Unlike a conventional digital piano action, the N1X incorporates a specialized acoustic grand piano action with real grand-piano action components. Non-contact optical sensors monitor both key and hammer movement without interfering with the mechanical feel of the action. The result is an exceptionally natural playing experience that closely reproduces the repetition, control, and dynamic response expected from an acoustic grand piano.
For its primary piano voices, the N1X features meticulously sampled sounds from two internationally renowned concert grand pianos: the Yamaha CFX Concert Grand and Bösendorfer Imperial. Yamaha's Spatial Acoustic Sampling and Spatial Acoustic Speaker System reproduce these instruments with impressive depth and dimensionality throughout the N1X cabinet.
Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM) further enhances the experience by recreating the complex sympathetic resonances that occur among the strings, soundboard, and other components of an acoustic grand piano.
For private practice, Yamaha's binaural CFX sampling creates a remarkably spacious listening experience through headphones, giving the player the sensation that the sound is originating from the piano rather than directly from the headphones.
The N1X also features Yamaha's GP Response Damper Pedal, providing the changing resistance and control associated with the damper pedal of an acoustic grand piano.
Combining genuine grand-piano mechanics with sophisticated digital technology, the N1X is particularly well suited to serious pianists, advanced students, teachers, studios, and homes where an