Kawai CN201 Review

We rated the Kawai CN201 an 8.5/10. This digital piano is a relatively new release that is hard to find in stores. The CN201 is a mid-range instrument that plays very close to a grand piano, especially for the price.  

Some of my favorite features of the CN201 are the updated grand piano sounds, and highly adjustable settings, such as the touch curve settings and the included virtual technician. While I wish that the CN201 has a  powerful 4-speaker sound system like the CN301, it does come at a lower price than its fancier brother.  I ended up taking off a point and a half because the sound recorder doesn’t hold many tunes, there are a small number of sounds, and the speakers aren’t as loud or thoughtfully placed as the CN301’s are. However, this is still a great instrument.

Overview

According to the maker, the Kawai CN201 “Embodies all the qualities of the Kawai’s award-winning CN Series Digital Pianos which have been reimagined with authentic piano samples, high-end features, and a responsive keyboard touch that is considered by many to be among the very best available.

The CN201 was designed to replace the CN29, a popular digital Kawai; the 201 has many new features that increase the value of the instrument. That being said, the new CN201 is significantly more expensive than the older model; The CN29 costs a fraction of the price at $1,700, whereas the CN201 costs a whopping $2,900. So, let’s see if the big tag is worth it, by further delving into the features of the instrument. 

CN201: Features

A Stunning Keybed All-Around

Updates, updates, and updates galore! The RHIII grand feel action has been updated to have a much more reliable and authentic feeling (this includes both new models, the CN201 and CN301). This fixed many of the issues Kawai had with their digital instruments like the MP7SE, which I reviewed previously.

 The white keys are textured by the CN201 and made of synthetic ivory, which adds another level of authenticity to the feel of the instrument. Furthermore, note repetition in this model is astounding. 

3 Instrument Enhancements

The CN201 offers 3 enhancements, including tone control, brilliance, and low-volume balance. Tone control allows the player to change the character of a given sound to their liking, whereas brilliance adds a golden warmth to a given sound. Low volume balance is a feature that makes your playing experience more harmonically sound, even when you are playing at low volumes. Many of Kawai’s instruments have these 3 features- They add a lot of flexibility to the instrument as a whole. 

Grand Feel Pedal System 

Another rave-worthy feature that can be found in the Kawai CN201 is the grand feel pedal system. This included triple-pedal board has a half-pedal support, so you can control how much of an effect you get from the damper, sostenuto, or sustain. For a mid-grade digital, Kawai has done a very nice job on the key feel and pedal feel and made the quite realistic. Pianists who typically play a grand piano will feel at home with the Kawai CN201.  

Redesigned Control Panel

This model’s control panel has been revamped since the CN29- As much as I love the CN29, I find that it is much easier to navigate the updated panel of the Kawai CN201. 

19 Great Sounds

While 19 sounds aren’t very many when we stack up this model against some of Roland’s, they admittedly sound great. The updated Shigeru Kawai sounds are opulent. Plus, the Kawai CN201 has 88-note piano sampling in its sound engine, which means that the audio engineers sampled the voices over and over again to create a more three-dimensional playing experience. 

Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio

Many digital pianos only have either one or the other when it comes to Bluetooth MIDI and audio. On the CN29, you aren’t able to stream audio on the instrument itself, but on the updated Kawai CN201 you can. I love it when digital instruments double as a big Bluetooth speaker, especially for weekend game nights or house parties. 

Basic but High-Quality Onboard Recorder 

The small but mighty onboard recorder can hold up to 3 songs, and about 10,000 notes. This means this model isn’t the most ideal for a film composer, but it has more than enough storage space to jot down your ideas. 

Other Notable Features: 

• Compatibility with PiaBookPlayer apps
• Concert Magic
• Virtual Technician
• Lessons and Exercises
• Sliding keyboard cover to protect the instrument 
• Dual Mode, Four Hands 
• Tuning
• Transpose

The CN201 has great app compatibility, and 40 songs in Kawai’s Concert Magic. The instrument also has many of those essential features us pianists seek, such as dual-mode, duet (four hands) mode, tuning, transpose, and a metronome. 

I’m especially fond of the virtual technician, and the adjustable touch curve that’s inside of it. The virtual technician has a bevy of features of other features, including the following parameters: String resonance, hammer delay, topboard, key-off effect, half-pedal adjustment, and more. There are 18 parameters in total. There is also a new addition to the virtual technician, which allows you to adjust the release time.  You do need to use the PianoRemote app to access these parameters, but it’s still pretty handy. 

Another big selling point here is the included exercises, such as the Hanon finger exercises, and timeless classical piano pieces. 

Specifications

• Piano type: Digital cabinet piano
• Weight: 95 lbs
• Dimensions: 
• Width: 53.5 inches
• Depth: 16 inches
• Height: 40.25 inches
• Colors: 3 options (Black, rosewood, satin white) 
• FX: 6 reverbs 

Who is it suitable for?

The Kawai CN201 is best suited for those who are looking for a realistic-feeling digital piano. It will serve those who are used to playing on grand pianos, very well. If you are a person who likes lots of bells and whistles, you might not be happy with the CN201- It doesn’t have a ton of ‘fun’ features. In short, this is a serious instrument! The CN201 best serves classical pianists who want hyper-realistic yet traditional tones, with a buttery, super-responsive grand piano touch. It’s a good mid-range starter instrument, but I believe that more advanced pianists will love it, too. 

Kawai CN201 in Action 

Check out this demo with Merriam music to hear the piano in action and to learn a bit more about this instrument, and the CN lien as a whole.

One thing that I learned from this video is that, during the pandemic, the producer of the CN29’s sound chip stopped supplying Kawai, so the maker had to switch things up and create a new sound chip with another company. When I tried the CN201, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was about the sound that was so much better, but I’m sure that that contributed to it! 

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Many aspects of this piano have been redesigned since the previous model, which results in many ‘pros’!  
• It’s easy to use, and it’s convenient
• It’s highly adjustable
• It has a new sound chip
• The upgraded tones are harmonically rich and a grade above the CN29’s
• The sampling is 88-keys
• The special headphone technology makes the plugged-in sound great
• It’s low maintenance
  

As a whole, the CN series is a very solid line to choose from. And when it comes to the CN201, the new updates (including an updated control panel, improved grand piano tones, and a new adjustable release time) result in an even higher-caliber instrument than before.  The versatile virtual technician means you can adjust pretty much everything on the newer CN pianos, such as delay time, and the touch curve. Plus, the new sound chips and sound that come from the headphones are twice as good as that of the previous model. 

And, as always, getting a digital piano is easier to take care of than an upright one. 

Cons

• There are only 19 instrument sounds
• It doesn’t have ebony touch 
• The song recorder is pretty minimalistic
• The speaker system pales in comparison to the Kawai CN301’s
• It’s expensive for a mid-range digital piano 

If you can afford to buy something a bit more expensive, I’d recommend the CN301. It has a 4-speaker system, as opposed to the CN201’s double-speakers (more on the CN301 vs CN201 a bit later in our comparison section!). 

Another big con for some is the price- You could get an upright (acoustic) piano for the price of this digital one. If you are game for a bit of maintenance, this might be an option you want to consider. Unfortunately, this digital isn’t really cheaper than uprights at this point in time. 

Reviews / User Experience 

Since this model is so new and difficult to keep on the shelves, it’s not currently available on Amazon or Sweetwater, but this model does have a full 5/5 star rating on Google Reviews. 

Some of the comments stated that the instrument is “Perfect”, has a “very realistic touch” and is “beautiful!”. Unlike the MP7SE, there were no manufacturing issues. I wasn’t even able to find a single bad review! 

Comparable Instruments

• For an upgrade: Kawai CN301 ($3,799)

• For a comparable used model: Kawai CN29
• For a more economical cabinet piano with more sounds: Roland RP701 ($1,750)

The Kawai CN301 and Kawai CN201 are two very similar instruments. They were both released in the summer of last year, and share many features, such as the updated grand feel touch, and upgraded sounds. If I had to choose between the two, though, I’d save up for the CN301. This model has the same exact touch, but with a better speaker system, and twice the number of voices. 

If you are looking for a used instrument with a similar soundbank, try out the CN29. You won’t get the new sound chip, but I can attest that the fact that the CN29 still feels and sounds great. 

One of Kawai’s biggest competitors is Roland: the Roland RP701 is a digital piano with over 300 sounds. This digital piano has a wide range of voices and included drum sets, and also hammer-action keys. While the inner workings of this model are pretty different than the CN201, I thought I’d mention it here, because it has more sounds inside of a similar cabinet design. In my opinion, the sound bank isn’t quite as consistent in quality as the one in the Kawai CN201, but you do get more quantity/variety (the voices aren’t all so traditional, so the application of the digital piano is a bit different).

Quick View 

Kawai CN201: Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Kawai CN201 review! In conclusion, the Kawai CN201 is a high-quality digital piano with many features that make this mid-range piano feel like a grand. While it doesn’t have the 360 sound of its older sibling, the CN301, you still get a lot of excellence for it being the newer, younger sibling of the CN line. 

Music quote of the week: 

“The creative process is like music which takes root with extraordinary force and rapidity. – Peter Tchaikovsky