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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
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Halcro,

Well beyond the question of compression, piano is a pain in the ass to record.

As noted in an earlier post, close miking and ambient miking both have their advantages, neither is perfect, and combining the two is an art unto itself. I once "executive produced" (read funded) a recording session for a friend who is a prominent LA based French Horn player, so I attended some of the sessions. After struggling mightily to get the piano sound right, and waiting for a take that everyone liked, we finally got one. Given the time and effort that had gone into getting that track down, there was a real sense of relief in the booth. Then, playback revealed a squeaking bench!

Trust me, more time was spent on getting the piano to sound right than on everything else combined.

Marty
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
Marty, no worry about squeeking benches or even singing pianists. . . we would have no Gould, schiff, and Brendel recording if producers ditched every take that contained squeeks, sharp intakes of breath, or impromptu solo vocalizations.
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Anyone else feel that best headphones do better justice
to piano than most speakers?

Headphones have very low distortion levels and only a handful of speakers are
designed such that they could begin to compete with $1000 headphones. I
mentioned the numerous distortion and dynamic compression problems in
conventional speakers above - a $1000 headphone playing at tiny output levels
close to the ear has a much easier job than a speaker. Remember the vast
majority of speaker drivers cost less than $100!!! (basically there is no contest
between excellent headphones and most speakers)
detlof
1,899 posts
 
Shadorne,
How true, but I hate to have my head mimic a soundstage.
muralman1
1,527 posts
 
"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."

I am not sure what your point is.

What we have is a hundred year old piano with a thick sound board, and sounds bold and robust. A Steinway Grand will sound smoother, and just as big. My Scintillas don't sound like my piano. They sound like the big grand piano recorded at some particular space in some particular manner.
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