Interesting review of Steinway Lyngdorf in Absolute Sound

[trponhunter]

Guys - a great review of the Steinway Lyngdorf system in this months Absolute Sound. Robert Greene is a very sharp guy. He embraces dsp processing and understand much more than the average reviewer about taking the room and its reflections out of the equation.

The Lyngdorf system is not the only system on the market of similar concept, but Robert is right - once you experience this type of technology PROPERLY applied - it's very tough to go back to "conventional" hifi. I've been living with a similar the system in my store for the last year - and they can be game changers.

I happen to be really interested and passionate about this type of technology and would love to get a dialogue going about it with anyone else who has questions or is interested.

Give the review a good read - it should be really thought provoking.

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by trponhunter

Guys - a great review of the Steinway Lyngdorf system in this months Absolute Sound. Robert Greene is a very sharp guy. He embraces dsp processing and understand much more than the average reviewer about taking the room and its reflections out of the equation.

The Lyngdorf system is not the only system on the market of similar concept, but Robert is right - once you experience this type of technology PROPERLY applied - it's very tough to go back to "conventional" hifi. I've been living with a similar the system in my store for the last year - and they can be game changers.

I happen to be really interested and passionate about this type of technology and would love to get a dialogue going about it with anyone else who has questions or is interested.

Give the review a good read - it should be really thought provoking.

Paging Dr Z. Paging Dr Z.

[trponhunter]

What can I say - old habits die hard.

[metaphacts]

Originally Posted by trponhunter

What can I say - old habits die hard.

Didn't say it was bad. Dr Z can add to any discussion on the subject as you know well

[ronenash]

Originally Posted by trponhunter

Guys - a great review of the Steinway Lyngdorf system in this months Absolute Sound. Robert Greene is a very sharp guy. He embraces dsp processing and understand much more than the average reviewer about taking the room and its reflections out of the equation.

The Lyngdorf system is not the only system on the market of similar concept, but Robert is right - once you experience this type of technology PROPERLY applied - it's very tough to go back to "conventional" hifi. I've been living with a similar the system in my store for the last year - and they can be game changers.

I happen to be really interested and passionate about this type of technology and would love to get a dialogue going about it with anyone else who has questions or is interested.

Give the review a good read - it should be really thought provoking.

I could not agree more. I have been using the Lyngdorf DPA-1 for two year now. Its the single one piece in my system that is not going anywhere. I also believe that Lyngdorf is using some very high quality DAC design that is hard to surpass by anything that I have heard.
One thing I am debating with myself is whether it would be beneficial to have a seperate preamp in the system. The DPA-1 is already a very good preamp and I am wondering if running the Lyngdorf at fixed level into a CJ tube preamp would make things even better. Guess I will have to try this sometime.
Going back on subject, I think the Lyngdorf RoomPerfect technology is nothing short of revolutionary and is how the future looks. No single component will bring a bigger improvement in your system.

[Face]

I was surprised and impressed by their system at NY Axpona. They did an excellent job of getting a small pair of monitors placed against the rear wall to image and have a nice soundstage. The monitors also integrated very well with their subs.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Face

I was surprised and impressed by their system at NY Axpona. They did an excellent job of getting a small pair of monitors placed against the rear wall to image and have a nice soundstage. The monitors also integrated very well with their subs.

I found this same system sounding awful to my ears in Paris.

[Jerome W]

I have listened to the complete Steinway Lyngdorf system at the Paris show.
While their small system was some kind of joke at 20k euros, reminding me the story of the frog that wanted to be as big as a beef and finally exploded, the big system was a complete different story.
At 160k euros for the active speakers with 1600W of power for each canal, and the controller who is actually a preamp, the RP processor and a cd player ( no server or HD : too bad ! ), this big system sounded very impressive.
We heard 2 very different tunes.
A classic one with a piano, and the eternal demo tune of the "Wall" by Pink Floyd, a classic of the Hifi shows because actually everything sounds great with this.
Leif Schmuker started to tell us the story about Steinways's President who had this discussion with Peter Lyngdorf about the fact that no speaker on earth could reproduce the full dynamic range of a Concert Steinway piano, the big one, I don't recall the name. And Peter Lyngdorf replied that not only he could design such a speaker but he could design one that would reproduce a complete philharmonic orchestra.
Well, this piano sounded very nice. But for some mysterious reason, I could not have the impression of mistening to a real piano.
I had a much closer impression of listening to a real piano 15 years ago, when I listened to ProAc Response 3.2 with a Naim amp and a Meridian cd player.
But listening to "The Wall" was an other story. The best "wall " sound I ever heard. We had the feeling that :
1/ Pink Floyd was playing a live private concert at real volume, just for us
2/ each speaker had 16000 and not 1600W of power
3/ a complete control of the speakers by the amps and of the acoustic of the room by Room Perfect : no parasite vibes or resonances. A pure, plain, full, extremely dynamic and weighty sound.
Some listeners among me noticed that the voices could have been a bit warmer and sounded a bit cold, just an once, but this is certainly due to class D amplification.
Could I live with such a system ? Definitely yes. But I would add a TT and would replace the Lyngdorf preamp by a good tube preamp, to add some warmth to the sound.
Will I buy it even if I had the 160k euros for it ? No.
I took more pleasure listening to the Rega top system and I take more pleasure listening to my system everyday. My goal in domestic HiFi is not to have the players in front of me at real volume. My goal is to relax while listening to beautiful music. Something I achieve everyday with my modest system. So, as far as I have been impressed with the Lyngdorf, it is simply not for me.

[Face]

Let me add, I found it impressive for what it is.

Different rooms can have a dramatic effect on how a system sounds and it's very possible it may not have sounded as good in the room you heard it.

[Jerome W]

Originally Posted by Face

Let me add, I found it impressive for what it is.

Different rooms can have a dramatic effect on how a system sounds and it's very possible it may not have sounded as good in the room you heard it.

I agree !