Piano Help: Kawai or Boston?

[Simply Ordinary]

I know there a lot of piano people around here, so I could use some help...

I'm purchasing a new piano soon, and I am in dispute over which piano to purchase: a Boston or a Kawai. I've played both, and I find that a Boston sounds better than a Kawai, but the Kawai I played at my piano teacher's house is rather old. However, Kawai's been in business for a lot longer time than the Boston has, but then again Boston is from Steinway and Sons. My mother is kind of persistent on getting a Kawai because it's better, the sound isn't as loud, it's cheaper, and Kawai manufactured it anyway but I like the Boston better because playing it is a lot more enjoyable, and there's always the old it-comes-from-Steinway bias factor.

[davidjp]

The piano i have is a Kawaii and it sounds rather nice.

[portions.for.foxes]

Go with the Boston, trust me. Boston piano's are owned and patented by Steinway but Kawai actually manfuctures them in Japan. lol So you get the best of both companies in a sense.

[NoelleNC]

I have an approximately 35 year old upright Kawai. Well, it's my mother's really. The keys are actual ivory and piano tuners have told us that Kawai's are convenient in that one key doesn't go out of tune by itself, they all tend to go out of key slowly together so that playing doesn't just become joltingly wrong, it will still sound decent even if the tune isn't perfect. I like my piano, the keys are a bit heavy and as it's gotten older humidity has gotten to some of the keys in the summertime, but overall it's a really nice piano. It has a very rich sound compared to other pianos I have heard although it can be a little more difficult to play because of the weight of the keys. Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with Boston pianos so I can't really compare!