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/
Piano is probably the single best instrument to use as a reference in that it can deliver good dynamics across a wide range of frequencies, but unless one was highly biased towards listening exclusively to piano music (what??) I would not rely exclusively on it. But include it for tests, yes. Piano recordings vary widely in nature of the sound so find good ones to use if desired.
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Well-recorded piano can show a lot about a system. Assuming it was well-recorded. It covers virtually the entire musical pitch spectrum and has a huge amount of weight when captured accurately, not to mention the inner detail of the hammers striking the strings, the sounds of the pedals and the bench creaking, which it often does. So, assuming you know what to listen for, piano can be an excellent tool in selecting a speaker. But it is one of many tools. If I were forced to pick only one, I personally would choose the human voice. |
Good points and very helpful. I went out of my way *not* to ask if it should be the only one. I'm really drilling here for phenomenological details, i.e., descriptions of what one notices in a piano recording that has probative value for a more general conclusion about the capabilities of the system. There is some of that in this post by McGowan. |
