Pulchritudinous Pairing

For music lovers, pairing the names Steinway and Lyngdorf signals a match almost too good to be true.

But Steinway & Sons, manufacturers of the world’s most highly acclaimed pianos, and Peter Lyngdorf, world-renowned developer of components audiophiles dream about, have indeed collaborated on a handful of home theater and music systems that somehow manage to outshine even the lofty expectations set by such a sumptuous symbiosis.

The aesthetic of the Steinway Lyngdorf Model C Music System is no surprise, yet still a visual delight: sleek, slick black towers both monolithic and graceful.

What’s under the hood may raise a few eyebrows: Open-baffle drivers to radiate sound forward and aft, woofers crafted to fill a corner without becoming boomy or bloated and a totally digital signal chain from beginning to end.

Steinway claims a frequency response of 250 Hz to 22 kHz for the Model C tower, with the Model C Boundry Woofer filling in the low-end from 20 Hz to 500 Hz. The C towers are rated at 4 Ohms, though don't worry about taxing your amp, as the Model Cs have their own. The mid-range drivers in the tower are a pair of 5.25-inchers. The 1-inch "AMT" or Air Motion Transformer supplies the treble.  

All that’s missing is a sultry ingénue in a silky side-slit dress to serenade you.

PRICE: $148,000, sans ingénue.
CONTACT: 212.588.9330, steinwaylyngdorf.com