How to reproduce sound of piano

Re mono in the next room or down the hall, I agree, as I indicated on Page 1, BUT its not the same when you listen to mono in the same room from your sweet seat.

With a grand piano in an enclosed space even though the source of the direct sounds are obvious the resonances created by the room surfaces in a live performance will be absent in mono - you will have a small central image and no sense of the acoustic.

Thats why 'in the next room' works so well, IMHO, you get both the 'mono' sound and some room resonance sounds without having to sit in front of the speakers and be distracted by less than the sound of a performance from a prospective that you prefer.

Try staying in stereo but moving the speakers closer together than you might otherwise to better represent the actual width of the recorded piano.

Just another idea...

Well I got a Velodyne Optimum 8 subwoofer today. I'm having bit difficulty seamlessly incorporating it. I can either turn MA2275 bass control (-12 db at 100hz) down and cross over at 100 hz or just try crossing over at lower frequency ~65 hz. Any suggestions? My first foray into subwoofers and bit over my head. Thanks for all the advices.

The dedicated listening room will be long process and won't happen in the near future so this will do for now.

Plaser,

Velodyne makes the SMS-1 sub controller (X-over, room analyzer w/ calibrated mic and PEq) that is tremendously effective for your needs. App $500-$600 on-line (AudioAdvisor.com and others).

Marty

Plaser,
In case you did not want to spend the extra money for the sub controller or are unhappy with the results, here is what I found useful when setting up subs. Probably you have already done all that and are happy. In that case just ignore me, if not, perhaps I may be of some use.

1. Place the sub, just as Mapman has suggested behind one of your main speakers in to the corner of the room.

2. Get an LP or a CD with steady really deep bass. The Rel people suggest here the "Sneakers" CD, film music composed by James Horner on Columbia. You can find that on eBay usually for little money. Use track four, which has a timely evenly spaced deep bass drum. Play your system at normal levels with the sub powered up and play around with the phase switch. Ignore the midbass music on the disk, just listen to the really deep bass drum and find out the loudest setting at either normal or inverted phase. Once you've found that, stick to that.
3. Next move the bass unit a few inches to and fro on an imaginary diagonal line through your room aimed at the opposite corner to where you've placed your bass unit. Have a friend at hand to listen where the bass drum gets loudest. This is probably the best spot for your sub.
4. Next settle for the right X-over points. If at all possible run you main system never ever through your sub's X-over. It practically always ruins the sound. To find out where to best let the sub cut in and at what slope, if the latter is possible with your unit, familiarize yourself well with the the sound of your test cut on the cd, WITHOUT the sub first and then experiment with the sub switched on. The sub must not interfere with, cloud or blot out in any way tjhe subtle information in the music on the disk, but be clearly heard when the bass drum is put into play. With the Sneakers cd this can be achieved very easily if you listen and have a friend fiddle with the X-over points. I've had very good success with this method, which also the Rel people use.

Good luck and happy listening,

Detlof