Kawai ES920 Review: Console Action in a Portable Case

Who Should Buy It

Key Specifications

What Separates the ES920 From the Mid-Range

The ES120, Roland FP-30X and Yamaha P-225 are excellent mid-range portables with compact actions and small speakers. The ES920 is built differently. Its RHIII action is the same keyboard Kawai fits to its CN201 console, with three sensors, a let-off simulation and counterweights in the bass keys. Its engine samples both the Shigeru Kawai SK-EX and the Kawai EX concert grands at every one of the 88 keys. Its speakers are 20 watts a side. And it has an OLED display, USB audio, Bluetooth audio and MIDI and balanced-quality line outputs.

The cost is weight and price: 37.5 pounds and roughly twice the ES120. The ES920 is a portable in the sense that it has no legs, not in the sense that you will enjoy carrying it every day.

Responsive Hammer III

RHIII is a graded hammer action with a longer key pivot than the compact actions in mid-range portables, which gives more leverage and a more natural feel when playing toward the back of the keys. Triple sensors register fast repetition accurately, let-off adds the slight notch a grand's escapement produces at pianissimo, and counterweights in the lower keys lighten the touch for soft playing without losing the hammer's mass. Key tops are Kawai's Ivory Touch textured surface.

Against the Roland PHA-4 Standard, RHIII is a step up in authenticity: heavier, more even and more controllable at the quiet end. Against the Korg RH3 on the D1, it is lighter and more refined with let-off the Korg lacks. For a pianist who practices on an acoustic and wants a portable that does not feel like a compromise, this is the action to try.

Harmonic Imaging XL and the Grands

Kawai's engine samples each key individually rather than stretching samples across octaves, and on the ES920 it does so for two concert grands: the SK-EX, Kawai's handmade flagship, and the EX. The SK-EX is warm, rich and detailed; the EX is more direct and brighter. Both respond to the full range of touch and both bloom with damper and string resonance when the pedal is down. Thirty-eight sounds add uprights, electric pianos, organs, strings, harpsichord, bass and pads.

The Virtual Technician, reachable from the panel or the PianoRemote app, adjusts voicing, resonance depth, hammer delay, touch curve, temperament and more. Polyphony is 256 notes. The 2 x 20 W speakers are the most powerful in any portable we have researched at this price and fill a living room or a small venue without an amplifier.

Connectivity

Left and right quarter-inch line outputs, two headphone jacks, USB with audio and MIDI, Bluetooth audio and Bluetooth MIDI, a line input and the pedal ports cover every home, studio and stage use. USB audio means the ES920 records its own sound into a DAW without an interface, which the ES120 cannot do. An internal recorder captures MIDI and audio to a USB flash drive.

Setup, Stand and Pedals

The box contains the piano, a music rest, the F-10H sustain pedal and a power adapter. Kawai's HM-5 stand and GFP-3 triple pedal turn the ES920 into a console with soft, sostenuto and half-damper pedals and a proper pedal feel. On an X-stand it needs a sturdy double-braced model because of the weight, and on stage it fits a heavy-duty 88-key case.

ES920 Against the Alternatives

Against the ES120, the ES920 has the far better action, both grands sampled rather than one, double the speaker power, USB audio and a display, for double the price and ten more pounds. Against the Roland FP-30X, it has a more authentic action, richer sound and stronger speakers at a much higher price; the FP-60X is the closer Roland rival. Against the Yamaha P-525, which we have not reviewed here, both are flagship portables and the choice usually comes down to the Kawai's warmth against the Yamaha's CFX brightness.

Buy the ES920 when you want console-grade playing in a case without legs and you are prepared to pay for it.

Long-Term Fit

Owners of the ES920 rarely upgrade to another portable because nothing above it in weight makes sense; they move to a Kawai CA console with wooden keys when they want more. For a working pianist who teaches, gigs and practices on one instrument, it is the kind of piano that lasts a decade, and Kawai's Virtual Technician means it can be revoiced as tastes change rather than replaced.

Strengths and Limitations

Alternatives to Consider

Kawai ES120

Players who prize a warm, acoustic-like piano tone and a light, well-connected portable

Read the Kawai ES120 review →

Roland FP-30X

Anyone who wants the complete mid-range portable: realistic action, generous polyphony, every connection

Read the Roland FP-30X review →

Yamaha P-225

Players who want Yamaha's flagship CFX tone in a slim portable with proper outputs

Read the Yamaha P-225 review →

Head-to-Head Comparisons

• Kawai ES920 vs Casio Privia PX-S7000 Compare →

Questions Buyers Ask