Kawai CE220 Digital Piano

This piano is a huge step up from my old casio celviano d-piano. The sound is amazing, very close the real thing. When purchasing this piano I was fixated on the wooden key action as being the major reason for my choosing, but boy am i happy with what this instrument can produce. Of course when using the speakers the sound isn't going to resonate as well or naturally as an acoustic piano, but with a good pair of headphones the sound is rich and convincing. You wont be able to tell the difference between the sound of a grand piano on a good recording and the sound coming out of the headphone jack on the 220. The keys are also the great quality i expected. Although its not synthetic ivory, it still feels great. I'm not sure exactly what the material is, some sort of enamel maybe. Anyway, the keys are not slick at all like the plastic ones on the older/cheaper d-pianos so you will be able to get a good grip on the keys. The weighting on the keys is graduated from the bass to the treble to simulate the real thing. It is not exaggerated but subtle, which i like. some people have compared the key action to feeling like an upright piano, but I would say it is better than most uprights; the cheaper and mid-priced ones anyway. And, the touch response is much more sensitive than the clunky upright action. thus, overall, I would place the action somewhere between an upright and a baby grand.Nothing feels cheap on this piano. The build on my older casio was actually decent, but the button panel was extremely cheap feeling, like tin, and almost felt like it was going to pop out every time i turned the thing on. The 220 panel board feels nice and the buttons also feel well made; like they will last a while. The wood and finish is also very nice. The music stand can be laid flat without detaching so I can place my laptop on it.I would say my only gripe is that the pedals could feel a little more authentic. They still use the stiff spring system similar to my casio, perhaps a little better. However, it does the job and there is the half-pedal feature with the damper pedal, which i think is standard on most new d-pianos.Kawai also has the ca-65/95 series which is, in a sense, an upgrade to this model; having an improved key-action and even more authentic sound. But, they are almost $2000 dollars more for that 15% extra you get. This I think is the best bargain out there right now.Oh, and it DOES come with a bench, a nice one in fact, contrary to what another person said.

Half of the keys weren't functional. Instrument Pro has a phone number listed on Amazon that doesn't work! Kawai's service line goes to voicemail.

Amazing piano for the price. I have been classically trained since I was 8 and have recently tried to jump back into it after a 2 year break for college. The sound is spectacular paired with my sony mdr 7506 headphones and the weighted realistic keys are something if expect on a more expensive model. With a graduate budget and NYC apartment, this is pretty much the best option on the market (aside from the kawai cn25).Things to keep in mind:-my friend played this piano when we found it at a shop and instantly said that the keys were hard to play (stiff). You can adjust this but I personally had no problem with it. You should only mess around with that feature once you really get a feel for the keys-the metronome is limited-delivery was a hassle. This has nothing to do with the product, but the company gave me a window (9-12) and 2 hrs later I called the service line and they said they were running behind. No kidding. I left for work, had to get my super sign for it, and my small 100 lb frame had to push this 180+ lb monster into my apartment. The box also had a giant hole on the corner. No damage to the piano though (supreme packing skills, amazon)-it was a pain to set up. I received this package when I was alone in the apartment. Setting up the body was fine after you manage the matryoshka doll packaging (so.many.boxes). It was the heavy keyboard that was a struggle. I used many chairs and took many breaks to set this up. Learn from my mistake. Do not do this alone (it's in the instructions too)-the buttons are placed in an annoying location. This is 100% my personal preference, but on the rare occasion that my hand brushes the front of the piano mid song, I'm suddenly playing a harpsichord. It's a struggle.4 stars for graded + weighted keys, great sound (through headphones), and sleek look.Minus 1 star for the metronome, the lack of portability, and you REALLY need to read the manual to get the most out of this keyboard. The buttons are far from intuitive. Hope this helps!

This model's Graded Hammer AWA PROII with wooden keys and rear top-mounted key contacts should be adopted as an industry standard for all digital keyboards in this price range. Please include Auto-Accompaniment in the next generation of the CE220.

I did my research before purchasing this baby. I read many online reviews and watched a number of videos (paid more attention on how it sounds like compared to other brands) and even went to a local store to hear how other digital pianos (namely Yamaha) sound like.Sound wise, it is indeed the best sounded digital piano under $2000.The touch is good, somewhat stiff though. It can be better if it's more sensitive to touch...The wooden keys do feel much better than the plastic ones...It is heavy and need two people to set it up (actually just for the final lift).I especially like the USB-to-device feature. I connected it directly to my ipad and find many free app for piano learning, which brings even more fun for both my kids and I.I can't say it's worth paying twice as much for similar digital pianos but this one does stand out!

I just want to say, I'm a previous owner of a Kawai RX-2 grand piano that I had to part with. This piano has a magnificent feel, sounds are amazing, and I have only yet to scratch the surface on features. I was looking for a piano to replace my last one, and bought this sight unseen. Did a lot of reading. It is built solid. Action almost identical to my RX-2. Built in sound system is more than adequate . Headphones sound wonderful. It is very well packed and came delivered without an issue. Well worth the investment!