Powered near-field monitors for pianoteq

Small problem here: there must be a thousand available models !
My only personal advice: think large and powerful !
I ended up with almost "midfield" ones - tri-amped 8" from Fostex (discontinued) + a 10" sub !
Just because they had to "survive" against my real grand...

I had some ESI 05 monitors which were ok, I preferred them to the more expensive Yamaha HS7. One problem with active monitors is because they are mains powered, they are difficult to place or experiment with different placements. Longer mains leads could be bought but safety wise I didn't bother. I would definitely consider a subwoofer whatever size the main monitors are. One thing to note is the term STUDIO, this for me meant I was entering a world better than HI FI, more exclusive. Some studios use hi fi speakers, Mission and Yamaha passives for example with a separate amp, I prefer this older method.

I can recommend these
Just bought them and is really pleased with the sound
https://www.thomann.de/dk/tannoy_gold_7.htm

Thanks all for the responses.

Many good suggestions.

Tannoy Gold 7 looks interesting (or Gold 8 ones)...

ART RM5 - how do they do with the lowest octave? They look intriguing but are very different than most powere dmonitors? Is there a place I can buy these with decent return policy?

Osho

I am in USA - west coast. I saw the thread on gearslutz. There were some mentions of production quality issues - but good comments otherwise. Hence, it may be important to try to find a local dealer to where I can return these if I run into any issues.

I really like ART RM5 look and its feature set. Very interesting mix of features..

Osho

I play pianoteq mostly with headphones, but I'm interested also in trying some near field monitor.
Looking at Korg website I've noticed the sequenz sonicbar (https://sequenzmusicgear.com/en/product.../#sonicbar)  that seems interesting for the form factor, price and placement possibilites.
Anyway there are not so many reviews, so I'm wondering if someone has some experience with this speakers.

You'll have presence in the room with this and 2 B1s with the ToneMatch. BUY BUY BUY!

https://www.bose.com/en_us/products/spe..._pkg_black

Audio Sample.
https://youtu.be/lxlJjcKJO9c

And, people allege you can’t really get realistic piano sounds out of Pianoteq and a pair of loudspeakers, incredible!

People, near-field monitors —as the name implies— have been primarily intended as a means anybody, but, especially, a mix engineer uses to closely monitor a stereo or occasional mono mix.

Believable grand piano tones simulation and consequently reproduction lately from software is an afterthought at best!

Any update? Would love to hear a sample.

Here it is. I picked a Ravel midi file that I liked, but somehow the controller used or the pianist's dynamics didn't work for the velocity curves I use, so I had to come up with a rather strange curve. Don't expect audiophile quality as the sound was recorded with the built-in microphones from the camcorder.There is a certain ringing in high frequencies (particularly evident in the slow part) that is not coming from the speakers in live listening. I would love to get my hands on good microphones and get a more faithful recording. Still, I think that the extended frequency range and solid transients are plain to hear.
https://youtu.be/E2q-5POrTk4

you could still click on the link and play. I made it public anyway...

Ummm, you may not like Ravel, but the piece is a hell of a showcase for a piano, imho. Maybe you mean it doesn't sollicitate the bass register enough?
Which piece would you pick?

YEA! I was never Bose fan until I heard this speaker at a wedding. I picked these up back in 2010 or so and it's been in the house since.

I accidentally discovered Pianoteq and when I hit the C note on my keyboard and heard it come out of that speaker! I laughed so hard and had the biggest grin. It was amazing....

I was telling my wife that I'm actually using the speaker the way it was meant to be used to amplify real instruments, I just happen to have a virtual modeled one in my notebook.

I emailed Moddart about a month later telling them I wanted the Studio Upgrade!

I would not be back playing piano at all if I didn't have this setup. I brought my Kurzweil out which had been sitting under my bed since 1997. I started getting back into piano around September 2018, PianoTeq is just that good.

A virtual anechoic chamber with full compliment of modeled microphones, complete mixer/EQ. Complete Piano setup to individual tuning on a notes, then ability to place the entire setup in a virtual room.

It's amazing paired to the Bose L1 which was designed to amplify real instruments without distortions filters (unless you want it to)

Bose has a cheaper one for the house the S1 or compact? I think it will suffice for the home which you could try out!

I can play on the real pianos the Steinway D, B, CFX, the Bluthner, the Petrof and come home and my ear's can't tell the difference anymore. Especially when they released 6.5.0, that attack change made the piano have more room presence,

After doing much research an experimenting I have found the most perfect (if that is even possible) setup for Pianoteq (and indeed other sample based piano libraries).

As written in my first post on another thread...

IK Multimedia iLoud MTM monitors, are exceptional at being able to reproduce the all important mid range required for satisfying Pianoteq playback. I have these connected to a sub-woofer and have set a crossover of 50hz on the monitors.

Not only is the mid range beautifully produced, the high frequency is very, very good, and the imaging is great!

I have them on heavy duty microphone stands, positioned at the correct height for when I'm sitting at the piano (important).

I have Pianoteq loaded into MainStage. Why? I use MainStage because I insert PSP EQ27 (amazing 'analog quality eq' and just a very small amount (1:5 ratio approx) of PSP FETpressor (see screengrab for settings).

The combination of all this results in my 'perfect' Pianoteq setup.

I am so impressed with the iLoud MTM monitors, that I have bought 2x pairs and I'm about to purchase a 3rd pair!

If you have a flat piano top with enough depth, the iLoud MTM comes supplied with and adjustable monitor mount. I have also not used the any room calibration microphone / setting up that comes with the included microphone etc.

I have a good sounding studio / space.

(Note - I was going to upload screenshots with the eq and comp settings but I'm not sure how to do this. I tried drag and drop from desktop, but I don't think this is the correct way to do it?)

Best,
Scott