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Speakers that do pianos really well

I recently had the good fortune to listen to a half a dozen pretty well-regarded speakers back-to-back. For these kind of sessions I like using piano recordings - either solo or jazz trio - as a measure because, to my ear at least, it seems that speakers that can reproduce piano really well seem to be pretty well sorted on everything else. The surprising thing was how many of these speakers did NOT do piano well. Of the group there were only two - Vandersteen and Verity - that I thought really captured the big chords, shadings, timbres, and reverberations cleanly and naturally. The rest - and I'm not going to call them out by name - offered a mixed bag of over-brightness, distortion, and general unnaturalness. I was very surprised by the results as I expected better from some of these speakers based on their reviews and reputations. So my question is, Does anyone else use the piano as a litmus test, and what speakers do people use that they think do pianos really well? Regards.
grimace
marqmike
676 posts
 
Hamburger
I feel also that that those speakers sounded absolutely fantastic on piano. I have never heard piano better, and not very good otherwise. I have never heard such a disparity before. I was wondering if I was the only one that thought that.
bojack
539 posts
 
I have owned Frieds, Spendor 2/3Es, and 1/2Es (still own), and they all do piano very, very well, especially the 1/2Es. The key, IMO, is to get a speaker that has superb driver integration, proper weight in the midbass, is not too hot on top, and then pair that with amplification that allows for all of those harmonics to reach your speakers. I think tubes help, too. I recently went from all SS to all tube, and MAN, piano sounds so much more real.
zd542
5,339 posts
 
One reason the results can vary greatly is that it takes the whole system to get the job done; not just the speakers. I have other speakers, but I prefer Vandersteen's myself. For example, I can get great piano out of a pair of Model 2's. But 2 Ayre V-5's, an Aesthetix Calypso and a Wadia 861SE really help out. Anyway, its just something to think about.
kiwi_1282001
310 posts
 
Hi Grimace,

Were the "half a dozen pretty well-regarded speakers" you tried back-to-back in your system, a dealer system or a mix of systems?

I've found that Piano is a great work out for any speaker, though we must remember we are listening to a system rather than just a speaker as Zd542 points out.

Over the years I've made three observations about piano reproduction. First, we tend to underestimate the amount of bass needed to cleanly reproduce low left keys. Recordings with low C can be revealing. Second, since a hammer is hitting a string and that string oscillates it is always revealing to listen to note decay. If your overall system and room has a low noise floor then the overtones seem to sustain for a considerable period. Third, piano and valve amplifiers seem to be a match made in heaven!
dodgealum
976 posts
 
I agree that reproduction of the piano is essential for any competent loudspeaker. It is a very good test of a wide variety of sonic attributes, particularly coherence. I have heard several speakers which sound very good on a wide variety of music fall down when reproducing a piano due to crossover issues. I agree that Vandersteen's do a good job in this regard--I've heard the 5A create a pretty lifelike piano sound. I also think the Harbeth C7's and Spendor S100's which I have owned at various points were good at capturing the tonal qualities of the piano, if not the subtle dynamic shadings and macrodynamic swings. The best I have heard anywhere near my price range however are my current speakers--the Daedalus DA-1.1's. Great tone, attack, decay and coherence--sounds like a piano in your living room.
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