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 2 responses by wireless200

This might suprise but I think Krell does a good job on piano. Since you're not dealing with highs where Krells can easily cause pain on other than the best recordings, I would suggest giving a Krell amp a try. The way a lot of piano pieces are recorded they seem to need to be brought out more. On this, the Krells excel.

I think a lot of recordings are made as if you're out quite a ways in the concert hall. I've made recordings in my piano room with a couple of Shure mics and an M-audio A/D on to a computer. I thought they sounded remarkably good without any mixing. The Yamaha is brighter than most pianos and that fact may help the recording. But the difference was the recordings sounded like they were recorded: as if you were sitting right there next to the piano. I had one mic near the soundboard and another 3 or 4 feet away. I prefer that rather than the typical far-away concert hall sound.

Lots of good speakers out there. The Krell sounded good on my Aerials.
Well, if you frame the question that way, I don't know any system that really meets the exact reporduction standard. You can go to any high-end stereo store or audio show and listen to many different very high-end systems and no two will sound the same. Does any particular one exhibit exact reproduction of the live instrument? Does many of them do a good job? I would say no the former and yes to the latter question. Of course since the original poster is pretty much focused on just one insturment he stands a better chance of getting a system optimized for that criterion. Across the board of all insturments and vocals, I don't belive it's possible.