Steinway vs. Lyngdorf: Battle of the High End Audio (1 Viewer)

[Martin Dew]

Comparing Steinway to Lyngdorf is a bit like comparing Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi to The Plaza, New York. Or the Singapore Airlines onboard First Class Suite to Etihad First Apartment. Or even the McLaren 720S to the Ferrari 488 Pista. You get the drift. So, after writing a review of the Lyngdorf MP-40 processor for HTF last summer, I was intrigued that the exclusive UK distributor for Steinway Lyngdorf, Gecko Home Cinema, asked if I would be interested to take on what we might call a ‘best vs. best’ challenge. But the remit here will not necessarily be to identify the finest home theater, as both the Steinway and Lyngdorf systems in this face-off have impeccable performance within their price ranges and, importantly, are made by the same company. Rather, the goal is to pinpoint what audio characteristics, if any, justify an approximate $90k uplift in budget from a $100k to $190k system (at current exchange rates).
The playing field here across two demo rooms is far from level. A...

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[acuvox]

I'm glad you like these systems - I do too. BUT,

Claiming that you feel like you are at a musical performance while listening to mixed, processed, multi-mono track albums is both impossible and a low bar. In effect you are saying that you can't distinguish a difference from the tracking or mastering studio.

In this case, it probably sounded better. I have heard Steinway/Lyngdorf systems and they were more accurate on zero knob, NCP recordings of acoustic music than "professional" studio monitors from PMC, JBL, Focal, Meyer, Genelec, Dynaudio, and ADAM. The rivals even at polite listening levels are rare - Earthworks, Lipinsky, and Kii - and the Lyngdorf has the advantage of top octave headroom for uncompressed music, which has 18dB peaks above 10KHz and can't be reproduced by a 1" dome tweeter. (this recommends the affordable ADAM alternatives, which also sport a Heil type tweeter)

I realize that reviewers have the problem of saying nice things about all speakers so as not to offend advertisers and readers, but apparently these run beyond your stock of superlatives. To really express how musical they are, you need to get out of audiophile comfort zones and reveal that 99% of the recordings and speakers they listen to fall far short of musical reality. Next time, please spin some discs and files by 2L, Chesky, BIS, Aliavox, or Master Performers - and go to acoustic performances immediately before and after so your ears have a reference.

 

[JohnRice]

You joined the forum for no other reason than to post that?

Pardon me, but... Snob Alert!

There are a lot of great recordings, from those labels you listed as well as others, but there's also value in evaluating the recordings that real people listen to on a daily basis as well.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Just noticed this review.

Had no idea that Steinway makes audio (playback) gear... but yeah, something to dream a little on... though it's definitely much more realistic for me to attend excellent concerts sporting their pianos... Not even sure where I could find their gear to audition, despite living in NYC, if I can afford them... Hmmm... ok, there are apparently 2 locations in Manhattan: one their own in SoHo(?), another a dealer showroom amongst warehouse buildings on the west side very near the Intrepid...

_Man_

 

[Clinton McClure]

Yet there’s a Steinway piano gallery about 12 minutes from me in a rural community of about 2200 people.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Yet there’s a Steinway piano gallery about 12 minutes from me in a rural community of about 2200 people.

Arkansas has couth!

 

[Clinton McClure]

Arkansas has couth!

Mayflower for the win!