Kawai K300
Price: 4.500 EUR – 8.856 EUR
Price history
Availability: 4/10 (Common)
A 48-inch professional upright built around Kawai's Millennium III action with ABS-Carbon composite parts, a significant step up from the entry-level Ultra-Responsive action found on this project's already-documented Kawai ND21. Owners consistently describe falling for its tone, with one calling it pearly rather than brilliant to distinguish it from brighter rivals, while reviewers single out an evenness across registers and a wide dynamic range that outperform Kawai's smaller models.
About the Kawai K300
At 48 inches tall and 227kg, the K-300 pairs a tapered solid spruce soundboard with Kawai's Millennium III Upright Action, built from ABS-Carbon composite components for a touch Kawai positions well above its entry-level Ultra-Responsive action. The mahogany-moulded hammers are double-felted and fully underfelted, paired with NEOTEX-covered acrylic white keys and phenol black keys. Depending on the destination market, the piano is built either at Kawai's Japanese facility or its Indonesian plant - forum consensus among experienced buyers holds that the two are structurally and musically the same instrument, with the Japanese build benefiting mainly from more time spent on final voicing and tuning rather than any difference in materials or design.
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Sound character of the Kawai K300
The tapered solid spruce soundboard produces a rich, pleasing tone with a notably wide dynamic range, from thundering fortissimos down to delicate pianissimos, and reviewers specifically note that evenness across registers is far more pronounced here than on Kawai's smaller uprights. One owner's preferred description - pearly rather than brilliant - captures a tone that leans toward roundness and depth over sharp brightness, though at least one owner found the factory-fresh upper register ran brighter than ideal until a technician voiced it down.
What owners of the Kawai K300 say
Reception runs strongly positive across multiple independent owner accounts. One new buyer described simply falling in love with the sound, characterizing its tone as pearly rather than brilliant - a deliberate contrast with brighter-voiced competitors like Yamaha. Another owner, rating touch and sound quality 9 out of 10, said he'd buy it again tomorrow without hesitation, despite needing professional voicing to tame an initially too-bright upper register. A third owner summed up the broader appeal simply: owning a genuinely nice instrument is motivating to practice on. The one recurring debate concerns origin - Japanese- versus Indonesian-built units - where one owner perceived a substantial tonal difference between the two, but the wider community consensus across several independent discussions holds that any gap is minor and mostly reflects extra time spent on final factory voicing rather than a fundamentally different instrument.
Playability & handling of the Kawai K300
A dedicated review described the action as feeling solid and crisp even at top playing speed, crediting the reinforced composite action and grand-piano-length keys with noticeably increased responsiveness across the full range compared to Kawai's smaller uprights. Owner accounts back that up directly: one new buyer, upgrading from a digital piano, called the action very crisp to play and was struck by how much more responsive it felt. Another long-term owner who rated touch and sound quality 9 out of 10 found the keyboard somewhat softer in resistance than equivalent Yamaha models - a difference he described as something players simply adapt to rather than a flaw.
Recommended accessories & strings for the Kawai K300
An optional ATX2 silent system is available on certain bundles, letting players practice through headphones without disturbing others - one owner called its headphone sound quality more than decent. Beyond that, standard upright care applies: regular tuning and stable humidity. One owner noted the upper register sounded somewhat too bright fresh out of the box, an issue a professional piano technician resolved through targeted voicing - a reminder that post-purchase voicing adjustments can meaningfully shape the final tonal balance on this piano.
Technical data for the Kawai K300
| Type | Acoustic upright piano, professional-grade |
|---|---|
| Height | 48 in. (122 cm) |
| Width | 59 in. (149 cm) |
| Depth | 24 in. (61 cm) |
| Weight | 500 lb (227 kg) |
| Action | Kawai Millennium III Upright Action, ABS-Carbon composite parts |
| Hammers | Mahogany mouldings, double-felted, fully underfelted |
| Key surfaces | NEOTEX acrylic (white), phenol (black) |
| Soundboard | Solid spruce, tapered |
| Controls | 3 pedals: damper, muffler/celeste (quiet practice), soft; dual-damping soft-fall fallboard |
| String length (No. 1) | 47.2 in. (1,200 mm) |
| Hardware | Double casters, 5 back posts |
| Finish | Polished/satin ebony, polished/satin mahogany, polished snow white (some with silver hardware) |
| Manufacturing | Japan or Indonesia depending on destination market |
| Optional | ATX2 silent-practice system (select bundles) |
Price history for the Kawai K300
Cheapest seen: 4.500 EUR · Most expensive seen: 8.856 EUR
The history of the Kawai K300
The K-300 is the direct successor to Kawai's earlier K-3, continuing what Kawai calls an award-winning legacy within the brand's professional upright lineup. It sits well above this project's already-documented ND21 in Kawai's own hierarchy - where the ND21 uses the brand's first-generation Ultra-Responsive action aimed at beginners and institutions, the K-300's Millennium III action targets players who want genuinely professional touch and tonal control in an upright form factor rather than stepping up to a grand.
About Kawai as a manufacturer
Company background on Kawai (founder Koichi Kawai, the 1927 founding in Hamamatsu, and the brand's growth into one of the world's most established piano makers) is documented in full at this project's ND21 entry and isn't repeated here. Specific to the K-300, Kawai positions the model as carrying forward an award-winning legacy within its professional upright range, aimed at pianists who want performance-grade touch and tone without moving up to a grand piano.
Notable players & recordings featuring the Kawai K300
No verified, model-specific signature-player association was found for this piano.
Related guides
- Silent Piano Systems Explained View details
- Checking the Action and Felt Hammers View details
- Determining a Piano's Age From Its Serial Number View details