Steinway piano group unveils grand sound system
LONDON (Reuters Life!) - It could be one of the most expensive music purchases you ever make, but if you want a sound system created by famed piano maker Steinway & Sons and high spec Danish developer Peter Lyngdorf you'll have to shell out.
Steinway Lyngdorf's extravagant Model D sound system promises to deliver an outstanding reproduction of music akin to a live symphony orchestra in any space you place it for a mere $157,500 installed.
Lyngdorf unveiled the system, which includes specially engineered speakers coated in Steinway's trademark black lacquer, to journalists and potential buyers gathered in London late on Wednesday evening.
Lyngdorf said the Model D uses three-dimensional mapping to adapt its sound output to the acoustics of the room where music is played with a trademarked technology called RoomPerfect and is designed to attract the wealthy buyer.
"Usually it would be people who have a net worth of tens of millions of dollars," he told Reuters.
The Model D took two years to develop, at a cost of $6.5 million and Steinway Lyngdorf already have orders for bespoke versions. It has struck deals to place one in the bar of the Ritz hotel in Paris and another at the Core Club in New York.
Lyngdorf, whose Danish company specializes in high specification audio systems, was approached by Steinway and Sons two and a half years ago to produce a music system to recreate the sound of Steinway pianos.
"Most of the really large corporations could make something better-sounding but they don't bother. They think that people can't hear the difference," said Lyngdorf.
A specialist will visit the location of each installation to "voice" the Model D System using a microphone.
When the measurements are uploaded, the system calculates a room correction that is applied to ensure perfect tonal balance and acoustics in any part of the listening space, Steinway Lyngdorf says in its promotional material.
Standing at more than two meters (yards) high, the speakers are not designed to blend in with the furniture.
"Well, it wouldn't fit in my apartment," one guest at the preview said.
