Kawai K-500 Upright Piano
4.8 1 vote

Kawai K-500 Upright Piano

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Overview

The Kawai K-500 is a fifty-one-inch professional upright piano that represents the top of Kawai's K Series, delivering concert-quality tone and touch in a vertical format that rivals many baby grand pianos in musical performance. The K-500 features Kawai's Millennium III Upright Action with ABS-Carbon composite components, offering the same advantages of speed, precision, and climate stability found in the company's grand piano actions. The taller cabinet allows for longer bass strings and a larger soundboard area, producing a depth and richness of tone unusual in upright instruments. The solid spruce soundboard is precisely crowned and tapered for optimal resonance, delivering warm bass, lyrical midrange, and clear, projecting treble across the full dynamic spectrum. Duplex scaling adds harmonic overtones that give the tone additional complexity and sparkle. The agraffes in the upper register ensure precise string positioning and consistent tonal quality. The polished ebony cabinet has an imposing presence with the soft-close fallboard protecting the keyboard. Build quality reflects Kawai's exacting standards at the Ryuyo factory. The K-500 is ideal for advanced students, professional teachers, and performing pianists who need a high-caliber acoustic piano but lack space for a grand. Its fifty-one-inch height requires adequate ceiling clearance and room volume to fully appreciate its sound.

Acoustic Pianos

A fifty-one-inch professional upright rivaling many baby grands in performance, with Millennium III action and duplex scaling that produces concert-quality tone in a vertical format.

Instrument Details

$16,995 Advanced
Brand Kawai
Type Upright Piano
Made In Japan
Year 2014
4.8 1 vote

AI Reviews

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Gemini 3 Flash Preview Google
4.8 /5

The Kawai K-500 is a masterclass in modern piano engineering, successfully bridging the gap between high-end uprights and entry-level grand pianos. The centerpiece is undoubtedly the Millennium III action; by utilizing ABS-Carbon components, Kawai has created a mechanism that is remarkably fast and resilient to humidity shifts"a godsend for institutional use or varying home climates. Under the fingers, the NEOTEX key surfaces provide a tactile, ivory-like grip that prevents slipping during demanding, high-velocity passages.

Sonically, the K-500 leans toward the lush, 'warm' character that defines the Kawai house sound. Thanks to its 51-inch frame and tapered solid spruce soundboard, the bass registers possess a growl and depth that easily outshine many 5-foot baby grands. The mahogany-cored hammers contribute to a rich mid-range that avoids the brittle 'tinkiness' sometimes found in mass-produced Japanese uprights. While the treble is clear and singing, it lacks the biting punch of its primary competitor, the Yamaha U3, which may be a slight trade-off for those playing aggressive contemporary pop. However, for classical repertoire and nuanced teaching, the expressive dynamic range is peerless in this price bracket. It is an investment-grade instrument for advanced players who demand grand-piano responsiveness but are constrained by floor space.

Category Ratings

Acoustic Pianos
4.8
Feb 15, 2026
AI-Generated Review Generated via Google API. This is an automated evaluation, not a consumer review. Learn more
Kawai K-500 Upright Piano Screenshot

Added: Feb 14, 2026

kawaius.com/product/k-500

Categories

Acoustic Pianos