NV12 officially announced on 22/08/2025

jenpal

Using google translate, the last line under the Specifications section shows:

List Price: ¥1,452,000 (¥1,320,000 excluding tax)

which is around $9,765 USD / 8,417 EUR / 15,206 AUD based on today’s exchange rates.

johanibraaten

jenpal Oh, that’s better than I thought.💸

CyberGene

Did they add key sensors in addition to the hammer sensors? The lack of advanced release behavior on the previous ones was a huge letdown. I also remember people finding the hammer shanks snapped which was apparently a faulty design but not sure if they fixed it in the NV10s or maybe now in the NV12? Reading about the speakerless design with a soundboard transducer only, I’m wondering if they rely on regular audio samples or specially recorded samples. If it’s the latter, that would be a great thing but knowing Kawai and their low quality speaker reproduction, I doubt they suddenly made a quantum leap in terms of sound but who knows, everything is possible.

jenpal

CyberGene Did they add key sensors in addition to the hammer sensors?

A snippet of the TOUCH section (translated by google translate) mentions a sensor in key touch down. Not sure though if this is the key sensor you are expecting.

Grand Piano Playing Feel

Equipped with a Kawai grand piano key action, featuring carbon fiber-reinforced ABS resin for key components, achieving both high rigidity and lightweight design. It offers a light touch, excellent control over rapid and soft keystrokes, a wide dynamic range, and high durability with little performance degradation even after extended use.

Furthermore, it features a high-resolution sensor that can detect the player's key touch down to a more delicate level, recreating the rich expressiveness of a grand piano.

jenpal

I wonder if there are left and right line outputs for external speakers. It doesn’t seem to be indicated in the photos, description, nor in the specifications. 🤔

David B

At this point in my musical/piano journey, when it comes to digital pianos, internal speakers are superfluous. The idea of having no internal speakers in this new Kawai is very appealing.

jenpal List Price: ¥1,452,000 (¥1,320,000 excluding tax)

which is around $9,765 USD / 8,417 EUR / 15,206 AUD based on today’s exchange rates.

If it retails for under 10k here in the US, that might definitely be worth looking into. I paid ~8k for my N1X and was always happy with that price point for a true hybrid. Also, Kawai seems to have gotten a bad rep for customer service in other parts of the world, but I found the US customer service to be exemplary when I owned Kawai digitals.

I'll really be in trouble if a VPC2 drops in the next few days.

iternabe

jenpal Using google translate, the last line under the Specifications section shows:

List Price: ¥1,452,000 (¥1,320,000 excluding tax)

which is around $9,765 USD / 8,417 EUR / 15,206 AUD based on today’s exchange rates.

For reference, NV10S list price on Kawai Japan website is ¥1,012,000. Therefore NV12's price of ¥1,452,000 would be a 43.5% increase.

Pete14

HZPiano This, gals 'n guys, definitely looks like not another boring incremental almost-insignificant-update!

This!

It will be the first digital that ditches speakers altogether, and did I mention how much I like the design?

jiang

It appears to be the result of a new internal sound source and new panel resonance technology, with no apparent changes to the keybed. If purchased as a MIDI keyboard, I would consider a used model priced at $3,000 to be within my acceptable range (given its decent built-in speaker functionality). I believe I could purchase a used model in good condition at this price in China within two years.
Additionally, I noticed that the Onkyo technology featured in the NV10S has been omitted from the promotional materials. As far as I understand, Onkyo has increasingly resembled a Japanese company with Chinese backing in recent years (Akai, after being acquired by InMusic, is no longer a Japanese company, while Onkyo maintains a small-scale presence in Japan). A few years ago, there was a Chinese startup company specializing in electric pianos that claimed Kawai's panel resonance technology patent originated from them, and Kawai's CEO had personally visited them. This company has yet to publicly launch its own products, having only sold a few finished units sporadically. There is some information about this company (individual) here: https://space.bilibili.com/8481333/dynamic

David Lai

Reading the above comments, and knowing now that the NV12 has an audio interface feature gives me hope. But, like David B, I guess I'll be in deep trouble if they release an upgrade to the VPC1! At the end of the day, I'm not interested in the built-in sounds. And as for in-line (sweetspot) speaker setups, I've already thought of a way to achieve it without any built-in stuff from the piano cabinet. So, if I can now start saving up for such a keyboard, my dreams of a hybrid may come true.

ClothEaredNincompoop

HZPiano This, gals 'n guys, definitely looks like not another boring incremental almost-insignificant-update!

For that there's the new Kawai CX series replacing the current KDP models. 😉

But that's a separate topic…

OlivierW

Silent key now detected? 😂😂😂 Compared to the poor MIDI detection, especially when you compare it to the SH3 or Yamaha Hybrid systems… not so sure.

HZPiano

ClothEaredNincompoop

Indeed! How utterly boring that is!!

Mehn oh mehn.

🤦

David B

I must of had a temporary memory loss because the NV10S retails for almost 20k here in the US.

For a moment I actually thought that the NV12 would retail under 10k here in the US. The joke is on me. 😳

The NV12 will never be even remotely affordable here in the US for me. The rumor is that the new Tesla "Model 2" will be under 20k.

What would you rather have, the NV12 or a new Tesla? 😀

God Bless,
David

amc252

IMHO, for that price tag, it should have onboard sounds that blow the socks out of any VST, and I doubt that's the case.

Pete14

David B What would you rather have, the NV12 or a new Tesla?

NV12! 😁

Keep in mind that it is common practice to over-inflate MSRPs for these type of instruments, so I’m certain that the actual “street” price will be much lower than 20K.

For some perspective, I was quoted 10.5K for the original NV10 (all included), but of course, that was a while ago, so if we adjust for inflation, tariffs, etc, the price for the NV12 will be higher, but once again, nowhere near 20K (I’m thinking more like 12K to 14K).

Beware: dealers will size you up, and if they sense fear, the will pounce; so walk in there like you have the biggest D south of the Mississippi, look them straight in the eye, and make them an offer they can’t refuse……🤠

jenpal

David B I must of had a temporary memory loss because the NV10S retails for almost 20k here in the US.

Wow! That’s double the retail price here in Australia, David. 😲

Currently, NV10S is retail for $15K AUD here, but I remember you could get it much lower when I was considering it over a year ago.

Pete14

jenpal Currently, NV10S is retail for $15K AUD here, but I remember you could get it much lower when I was considering it over a year ago.

My point exactly!

It is a common practice to over-inflate the MSRP, and the dealer will always try to get you to pay the most, so yes, someone will end up paying 19K for the NV12, and think it a great deal, but the next customer (if well informed) will pay much less for the very same instrument…..

David Lai

Pete14 I hope I can be that well informed person in the future. Therefore, I’m not rushing out to buy it now.

MacMacMac

Yikes! $19k for a Kawai NV10S ?
That reminds me of the $20k price for a Yamaha N3X that I saw in a nearby shop five years ago.
So ridiculous K wants to match ridiculous Y ?
Ridiculous!

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