Same class, genuinely different instruments

The Kawai CA-701 and the Yamaha CLP-875 sit at the same point in their makers' console ranges, so the interesting question is not which is cheaper but which flagship-tier console you would rather own. List prices differ from market to market, and neither is reliably the bargain. Both are wooden-key, furniture-cabinet pianos built for advanced players who practice at home and care more about touch and tone than about feature counts. With two instruments this closely matched in class, the decision moves to character.

A note on method: this is a spec-based head-to-head. We have not played these two side by side, so rather than declaring a winner on feel, we set out what each maker actually built and match it to the player who benefits.

Key action: two wooden-key flagships

Both pianos give you wooden keys — but on the Yamaha side that is not the dividing line against the tier below, because the CLP-845 already carries wooden white keys under its shorter GrandTouch-S action. What the step up actually buys is the full-length mechanism above it. And the two mechanisms facing off here are different from each other.

The CA-701 uses Kawai's Grand Feel III — a long-key, wooden hammer action with a counterweight in every key. The CLP-875 uses Yamaha's GrandTouch action, specified as wooden white keys with synthetic ebony and ivory keytops and escapement. One point worth getting right if you are cross-shopping the whole Clavinova line: this is the same GrandTouch keyboard Yamaha fits to the flagship CLP-885. Climbing further up the range does not upgrade the action — it buys a larger cabinet, more amplifier power and a wider voice set. In keyboard terms, the CLP-875 is already at the top of the line.

Which touch is "right" is a matter of preference, not a spec you can rank. Grand Feel III and GrandTouch are voiced around different reference grands and feel distinct under the fingers. This is the single difference a spec sheet cannot settle, and the one worth trying in person if you can.

Sound: how many grands, and which

Here the two makers diverge in an interesting way — both give you two grand-piano characters, but from different houses. The CA-701 is built on SK-EX Rendering plus SK-5 Rendering: a large Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand and a smaller Kawai parlor grand, and it carries a wide 96-voice bench. The CLP-875 runs Yamaha's CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial with VRM string-resonance modeling, and a more focused 38 voices.

So the CA-701 gives you Kawai's warmer, rounder Shigeru voicing and far more total tones to explore — useful if you also play electric-piano, organ, or ensemble parts. The CLP-875 gives you the bright, projecting CFX paired with the dark, deep Bösendorfer, a classic contrast for classical repertoire. For a pure pianist, the choice is about which grand character you want to live with daily; for a more eclectic player, the CA-701's 96 voices offer more room to wander.

The room: speakers and cabinet

Both are big cabinets — 76.5 kg for the Kawai, 71 kg for the Yamaha — so neither is meaningfully easier to place, and both are furniture you install once. The Yamaha is the lighter of the two, but on width they are level at 1450 mm, with the Kawai a few centimetres deeper. Where they really part is amplification. The CA-701 runs a 100-watt, 6-speaker system co-developed with Onkyo. The CLP-875 keeps the same six-speaker count but drives it far harder, at 220 watts in total.

In practice, the CLP-875 has more projection and headroom for filling a large room or playing to an audience, while the CA-701's system is still a rich, room-filling setup that leans on Kawai's warmer voicing. If you routinely play out loud in a big space, the Yamaha's extra power is the tangible difference; in a normal room, both have more than enough.

Where they draw even

A lot is shared at this level. Both offer 256-note polyphony, ample for heavily pedaled Romantic writing. Both have Bluetooth Audio and Bluetooth MIDI, USB MIDI, and app connectivity; both provide two headphone jacks with headphone optimization for quiet, late-night practice; both include the stand and a damper pedal. Both also carry a line out, so feeding external recording gear is not a point of difference here. The CLP-875 does carry more built-in songs (303 vs 176), a small edge for structured practice.

Who should buy which

Buy the Kawai CA-701 if you prefer Kawai's Grand Feel III wooden action and the warmer Shigeru-Kawai grand voicing, and you value having far more tones on tap (96 voices) for varied playing. It is the pick for the player who wants Kawai's touch-and-tone philosophy and sonic breadth.

Buy the Yamaha CLP-875 if you prefer Yamaha's GrandTouch wooden action — the same keyboard the flagship CLP-885 uses — and the CFX-plus-Bösendorfer voice pairing, and you want the extra amplifier power, 220 watts against 100, for room-filling projection. It is the pick for the player who plays out loud and wants Yamaha's brighter, bigger sound.

Because neither wins outright on price, this is one of the cleaner decisions in the whole console market: pick the touch you prefer and the grand-piano character you want to hear every day. Try both actions if you possibly can — at this level, that is the difference that lasts.