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How to reproduce sound of piano


I currently own a decent rig, Mac MA 2275, AP Sparks, Marantz 8001, Rega Apollo, Benchmark DAC w/ Squeezebox Duet. I love the way it sounds with jazz, voice, orchestral works and also it's decent with chamber music.

But I find when I'm listening to piano solo performances it doesn't quite sound nearly good as the live instrument. This is too bad because I mainly listen to classical piano works. I want to build a new system from scratch dedicated to listen to solo piano works as well as piano conertos.
I don't care for "warmth", "timbre", "soundstage" or other loaded audiophile terms. Just want absolutely accurate piano reproduction as possible.

What qualities should I look for? Analog vs digital source. Solid state vs tube amp? I find my tube amp unable to keep up with technical masters as Pollini or Horowitz. But will going to SS take away from the performces of more romantic pianists like Kempf and Zimerman? As for speakers, I never heard of a speaker capable of reproducing the deep bass of a 9ft+ concert Steinway grand. Are electrostatics way to go? My budget is around $25K USD. Thanks for any feedback.
plaser

Showing 3 responses by jimjoyce25

jimjoyce25
215 posts
 
I actually have a 1962 Steinway concert grand in the living room of the house I live in. (It's a small house, but with a large (30 x 25) living room with high ceilings (15 feet), and the piano fits quite nicely with lots of empty space around it,) I'm not much of a piano player, but I do love the sound of a really fine piano.

If you were to hear what a piano like this actually sounds like in a living room, I don't think anyone here would be claiming that his system quite reproduces that sound.
jimjoyce25
215 posts
 
The point is a simple one.

It is *not* that there are differences between the sound of the piano in my living room and the sound of the piano on your recording as it was heard in the room in which it was played. Pianos do sound different from one another.

It is *rather* to suggest that the sound is so much bigger and richer and more textured and nuanced on a concert grand piano as played in one's living room that to think that a hi-fi system can reproduce this sound faithfully is a version of audiophile wishful thinking.
jimjoyce25
215 posts
 
Now that you have one sub, would you consider trying a stereo pair?
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