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What are the best loudspeakers under $4000 to re-create lifelike piano

Over the past 4 months I've spent time with five loudspeakers.  On a scale of 1-10 I'd rate them as follows in their ability (with my equipment in my room) to recreate a lifelike piano.  Tekton Lore - 6.5 (great scale but tonal accuracy and clarity somewhat lacking),    Kef LS50 - 7.0 (moderate scale but slightly better clarity and tonal accuracy)  Kef R500 - 8.0  (great scale and very good clarity and tonal accuracy), Spatial Audio M3TurboS -8.1 (great scale and very good clarity and tonal accuracy and very smooth)  Magnepan 1.7i - 9.0 (very good scale with excellent clarity and tonal accuracy - very lifelike).

In your room with your equipment, what loudspeakers are you listening too and how would you rate them for their ability to recreate a lifelife piano and if possible a few comments as to why?
snapsc
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,305 posts
 
bdp24 they have been on my radar but I never heard a speaker mix the two types of drivers and blend it good enough to stop alerting my subconscious and disrupt the flow of music. ATC speakers are great but when it goes down to the bass it is completely obvious to me a different driver (at least the old models)

snapsc I did not mean to hijack your thread

I guess in my roundabout way I recommended Maggies (or Quads for that matter) for piano reproduction
aberyclark
1,355 posts
 
As said above...recording the piano accurately has been an issue for many years. Many base the sound they are after on prior recorded works which may be flawed in the first place. I would find a piano recording that you think best represents what you are looking for, then go from there. You may hit it with one recording, buy some speakers, then be frustrated with another recording. Many of the the old Riverside Jazz recordings are recorded "too hot" and exhibits distortion. Plus, many different piano models exhibit their own sound characteristics (warm, bright, etc) that record better than others. 
snapsc OP
661 posts
 
@johnnyb53   Question:  do the 1.7s need a sub to do piano or do they go low enough on their own??
inna
7,132 posts
 
Well, this is an audiophile forum. Anyone with hearing knows the difference between digital and analog. Frankly, the only kind of music that I can listen to in digital is tribal/ambient. I mean, my rig. I listen to whatever I find on youtube with headphones, no problem. But when I want hi-fi I want hi-fi. Analog can be terrible too sometimes, sure, but even then it is differently terrible. I can't think of another instrument that, overall, would be more difficult to record and reproduce. Only orchestra is more difficult. So, you really need good recordings and a very strong source to begin with, then perhaps some $4k speakers bought used might be okay Hi-end transports and dacs are also quite expensive. Digital cables are not created equal either.
wolf_garcia
6,602 posts
 
I’m a piano freak (lots of jazz) and I’m pretty critical of how piano sounds from my rig...Silverline Preludes do great piano, as do my Klipsch Heresy IIIs (so SUE me). I also have a piano in my listening room that sounds like a piano, so there’s yer reference right there. I’ve mixed many live shows with Fred Hersch, Bill Charlap, Eldar, yo mama, etc., usually using a large Steinway…2 mics, trying to avoid EQ, no compression…blah blah…and you do get to know what a great piano sound is…it’s great. However, recorded piano is 100% all over the map as far as tone goes, and if your system is working well you already know that and it doesn't matter much.
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