Some of the best would be the Paradigm Soundscape, Martin Logan Motion Vision and Focal Dimension. Would it be possible to use a good 2.1 system instead? You would have more options and better sound quality.
Unfortunately, I don't have much room depth-wise to install regular speakers (which are typically 12" deep minimum). The alternative would be to find some quite thin speakers but since I don't have 2300$ for Martin Logan electromagnetic speakers, my options are rather limited.
I'm hoping somebody can chime in with very thin speakers that sound killer for piano but I'm not getting my hopes up.
You're setting the bar pretty high for sound quality, so unfortunately that leads me to suggest expensive sound bars. The Paradigm Soundscape and B&W Panorama II are among the best sounding sound bars I've heard, but they both go over $2,000 if you add a sub. The Sonos Playbar wasn't bad, but again I'd add a sub bringing it up to $1,400.
What is your budget? Warning, I don't think a $400 soundbar with wireless sub that delivers fantastic music performance actually exists...
As I said, it doesn't NEED to be a soundbar per se, but space is a limiting factor. Looking for something that doesn't take much room depth-wise. 12" is WAY too deep, so looking for something at least with half of that or shallower.
My budget is a far cry from the 2K mentioned earlier. I don't need a sub right now but I'm ready to spend 400$ on the used market to find something respectable. It doesn't need to be brand-spankin' new.
At that price point the best thing to do is go to Best Buy - mine has a wall of sound bars to try. It's been a little while, but I recall preferring the Sony, Klipsch, and Harmon Kardon bars. Visio is well rated here for TV/Movies, I'm not sure how it does for music.
Will you be watching Blu Rays or other video recordings of music? Do you have a receiver, or anything else to build upon? $400 could get you a nice set of bookshelf speakers but might be a stretch to fit in a receiver as well.
A friend might have a receiver he can give me. 400$ would just be for the speakers themselves. This will exclusively be for piano music.
I might have to bring some CDs and try a bunch at Best Buy. I'm dreading the process, to be honest.
Initially bought some Definitive Technology SM45 speakers and while they rock for most genres, there's a huge mid-bump that makes it unpleasant for piano. Also, they're close to 13" deep!
If your goal is just 2.0 or 2.1 audio, I'd bring the question over to the Speakers forum along with your size constraints. Soundbars are generally designed as companions for a TV. If you don't need that pairing, I'd look for an audio-only solution.
These are unfortunately way too deep, still. At almost 9" deep, it's not enough of a difference from 12" for the room I have. Thanks for the suggestion, though.
I get the fact you want to play back piano music. Would this require stereo output or mono or..... ? You really didn't mention your requirements here.
Also what is the actual size restriction for the speaker you intend to get?
If you are thinking mono is reasonable, you may want to instead check out some center channel speakers instead.
I'll go tdallen on the Goldenear Supercinema soundbar for a passive choice (meaning you will need to hook it up to some sort of pre/amp or AVR). There are also some reasonable soundbars with built in active power but not quite on par with items like the Goldenear offering (and a few other passive soundbars).
Very small, very open and able to give a good rendition of piano music at levels equal to most soundbars.
I have a brief review somewhere under the Soundbar section if you wish to read. These are not self powered, but require only about 10-15 watts (small receiver or amplifier) for playback.
Also, the Pioneer soundbar does an excellent job on most musical material. I have one of these in my office. For various reasons, I had to give up on using this with my home theater due to compatibility with other components. It does wonders with my music collection on my PC and is extremely enjoyable in a 12' x 14' room.
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