafted processes while embracing original ideas, in a passionate quest to perfect the art of the piano.

The new range of premium Kawai digital instruments pursue these very same principles, marrying together stunning polished cabinet parts (meticulously prepared in our own acoustic piano finishing facility) with modern sound and keyboard technologies. The result is the Classic Series – a collection of luxurious, elegant pianos that deliver a truly exceptional musical experience.

Sitting down at the CS9, one quickly begins to appreciate the instrument’s acoustic piano design cues: the gorgeous rich black polished finish, the warm glimmer from the family name’s brushed metal lettering, and the wide music rest complete with simulated leather inlay.

However the CS9 is far more than just a handsome addition to one’s living space, for inside this finely crafted, gleaming black cabinet lies Kawai’s advanced digital piano sound and keyboard action technology, ensuring that this exceptional instrument plays as beautifully as it looks. Ultra Progressive Harmonic Imaging recreates the exquisite tonal character of Kawai’s peerless EX concert grand piano with breathtaking realism, while the RM3 Grand wooden-key keyboard action with Ivory Touch key surfaces and let-off simulation guarantees a remarkably authentic piano playing experience.

Complementing its beautiful appearance, stunning sound, and rewarding keyboard touch, the CS9 offers a selection of digital piano features that further enhance one’s musical enjoyment. USB audio record/playback, Dual and Split keyboard modes, and a rich assortment of instrumental voices add greater variety to players’ performances. Furthermore, the convenient metronome function and integrated classical etudes or Alfred course books ensure that regular practise is both productive and engaging for aspiring pianists.

Luxurious appearance combined with class-leading touch and tone:
Introducing the Classic Series of premium digital pianos from Kawai.

The Sound of a Grand Piano

One of the most important characteristics of any piano is its sound. Bright, mellow, dark or warm, a fine piano is detailed and expressive, and inspires the performer to play with their utmost feeling and emotion.

The Kawai EX concert grand piano is widely regarded by professional pianists and piano technicians as the finest instrument of its class. Hand-built by our distinguished Master Piano Artisans at the Shigeru Kawai Piano Research Laboratory in Ryuyo, Japan, each EX instrument undergoes a meticulous regulation and refinement process within a specially designed anechoic chamber. Following this lengthy preparation period, the completed EX piano receives a final series of rigorous quality inspections, before eventually taking pride of place on the centre stage of the world’s most prestigious musical institutions and concert halls.

The beautiful sound of the EX concert grand piano is at the heart of the new CS9, with all eighty-eight keys of this world-class instrument painstakingly recorded, analysed, and reproduced as high-fidelity digital waveforms. Recording each key individually in this way preserves the rich harmonic character of the original EX grand piano, and guarantees that the sound heard when playing one of the CS9’s wooden keys is a faithful representation of the acoustic source.

When playing the piano, the amount of pressure applied to the keyboard affects both the volume of the sound produced, and the unique tonal character of each note. Therefore, in order to gather a realistic acoustic portrait of the EX grand piano, not only is each key recorded individually, but also captured at various different strengths, ranging from gentle pianissimo to thunderous fortissimo. The new CS9 offers a highly detailed acoustic portrait, with Ultra Progressive Harmonic Imaging sound technology ensuring smooth tonal transitions across the keyboard and throughout the dynamic range.

The Touch of a Grand Piano

The second most important characteristic of a piano is its touch – how the keyboard responds beneath the finger tips, and the sense of connection that one feels with the instrument when playing.

Embracing many of the long-established principles associated with an acoustic piano, the CS9’s RM3 Grand keyboard action combines realistic materials, motion, and mechanism to recreate the exceptional touch of the finest concert grand pianos.

All eighty-eight black and white keys are crafted entirely from long pieces of wood, with finely textured ivory-like surfaces applied to absorb moisture and assist control. Each wooden key pivots smoothly on a central balance pin, replicating the familiar ‘seesaw’ motion of an acoustic piano action. When pressed, the back of each key triggers a grade-weighted hammer to play the note, while additional counter-weights placed at the front of the bass keys help to lighten their heavier touch during pianissimo passages.
Finally, the CS9’s let-off simulation even manages to recreate the subtle ‘notch’ sensation felt when playing the keys of a grand piano very softly, satisfying the expectations of the most discerning pianists, and underlining the instrument’s unique acoustic piano pedigree.

Soundboard Speaker System

Each Classic Series instrument features a high fidelity speaker system that has been specially designed to deliver deep bass and crisp treble frequencies, with the flagship CS9 also incorporating Kawai’s Soundboard Speaker System. This unique audio technology embraces the rich, harmonic qualities of wood, channelling sound energy onto a spruce soundboard to faithfully reproduce the unmistakable warmth and ambience of an acoustic piano.

The Variety of a Digital Piano

The CS9 digital piano features a variety of realistic acoustic piano sounds that are ideally suited to playing a wide range of Classical, Jazz, Pop, and Modern musical styles. Furthermore, the instrument’s Virtual Technician function allows players to perform voicing and regulation adjustments at the touch of a button, personalising the tonal character of the piano beneath their fingertips.

MP3 Audio Playback and Record

Modern USB features allow the CS9 to be connected to a computer for MIDI use, or to load and save data to USB memory devices directly. This USB to Device functionality allows songs recorded and stored in internal memory to be saved to USB for posterity, or standard MIDI files (SMF) downloaded from the internet to be conveniently played back without additional hardware.

USB memory devices can also be used to play back MP3 or WAV audio files, allowing musicians to learn the chords or melody for a new piece, or to simply play along with their favourite songs. It is even possible to record performances directly as MP3 or WAV files for emailing to family and friends, or casual listening away from the piano.

Built-in Lessons and Finger Exercises

The CS9’s convenient lesson function allows aspiring pianists to learn piano with a collection of songs from the popular Alfred Basic, Adult, and Premier course books. Traditional finger exercises, scales, and warm-up drills are also available, with a companion book of printed scores included to aid one’s practise.

Virtual Technician

An experienced piano technician is essential to fully realise the potential of a fine acoustic piano. In addition to meticulously tuning each individual note, the technician also performs numerous regulation and voicing adjustments that allow an instrument to truly sing. The Classic Series’ Virtual Technician functions simulate these refinements digitally, allowing performers to shape various aspects of the piano’s character to suit their unique personal preferences.

User Memory

You can easily customise your Concert Artist piano's initial settings. Choose a new starting instrument, favourite effect, touch curve, etc. Once you have the piano memorise it then you don't have to go through many buttons every time you turn the power on.

Dual, Split and 4 Hand Mode

When you layer two sounds (Dual) or use different sounds on the left and right (Split), the balance control is convenient for quick and easy adjustment of the two sounds' balance. Moreover, you can adjust the octave range of the second sound (Layer Octave Shift, Lower Octave Shift) in DUAL and also in SPLIT mode. Also you can set up the dynamic behaviour of the second DUAL sound (Layer Dynamics), to let you avoid having too high a volume on it.

In Four Hand Mode you can split the keyboard in two halfs by having the same octave range on both parts. So two pianists (i.e. teacher and pupil) can play and practise together on only one instrument.

Reverb and Effects
Five distinct reverb types simulate listening environments from private practice rooms to concert halls. Two special reverbs produce a 3D effect, surrounding you with sound from all directions. Digital sound effects such as delays (three types), Chorus, Tremolo and Rotary Speakers (two types) add to the remarkable realism of the Concert Artist sounds. You can adjust the digital effects and - for further use - save.

Metronome and drum rhythms

In addition to the standard metronome click you can choose from 100 drum rhythms for your convenience on the CS9. Play along with a complete drum set. You can load various rhythms and change their tempo. Never before was practising so much fun.