"The detail of the sound almost overwhelms us; it seems as if we can pick out every single wire of a drummer's brush as it scrapes across a cymbal…
…The Model D's bass is not only strong by also swift, like a skillfilly delivered punch from a middleweight boxer; the system never sounds bloated or boomy. And we cannot recall hearing a system that depicts so flawlessly singers of both genders in such a variety of styles."
"Using a special microphone, [the custom installer will] digitally plot a three-dimensional acoustic map of your space, accounting for each architectural and decorative quirk, from the tiled floor over there to the overstuffed couch here to the zigzag wall angles in the back. With that data in hand, the Model D will blanket the room in perfectly balanced, concert hall-quality sound, with nary an echo or dead spot anywhere."
"If there was ever a two-channel system that could deliver the audiophile goods in a package that might excite music lovers who'd never go near conventional high-end gear, it's this one. Easy to use and exciting to listen to, it's good enough to make Steinway synonymous with 'music'. Whether you're approaching it as a Steinway or as a hi-fi, the Steinway & Sons Model D Music System is the real deal."
"What will make you forget this ludicrous sticker price are the sounds that emanate from it when it's plugged in…
...After a long, brain-breaking discussion about digital-to-analog converters and transient waves, [Peter Lyngdorf] put on the theme song from The Pink Panther. I could almost smell the brass of the high-hat. After that, we listened to assorted symphonies, Peter Gabriel and New Order. It was an almost schizophrenic experience - I heard background voices, breaths and sounds that I'd never perceived before on other speakers...
Such remarkable sound quality puts any music collection in the peculiar spot of having to live up to the system."
"But most significant of all is its ability to reproduce music flawlessly. At the New York showcase, listening to a recorded jazz saxophonist was the aural equivalent of seeing Technicolor for the first time: The woodiness of the reed seemed almost palpable; the breathy tones seemed to float on a stream of air. The sound of the drum didn't merely boom and then dissolve - it lingered in a soft decay, so that its rich resonance lasted for long moments in the background. A piano sounded so real you looked around the room for the instrument. Strings emerged from beneath the usual dull blanket of an ensemble's sound. In truth, the result was better than the real thing - a group of musicians actually playing in your living room would certainly have lacked the balance and clarity the Steinway system delivers."
"This is the best music system, and it's beautiful."
"With a $188,000 price tag, the Steinway Lyngdorf Model D is the stereo to put all others to shame...
...Nothing gets lost, from the tiniest triangle in a full orchestral recording, to the missed guitar note on that Maroon 5 bootleg you downloaded. And no matter what, you can't screw up the sound. The open-air speakers kick out the jams at every angle, and the built-in RoomPerfect calibration system maps the acoustics of the surrounding environment and adjusts the Model D accordingly."
“The Model D overcomes the acoustic influences of your furniture to produce incredible sound that fills your entire living space…"
“With this technology the whole room becomes sweet spot, you can hide behind the sofa and you won’t notice the difference…”
“…whatever type of music we put on, it sounded like the musicians had moved in and were playing live.”
"The Steinway & Sons Model D comes as close to the holy grail of an easy-to-use audiophile system as you'll find anywhere”
"Decked in a sleek coat of glossy black piano lacquer with touches of gold-plated brass, the Model D music system mesmerises the beholder at first meeting"
"Dynamics are a huge part of Model D's repertoire as well, with full orchestra climaxes punches you in the face, and leaving you with an involuntary grin to show for it"
A sound investment - "after listening to several classical pieces and a Pink Floyd song, we expected the musicians to emerge from behind a curtain"
"If you are a diehard music lover, you'll love the system's one-of-a-kind revolutionary Room-Perfect technology, which enables the speakers to adapt to the acoustic characteristics of the listening enviroment, thereby producing unsurpassed audio-quality."
"The Model D is at the vanguard of a luxury lifestyle, aimed at the very selective,discerning music lover who loves a product not just for its quality,but its beauty and label as well."