[claudman]

Great to find this site.  Much helpful information. 

My listening room is 14 ft x 13 ft with 9 foot ceiling.  I recently found GIK Acoustics and purchased the room starter kit #1.  Basic layout is as follows:

Front wall with equipment is 13 ft wide.  I have two 244 bass trap in the corns on this wall in a diagonal.
The left wall has a large window with plantation shutters and I have put a 242 panel on stand at first reflection point on this wall.
The right wall has another 242 panel along with a Yamaha upright piano.

The back wall is mostly open into the foyer and has a 8 foot wide by 7 foot tall opening.  Ceiling in the foyer is 18 foot high.  I have a monster trap in the corner back right side and another 242 panel along the wall on the left side.

My question is if the piano being in the listening room can affect the sound from a resonance standpoint.  I know that it will created reflections like any other furniture, but do you think the output from the speaker can excite the strings/wire in the piano?

Thanks,

Tim

[Devil Doc]

I don't know about pianos, but my drums certainly do. Snare wires in particular can be a pia. I think they're called sympathetic vibrations. I just de-tune the drums and release the snares, not so simple with a piano.

Doc

[Hipper]

I have no experience of this and can only suggest you listen with and without the piano in the room.

However, thinking about the piano mechanism, I believe the strings are damped until they are struck by the hammer and when the key is released the damping mechanism re-engages. Only when you press the foot pedal is the damping mechanism permanently released. On that basis perhaps the strings won't resonate so much as to be noticeable. I must admit that is not a very convincing argument as only a small part of the string is in contact with the damper - the rest is free to resonate. Just thinking aloud!

[EdRo]

Or you could fill the piano with cement? 

[richidoo]

The strings are well damped but the soundboard is not damped, so it can resonate to external sounds. But I think this paper's abstract says that the noise is -40dB below the test signal loudspeaker.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1212.2323

Your hallway is probably bigger source of midrange noise.

[Glenn Kuras]

The strings are well damped but the soundboard is not damped, so it can resonate to external sounds. But I think this paper's abstract says that the noise is -40dB below the test signal loudspeaker.
http://arxiv.org/abs/1212.2323

Your hallway is probably bigger source of midrange noise.

Plus 1.. You can always put a blanket inside of it if you think it is effecting things.

[S Clark]

A piano is made to resonate equally over a wide range of frequencies.  It is unlikely that it will emphasize a particular frequency to create a problem... if anything, it would probably act as a damper. 

[jschwenker]

This is something I can report on from experience.  I used to have this arrangement.  Due to not being able at the time to figure out a better way, we had my wife's upright piano between the speakers.  Speakers were brought forward substantially into the room, which helped some BUT... 

I suggest the curious audionaut considering this go do some easy experimentation.  A strong cough makes a pretty good impulse.  Stand in front of said piano and try it.  More than likely you'll be able to hear all kinds of strings and junk resonating pretty strongly from within the piano.  I was able to hear it easily from the listening seat when a friend would do the up close cough.  I was able to just hear it when I coughed from the listening seat.  I lived with it that way for some years.  (A most wonderful wife and limited other possibilities) 

I was able to well enough put any effects relatively out of mind.  (I could believe the paper referred to above showing maybe 40 dB down)  But I would not recommend having a piano in the room for the very best listening - without a little testing or serious re-consideration of other options.

Cheers,  John

[claudman]

Thanks for the comments.

First, the piano will stay where it is since, 1. who wants to move a piano, 2. Wife says it will stay in the room, 3. no other place to put it.

It does have a peddle to dampen the sound that locks in place, so I think I will leave it as is.

I will try the cough to excite the piano. 

Why would the hallway be more of an issue with the mid-range?

I like the cement idea, since my kids only play it, they are grown and moved out and the wife dreams of playing, but hasn't touched it in years.  I would how long I could go before it was found out!

[richidoo]

Why would the hallway be more of an issue with the mid-range?

Just that midrange echo is the most distracting frequency for echos, and a tall foyer (with wood floors, windows, etc?) is an echo chamber and there's no door to stop it.

Glenn has a great idea to stuff the piano with absorptive material. If you can find Bonded Logic 4" thick wall insulation that will really kill the ringing.

[jschwenker]

Thanks for the comments.

First, the piano will stay where it is since, 1. who wants to move a piano, 2. Wife says it will stay in the room, 3. no other place to put it.

It does have a peddle to dampen the sound that locks in place, so I think I will leave it as is.

I will try the cough to excite the piano. 

I like the cement idea, since my kids only play it, they are grown and moved out and the wife dreams of playing, but hasn't touched it in years.  I would how long I could go before it was found out!

Sounds like a great plan.  Short of the cement, you might succeed very well with some fiber batting or packing material of some kind pressing up against the strings.  While damped at one location, my impression is that the string lengths that are still left free are the principal external sound responders.  And before after mods impulse tests should tell if you're on the right track.

Good hunting!  John