While I agree that we’ll recorded piano is excellent in some ways for testing speakers & whole systems in terms of tone, body & real subtlety, I think in many ways well recorded drums can be even better. Bass drums, tom toms, snares, cymbals of all kinds are great tests of dynamics, frequency extension, speed & even imaging. Both styles of music & recordings are important to get a complete picture of what a speaker or system can do.
How does solo piano help you evaluate audio gear?
A pianist friend just recommended this article and pianist to me, knowing that I'm presently doing a speaker shoot-out. My question to you all is this:
How important is solo piano recordings to your evaluation of audio equipment -- in relation to, say, orchestra, bass, voice, etc.? What, specifically, does piano reveal exceptionally well, to your ears?
Here's the article:
https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/magic-of-josep-colom/