It seems that, for sound, you prefer a VST configuration despite the inconvenience and fragility that sometimes comes with that. That’s a big price difference to justify. In Germany, the NU1X costs 4400€, the NV5 6000. Could I still run my current Mac-VST-Marantz setup on the Kawai ? Could I use it with the Yamaha ? What’d be different ? I’ve read here that the NU1X has a USB audio interface and the Kawai doesn’t. I’m curious about the action, is it a bit harder going than the CA-99? Given that it’s the CA-98 sound engine afaik, I don’t hold out much hope for the headphone sound. So it seems I’d be happiest with a nice hybrid action and the sound of a VST. Better headphone sound but still not on par with my VST setup. At first, the action seemed a bit rough but I got used to and liked it after a bit. The action was ok but not quite what I’d wanted. Much to my surprise I didn’t care for the headphone output at all.
Today I went to Kirstein and tried out the CA-99. My initial plan: wait for Yamaha CLP 700series and compare to Kawai CA99 I mainly play with headphones due to cumbersome studio monitor setup, but headphone sound will remain very important. Hooked up to iMac, The Grandeur VST, sound output to Marantz HD-DAC1, headphones Beyerdynamic T5 & Amiron.
