Aures is available on Kawai K-300, K-500 and K-600   RRP from £8,111 to £12,222

Acoustic Tranquillity

The sound of hammers striking strings, resonating through solid spruce. Warm vibrations that illuminate a room, leaving its audience enchanted. The natural voice of an acoustic piano is truly unmistakable.

A fine piano entices musicians to perform with spontaneity and passion, yet such unbridled expressiveness may not always be appropriate. Indeed, in certain environments, an acoustic piano can prove disruptive; the diligent tones of children practising scales are unlikely to be welcomed by other family members wishing to watch television, while even the most gentle, soothing Chopin preludes have the potential to irritate neighbours if performed after an acceptable time.

Fortunately, AnyTimeX3 instruments incorporate an acoustic muting feature with powerful digital audio components, allowing pianists to continue enjoying the distinctive feeling of a traditional piano, while listening discreetly using private headphones. The AnyTimeX3 models come with newly developed Kawai SH-9 headphones. These are specially matched to the internal sound source of the instruments.

Impressive Soundboard System with 4 Transducers

AURES instruments are equipped with a newly developed resonance system that allows the soundboard of a Kawai K series upright piano to also deliver digital audio, such as commercially available music, or the sound of other musical instruments, without the aid of additional speakers.

The AURES’ unique soundboard technology has been developed in collaboration with Japan’s leading premium audio manufacturer, Onkyo, and incorporates newly-designed high performance transducer components that transmit energy more efficiently than conventional parts. The resulting sound produced entirely by the soundboard is rich, powerful, and expansive, and enhanced by the unique harmonic properties of solid spruce wood.

Millennium III action

In 1971 KAWAI revolutionised piano technology by introducing ABS action parts within the fine workings of the piano action. This rigid, atmospherically stable compound material, addressed many of the problems associated with wooden components, such as breakages under continual high stress, and shrinking and swelling due to changes in climate. The introduction of ABS action parts proved a significant development in modern piano design, and rapidly earned high praise from pianists and technicians worldwide. The Millennium III Upright Action, unveiled in 2006, has been developed to enhance the three performance elements that professional pianists most desire - speed, control and power. The introduction of stronger ABS Carbon materials has allowed KAWAI scientists to develop lighter action parts without sacrificing durability, further optimising key repetition and response speed for a truly unparalleled playing experience.

Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand piano reproduced with latest SK-EX Rendering sound technology

The magnificent tone of Kawai’s flagship Shigeru Kawai SK-EX full concert grand piano is at the heart of the AnyTimeX3 instruments. Widely regarded 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 tonal clarity and exceptional dynamic range.
In order to faithfully reproduce the stunning sound of a Shigeru digitally, Kawai has developed SK-EX Rendering – a brand new piano sound engine that blends multi-channel, 88-key sampling with the latest resonance modelling technology. Multi-channel sampling

SPECIFICATIONS

Acoustic

Action                                Millennium III
Key Surface                       Acryl/Phenol
Hammer Core                    Mahogany
Hammer Felt                     with underfelt
Construction                      max. String Length 1200 mm
Sound Board Material       Spruce tapered
Sound Board Size             1,39 m²
Ribs                                   11
Back Posts                          5
Duplex Scale                     No
Agraffes                             No
Key Lid                              Softfall
Lock                                   No
Casters                              Double
Pedals                               3
Tone Spreader                  Yes, under keybed

Dimensions                     

Height in cm                     122
Width in cm                      149
Depth in cm                       61
Weight in kg                     234

Finishes

Black polish, White polish, Black polish with silver hardware, White polish with silver hardware

Digital

Keyboard                         

Sensors                           Integrated Hammer Sensing System (IHSS), optical
Velocity Curves               Light+, Light, Normal, Heavy, Heavy+, Off (Constant), User

Sound Source

PIANIST Mode:              SK-EX Multi Channel 88 Key Rendering; SOUND Mode: Harmonic Imaging™ XL, 88 Key Sampling

Sounds

PIANIST Mode:              Shigeru Kawai EX Concert Grand with 10 Rendering Characters; SOUND Mode: 88, Grand Pianos: Shigeru Kawai EX, Kawai EX, SK-5
Polyphony                      max. 256 notes (depending on selected sound)

Virtual Technician

Pianist mode:                Touch Curve (incl. User), Voicing (incl. User), Damper Noise, Fall-back Noise, Hammer Delay, Minimum Touch, Key Volume (incl. User), Half-Pedal Adjust, Soft Pedal Depth
Sound mode:                Touch Curve (incl. User), Voicing (incl. User), Damper Resonance, Damper Noise, String Resonance, Undamped String Resonance, Cabinet Resonance, Key-off Effect, Fall-back Noise,                                                  Hammer Delay, Topboard Simulation, Decay Time, Minimum Touch, Stretch Tuning (incl. User), Temperament (incl. User), Temperament Key, Key Volume (incl. User), Half-Pedal Adjust, Soft                                         Pedal Depth

Keyboard Modes          Dual, Split, 4Hands (Volume/Balance adjustable)

Reverb                          Room, Lounge, Small Hall, Concert Hall, Live Hall, Cathedral

Effects

Pianist mode:               Resonance Depth (10 types), Ambience (10 types)
Sound mode:               Reverb (6 types), Effects (24 types), (Chorus x 3, Delay x 3, Tremolo x 3, Auto pan x 2, Phaser x 2, Rotary x 6, Combination x 5)
Tuning                          Equal (Piano Only), Pure (Major), Pure (Minor), Pythagorean, Meantone, Werckmeister III, Kirnberger III, Equal (Flat), Equal (Stretch), USER

Music/Recording

Metronome/Beats       10 Beats + 100 Rhythms, Tempo and Volume adjustable

Recorder

PIANIST Mode:           30 Minutes Audio (WAV+MP3), 3 Songs; SOUND Mode: USB Memory: MP3/WAV Recording and Playback, A-B Loop; Internal: MIDI 10 Songs, 2 Tracks – max. 90,000 Notes
Lesson Function          542 Songs in total. Songs from Czerny, Burgmüller, Beyer, Bach, Chopin and Hanon (incl. printed score books); Songs from Alfred without score books. Additional Finger practizes with 4 scales                                      (mayor, n.minor, h.minor, m.minor), 2 Arpeggio-, 2 Cadence- and 2 Chord- trainings in all root notes with score function
Piano Music Songs      29
Concert Magic Songs  176
Demo Songs                39

Features             

Display                         5” LCD touchscreen (480 x 800 pixels)
Bluetooth                      Bluetooth (Ver. 4.0; GATT compatible).    Bluetooth Low Energy MIDI Specification compliant, Bluetooth Audio
Registrations                Yes, 16 Favorite Memories

USB Functions             Playback: MP3, WAV, SMF ; Recording: MP3, WAV ; Functions: Audio Overdub, Convert Song to Audio, Internal Songs load, Internal Songs save, SMF Song save, File delete, USB format
Other Features             Key Transpose, Song Transpose, Tone Control (incl. User EQ), Wall EQ, Speaker Volume, Headphone Volume , Line In, Line Out Volume, Audio Recorder Gain, Tuning, Damper Hold, LCD                                          Contrast, User Memory, Reset, Lower Octave Shift, Lower Pedal On/Off , Split Balance, Layer Octave Shift, Layer Dynamics, Dual Balance, MIDI Kanal, Send PGM#, Local Control, Transmit                                          PGM#, Multi Timbral Modus, Channel Mute, Auto Power Off

Sound System            Soundboard System with 4 Transducers
Amplifier                     140W
Power Consumption    58W

Connections

Jacks                           LINE IN (1/8” STEREO), LINE IN Level, LINE OUT (1/4” L/MONO, R), Headphones x 2 (1/4”, 1/8”), MIDI (IN/OUT), USB to Host, USB to Device

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