If you want a top tier USB DAC, check out the Grace Design m920. The way, if you’re looking for an affordable audio interface with super low latency, look no further than the Zoom UAC-2. This made sense to me until I saw this photo on Kawai’s VPC1 website. This prevents people from unknowingly ruining the VPC1’s intended UX design with electronic distractions. Make the top of the VPC1 curved to discourage people from resting their expensive laptops on it.

People don’t put expensive laptops (in my case, a $4000 2016 MacBook Pro with a Touch Bar for DJing) on acoustic pianos - it’s just not part of the user experience.

The VPC1, a digital MIDI controller that requires a sound module or laptop for tone generation, aims to provide an acoustic piano experience.

My conclusion is that the curved top was a deliberate and functional design choice intended to fulfill the VPC1’s UX goals. Since setting up the VPC1 in my room a few days ago, I’ve thought about this extensively. In the spirit of full disclosure, I have no idea if this is how things actually went down at Kawai HQ, but it makes sense to me.Īt first glance, one might view the VPC1’s curved top as a purely aesthetic design choice. The VPC1’s curved top was either a massive oversight or a stroke of genius. Secondly, the addition of a keylid would also serve as a layer of protection for the keyboard action. Raise the keylid to power on the VPC1, and close it to power it off. Kawai could’ve taken the VPC1’s user experience one step further by integrating the “power button” into a keylid mechanism. What you don’t do is press the power button, and wait for it to glow red. Only then are you ready to play the instrument. What do you do before you can play the instrument? You raise the keylid and remove the protective red felt. Imaging sitting down at an acoustic piano. The lack of a power button is one of the defining aspects of an acoustic piano’s user experience, so why did Kawai not take this into consideration when designing the VPC1’s UX? Why does the VPC1 even need a power button? When was the last time you saw a true acoustic piano with a power button?

I would have preferred if the power button was under the instrument, or perhaps on the back panel next to the power port.

It really doesn’t belong on the otherwise beautifully blank top casing. There are so many better places to stick a glowing red power button.

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