Best speaker/system piano concerts


Hi,

I enjoy many type of music but am a big fan of piano concerts. I’ve been to Hifi shows before but often find the music that they are playing not to my taste. 

Does anyone have recommendations for a speaker and amplifier that would be great to reproduce big piano plays realistically? I don’t think it’s easy for a system to have the speed and weight that the piano produces.

Would say speakers that are around 20-25k second hand and amps of 10-15k used

Looking forward to your suggestions.


hififreakk
If you’re after utmost accuracy to a live piano... you should consider the ATC’s mentioned above. There is a reason all the pro sound engineers use those speakers in their mastering.

That’s not to say, several others won’t sound great... but... if you’re really after accuracy you may want to follow the pros.

They do sound superb.  Check them out on YouTube and compare them to others there (e.g. Tannoy, B&W, Maggies, etc., etc.) - you'll get a pretty good idea of how they compare, despite the fact you aren't in the same room with them.  You'll be amazed.

And... they’re really not all that expensive, when you consider the most recent versions are powered by dedicated internal ATC amps for each driver. So... for $20,000 you get both the speakers and the amps. The integrated system designed for the utmost in clarity and accuracy.
Piano is very difficult to reproduce. From the recording side and mic’ing to playback. There is a lot of gravitas in the lower registers and the timing of the attack and decay on all the registers is not so easily recorded or reproduced realistically. I think you have to start with a good recording. From there, I would think the upstream components would have an effect on realistic reproduction, totally apart from the ability of the loudspeaker itself to deliver the scale and power of the instrument.
I’ve had a few large vintage pianos (lovely old Bosendorfer that didn’t like to stay in tune, but man, when it was ’voiced’ by a piano swami, that thing just sang in the upper registers).
One record I like for sonics of the piano (it meanders quite a bit) is a blues/vocal record by Claudine Meyers called a Tribute to Bessie Smith or something like that, on Leo Records. The audiophile re-do isn’t close to the sound of the original. This was not an expensive or rare record, but it may be a challenge to find now. I’m thinking it was released around 1980 or so, based on memory.
Regarding loudspeakers for piano concerts, B&W 802d3's are, I concur based on
listening at dealers' showrooms, a great choice....but so physically unattractive compared to the nicely sculpted 802D2's, which I own and which reproduce piano quite 'musically' but with some high frequency ring and suboptimal midrange 'accuracy' as powered by an ML 523 pre-amplifier and ML 532H amplifier.  Any more aesthetically, financially and sonically motivated speaker suggestions ?  Is the 802d3 worth owning....,I agree the used prices are compelling...despite its being the 'ugly sister'?
I own and would recommend Magnepan Tympani 1-D's or Jbl Hartsfields.  They deliver the necessary fidelity and scale. I drop jaws over here with the Maggies/Levinson 23.5/Marantz 7c/ Nakamichi 1000 ZXL/ playing Diana Krall - Love Scenes on cassette...