Description
CN39 – A new standard in digital piano value and performance.
Combining the class-leading Responsive Hammer III keyboard action and stunning SK-EX, SK-5, and EX grand piano sounds, with a powerful Onkyo 4 speaker delivery system, convenient USB audio features, Bluetooth® connectivity, and a broad selection of sounds, the CN39 delivers impressive specifications at an unbeatable price.
Features
- Class-leading Responsive Hammer III keyboard action
- Ivory Touch key surfaces, triple sensor, let-off, counterweights
- Progressive Harmonic Imaging sound with 88-key sampling
- Shigeru Kawai SK-EX & Kawai EX concert grand piano sounds
- Powerful four speaker delivery system developed by Onkyo
- Integrated Bluetooth® MIDI and Audio wireless technology
- MP3/WAV/SMF playback, record, and overdub to USB
- Built-in classical etudes and Alfred lesson books
- Spatial Headphone Sound for enhanced depth and realism
- Attractive cabinet with cheekblock control panel and OLED display
Experience music, together.
Kawai’s latest CN series digital pianos provide a realistic full-sized keyboard, beautiful grand piano sounds, and headphone jacks that allow silent practise at any time of the day. These affordable instruments also offer a variety of inspiring features suitable for everyone in the family, and have attractive cabinet designs that will complement any room. The new CN series from Kawai – experience music, together.
The Touch of a Grand Piano: Responsive Hammer III keyboard action
The CN39’s class-leading Responsive Hammer III keyboard action recreates the supreme touch of an acoustic grand piano, with its realistic movement and rigid, springless design providing a smooth and natural piano playing experience. The instrument’s triple-sensor key detection system enhances responsiveness and accuracy, while structural reinforcements throughout the action assembly help to minimise noise and key wobble during staccato and fortissimo passages.
The weight of the keyboard is appropriately graded to mirror the heavier bass hammers and lighter treble hammers of an acoustic piano, while let-off simulation recreates the subtle ‘notch’ sensation felt when softly playing the keys of a grand piano. These important characteristics allow discerning pianists to practise their expanding repertoire with confidence, and ensure that there are no unpleasant surprises when called upon to perform using the finest acoustic grand pianos.
Authentic 88-key Counterweights
In addition to grade-weighted hammers, the Responsive Hammer III keyboard action also features counterweights embedded within each black and white key.
As with an acoustic piano, these finely balanced weights help to lighten the touch of the keyboard during pianissimo passages, while adding a feel of greater substance when playing with force.
Triple sensor key detection
The Responsive Hammer III keyboard action utilises an accurate triple-sensor key detection system for enhanced playing realism.
The added third sensor improves responsiveness when playing the same key repeatedly, and unlike conventional two sensor keyboard actions found in many digital pianos, allows the sound of a single note to be gradually ‘layered’ without the previous tone being lost.
In addition, Kawai’s action technology also monitors the speed at which each key is lifted, influencing the release character of piano sounds, and providing a greater range of expression between staccato and legato playing.
Ivory Touch key surfaces
The impressive CN39 features Kawai’s highly regarded Ivory Touch key surfaces as standard. This finely textured material gently absorbs fingertip perspiration and oils to assist playing control, and possesses a natural, matte finish that is smooth but not slippery.
Furthermore, this moisture is absorbed without dirt or grease permeating the surface, allowing the keytops to be wiped clean easily using just a damp cloth.
Let-off Simulation
As the most authentic digital piano keyboard action in its class, Responsive Hammer III even reproduces the ‘let-off’ characteristic of acoustic piano actions.
This subtle ‘notch’ sensation can be felt when playing the keys of a grand piano very gently, and may be used by experienced pianists to aid control when playing pianissimo passages.
The Sound of a Grand Piano: Two world-class instruments
Earning a reputation as the ‘premier pianos of Japan’, Shigeru Kawai instruments grace the stages of concert halls and musical institutions throughout the world, and are prized for their outstanding tonal clarity and exceptional dynamic range.
The new CN39 captures the magnificent tone of two premier Shigeru Kawai instruments: the flagship SK-EX Concert and mid-sized SK-5 Studio grand pianos, allowing musicians to enjoy the contrasting properties of each.
In addition, the CN39 also features the distinctive sound of Kawai’s highly acclaimed EX concert grand piano, which has frequently been selected by professional pianists in such prestigious events as the Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Rubinstein international piano competitions, among others.
All three instruments are faithfully reproduced with full 88-key sampling using proprietary Harmonic Imaging™ sound technology, to establish a new standard in digital piano tonal quality.
Full 88-key stereo piano sampling
The rich, expressive sound of the SK-EX and EX concert grand pianos is at the heart of the CN39, with all eighty-eight keys of these world-class instruments painstakingly recorded, meticulously analysed, and accurately reproduced as high-fidelity digital waveforms.
Recording each key individually in this way – as opposed to stretching the same tone over several different notes – preserves the grand pianos’ unique harmonic character, and guarantees that the sound heard when playing any one of the CN39’s weighted keys is a faithful representation of the original acoustic source.
Harmonic Imaging technology
When playing a fine piano, the amount of pressure applied to the keyboard affects not only the volume of the sound produced, but also the unique tonal character of each note. Therefore, in order to construct a realistic acoustic portrait of each grand piano, not only is each key recorded individually, but also at a wide variety of different volumes, ranging from gentle pianissimo to thunderous fortissimo.
The CN29 offers a highly detailed acoustic portrait, employing Kawai’s proprietary Progressive Harmonic Imaging sampling technology to ensure smooth tonal transitions across the keyboard and throughout the entire dynamic range.
Personalised piano adjustments
The knowledge and skill of an experienced piano technician is essential to bring out the best of a fine acoustic piano. In addition to tuning each note, the technician also performs numerous regulation and voicing adjustments that allow the instrument to truly sing.
The CN29’s Virtual Technician ‘Smart Mode’ simulates these refinements digitally, with ten preset configurations that intelligently adjust various characteristics of the grand piano to match different musical styles.
For greater flexibility, ‘Advanced Mode’ allows players to perform touch weight and voicing adjustments, regulate hammer and key release noises, and fine-tune string and damper resonances using the dedicated Virtual Technician iPad app.
Powerful Effects & Reverb
The CN39’s powerful digital effects engine enhances the instrument’s superior core sounds, applying additional layers of detail and realism that bring performances to life.
Studio-quality reverb allows pianists to position themselves within one of six acoustic environments, ranging from a small practise room to an inspirational grand cathedral.
Premium audio technologies, Powered by Onkyo
Developed in collaboration with Onkyo, one of Japan’s leading premium audio equipment manufacturers, the CN39 features a brand new motherboard and speaker system design. These premium components combine to deliver best-in-class audio quality, producing an extremely rich, clear sound with minimal distortion.
High-performance 4-speaker output system
Unrivalled in its price range, the CN39’s high-performance 4-speaker output system is designed to reproduce the harmonic spectrum of an acoustic piano. Lower-range frequencies are delivered through the underside of the instrument, while mid and high frequencies are projected outward via top-mounted speakers, resulting in an expansive tone that closely mirrors the sound projection of a grand piano.
The Variety of a Digital Piano: Convenience & Flexibility
Complementing the instrument’s class-leading Responsive Hammer III keyboard action and Progressive Harmonic Imaging piano sounds, the CN39 also offers a strong selection of digital piano features that further enhance one’s musical enjoyment.
Wireless Bluetooth® connectivity, USB audio record/playback, Dual, Split, and Four Hands keyboard modes, and a rich assortment of instrumental voices add greater variety to players’ performances, while the convenient metronome function and integrated lessons ensure that regular practise is both productive and engaging for aspiring pianists.
Integrated Bluetooth® connectivity
In addition to standard USB and MIDI jacks for connecting to computers or other instruments, the CN39 also features integrated Bluetooth® MIDI and Audio technologies that allow the instrument to communicate with supported smart devices wirelessly.
Once paired with a phone, tablet, or laptop, CN39 owners can enjoy a wide variety of exciting music-related apps that enhance their learning and playing experience, or stream audio from songs and videos directly through the instrument’s premium amplifier and speaker systems without the need to connect additional cables.
Rich sound selection
Supplementing the beautiful acoustic piano voices, the CN39 also features an excellent selection of additional sounds, ranging from electric pianos and drawbar or church organs, to strings, human choirs, and synth pads, including a full palette of GM2 compatible instrument and drumkits.
The Dual playing mode also allows two different sounds, such as grand piano and strings, to be layered together, while the Split and Four Hands modes divide the keyboard into two independent sections.
The latter feature is particularly useful in learning environments, allowing teacher and student (or student and student) to play together at the same time using a single instrument.
Flexible USB connectivity
The CN39 is equipped with modern USB connectors that not only allow the instrument to be connected to a computer for MIDI use, but also to load and save data to USB memory devices directly.
This latter USB to Device functionality allows favourite instrument registrations, and memorable recorder songs stored within internal memory to be safely preserved on USB flash drives, or for 16-track standard MIDI files (SMF) to be recorded, played back, and enjoyed using the instrument’s superb Progressive Harmonic Imaging sounds.
MP3/WAV Playback & Record
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 and overdub entire performances directly as MP3 or WAV audio files for emailing to family and friends, or casual listening away from the piano.
Grand Feel Pedal System
Reinforcing the CN Series’ reputation as the most realistic digital pianos in their price range is Kawai’s Grand Feel Pedal System. This unique feature accurately replicates the position and individual weighting of the damper, soft, and sostenuto pedals of a Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano to further enhance the CN39’s acoustic piano-like authenticity.
Superior headphone experience
The CN39’s Spatial Headphone Sound (SHS) technology enhances the depth and realism of the instrument’s sound when listening through headphones or earphones. The player can select one of three different acoustic presets that adjust the spatial positioning of the sound, while also helping to reduce auditory fatigue when using earphones or headphones for extended periods of time.
In addition, the CN39 also allows players to select a variety of headphone types (Open, Semi-open, Closed, In-Ear, Canal, etc.) for an optimised listening experience.
Built-in lesson function
The CN39’s convenient lesson function allows aspiring pianists to learn piano with classical Czerny, Chopin, Burgmüller, Beyer, Bach, and Beethoven etudes, or a collection of songs from the popular Alfred’s Basic, Adult, and Premier course books.
With a strong emphasis on acoustic piano realism, the CN39 also features traditional finger exercises, scales, and warm-up drills, and includes companion books for all classical scores to further aid one’s piano development.
Grand performance within a modern, premium cabinet
The CN39’s modern cabinet incorporates a curved leg design, with minimalist toe blocks for additional stability. Its flat fascia and tall upper board give the instrument a traditional, upright piano-like quality, while the extruded side panels contribute to a premium appearance that belies the CN39’s affordable price.
