About Kawai
Kawai's US site, run by Kawai America Corporation, says the company was founded in 1927 by Koichi Kawai. Its range on kawaius.com covers upright, hybrid, grand and digital pianos, with the digital pianos split into the ES, CA and MP Stage collections.
The ES120 featured here sits in the ES Series of portable digital pianos. kawaius.com lists it with 88 grade-weighted keys, the Responsive Hammer Compact action, piano sounds recorded from Kawai's Shigeru EX concert grand using Harmonic Imaging, Spatial Headphone Sound, and Bluetooth for both MIDI and audio.
Brand website: kawaius.com
What Kawai makes
Kawai's catalog runs wider than the gear we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
ES Series
Portable digital pianos, the collection that includes the ES120 featured here — featured on House of Octave
CA Series
A digital piano collection listed on kawaius.com alongside the ES Series
MP Stage Pianos
Stage piano collection listed on kawaius.com
Hybrid Pianos
Hybrid collection listed on kawaius.com under the Novus Series name
Grand Pianos
Acoustic grands, listed on kawaius.com under the GX Series name
Upright Pianos
Acoustic uprights, listed on kawaius.com under the Master Series name
Why we recognized Kawai
The House of Octave Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose gear consistently stands out in our player-tested category guides. Kawai earned it on the strength of the products below, judged the same way every product on this site is: assessed on build, tone, and playability, weighed against what players actually report over years of use, and ranked on merit.
Kawai gear we rated highly
Kawai ES120 88-Key Digital Piano with Speakers
One of House of Octave's top digital piano picks. It has 88 weighted keys with Responsive Hammer Compact, Kawai's own action, from a company that builds acoustic grand pianos alongside its digital ones. It carries 25 voices built around Kawai's concert grand sampling. Spatial Headphone Sound processes the headphone signal so the piano sits in front of the listener rather than inside the head, and Bluetooth carries both audio and MIDI for app work and backing tracks without a cable.
Read the 9 Best Digital Pianos of 2026 for Beginners, Home, and Stage (88-Key Weighted) guide →What earned Kawai the recognition
- The ES120 uses Responsive Hammer Compact, Kawai's own 88-key weighted action
- Kawai builds acoustic grand pianos as well as digital ones, and our digital piano guide notes that this shows in how the key returns to rest
- Spatial Headphone Sound is built to place the piano in front of the listener when playing in headphones
- Bluetooth carries both audio and MIDI, so apps and backing tracks work without a cable
- The 25 voices are built around Kawai's concert grand sampling