How to reproduce sound of piano

It probably goes without saying, but since no one has touched on it yet; not only is the Piano one of the most difficult to reproduce, it also seems to be one of the most difficult to record judging by the wide range of results I've heard on my own systems. The recording itself is going to have a profound effect of how real the instrument sounds. Seems to me that in general studio recordings are more successful than live stage recordings in bringing the instrument into my room. BTW I'm not using the classic formula of profound muscle from my amps to do this. I use 9 watt SET amps and high efficiency speakers in a moderately sized room. It's certainly not the last word in 'live' sound, but it does a pretty good job to my ears. I've also had powerful amps (Bel Canto Ref 1000's) in the same room and they did a very nice job as well, but I prefer the sound of the SET amps overall. I do use a sub. I know you said you listen to mostly classical (as far as piano music, so do I), but the most realistic portrayal I've heard of a piano in my space comes from a gifted alt-pop artist, Tori Amos, who was a child-prodigy on piano and remains an amazing keyboard artist. She is a Bosendorfer sponsored artist. Pick up a copy of her out-of-print EP of "God" and listen to the two piano solos on that EP. That's the closest I've heard to the piano in my listening room. It occurs to me as a very closely miked recording and has the most immediacy of any I've heard of a piano. Most of the classical recordings I enjoy seem more distant in comparison. I wonder if anyone could comment further on this - why aren't there more recordings like this in the classical realms?

I agree with Jax2 and Tobias. Vinyl played through horn speakers with tube amplification are the way to go for things that cover the full frequency range all the time, like solo piano music, or large orchestral or opera.

Er, ah, I didn't say that. I don't listen to vinyl anymore (except in friend's systems), but certainly enjoy it. I also said nothing about horns, though I've enjoyed those in the past as well, and remain a big fan. I'm not sure I'd agree with everything you've said. I'd agree that solo piano is well served (or can be) by the system topology you propose. I'd have to say that my experience, at least with SET amplification and horns, is that it would not do the scale and dynamics of opera or large-scale orchestral music as much justice as I've heard done with other means of amplification (though it certainly can sound quite good). As far as other tube amps (push/pull, pentode, etc.) my own experience has been that the larger scale, more dramatic/dynamic music that is more densely layered seems to be better served by various SS amps I've had and or heard, though OTL tube amps have occurred to me to be a contender as well. Though I used horn loaded speakers for many years, I no longer do because of space limitations (I haven't been fond of any of the smaller horn solutions I've heard, and just don't have the space in my current room for the horns I'd like). I'm currently using Coincident Super Eclipse III's (not horns), which I like very much. Perhaps what we do agree on, and what I was trying to point out, is that one does not necessarily require high-watt SS amplification to get close to a convincing sound of piano. It seemed like early posts seemed to focus on that perfectly reasonable approach, but I thought it should be noted there are others. YMMV, as always. I don't believe there's only one way to go to get closer to realistic piano as far as the system-approach is concerned. I think everyone's version of what "realistic" piano sounds like may be quite different as well.

I'm no sub expert, and don't speak tech with great authority. But I can respond from gut experience (pun intended). A sub will add the kind of bass you 'feel' as opposed to that kind of bass with detail and nuance that you 'hear'. I wonder what part of the range of piano, or rather how much of what you actually listen to, might be 'enhanced' by use of a sub. Two subs, one sub, they'll both address the same thing (bass that is mostly felt rather than heard, without much nuance, and at a possible sacrifice of imaging), some better than others, and better in pairs, yes. Setup is critical. I read somewhere that the extra keys on the Bosendorfer can reach down to 16hz (seems unlikely, but?). I use an ACI Force XL sub (current model) in a smallish / midsize room. It is indeed tricky to setup and integrate well. I got it pretty well done, down to 20hz after which I loose about 8db (I think at 16hz). Lots of trial and error. They are good subs, indeed. Very fast and good for music (as opposed to HT). I still have some suckout issues to deal with my room, but most of that is a WAF sacrifice I fear. I'm working on it. If you're looking at subs and have a bigger budget than ACI or REL I really like the JBL subs - my friend's got one integrated beautifully with his Avalon Indras in a moderate room and that system does piano beautifully to my ears. I don't know how much the sub has to do with it though as it does a damn good job with or without the sub. I notice it's absence only in the lowest octaves (obviously), but I don't think that has an overall impact on how well his system reproduces piano. I think he's running a straight line-out from the pre with no filters on the mains (as I run my sub). I've tried filtering the mains too at 60hz, but I felt I was loosing some detail somehow so went back to line outs to both.

Whoops, I noticed a confusing typo in my last post. I meant "JL" subs, and not JBL! The sub my friend has is a JL Phathom f113. Great sub! Also, my own low-level readings are from a RS SPL meter and are not adjusted (it is quite inaccurate in those low readings) so are likely more conservative than my low estimate.

....carry on...