CHAS, thanks for that link! So here is what that person states re room size:

quote:

(i) Rooms with non-parallel walls perform better than those with parallel walls

(ii) Room lengths (including height) should not be multiples of one another

(iii) The room total wall length should be at least 10 (resp. 15) times the size of the piano for solo (resp. ensemble) playing

I meet criterion #2 (but only just barely) and actually I am almost positive I meet #3 as well.

However, I will not be able to meet criterion #1 (nor would many, I'm guessing). But wouldn't that be an argument in favor of angled placement for better acoustics??

The pragmatist in me says that these room size "rules" are only useful if you're building a custom home, or you're an architect with a semi- or professional pianist as your client.

Your walls, multiples, etc., are what they are. I think that any of the options you've presented will be just fine for 99.99% of the world, including we WTF'ers who pay attention to these things.

Right, I mean, the piano can only go in one room, there is no other option.

But I’m thinking about the choice of a straight placement versus diagonal, and if diagonal is better acoustically, that’s a reason to use that placement.

But the question is, is diagonal better acoustically?

CHAS, thanks for that link. I have looked at that before, but now that I've been thinking about this so much, I went and read through it again.

I think positioning the piano at an angle is the way to go.

Stay tuned for ... updates!

Now you just need a piano!

Theory and practice.

AdagioM, I don’t want to jinx it, so I haven’t shared specifics yet, but I just came to an agreement on price today and will be purchasing a grand and having it delivered hopefully next week!!

I think I’ll be holding my breath until then, this is almost as bad as when we closed on our house!

Post pix!

No happy dance yet, the sellers have 7 steps and two tight turns that the piano movers will have to maneuver, that will give me a heart attack (if writing the check doesn’t!)

quote:

But the question is, is diagonal better acoustically?

I don't think the angling of the piano matters at all. It's the way sound moves around the room once it is emitted from a source. Angling the piano within the room doesn't affect how sound propagates around the room.

quote:

It's the way sound moves around the room once it is emitted from a source. Angling the piano within the room doesn't affect how sound propagates around the room.

Right, except, if you have the piano mostly in a corner at an angle such that the straight side of the piano is towards the wall, and the bass end is farthest away from the opposite wall, then in theory the sound from the piano has a longer distance to travel before bouncing back at the piano.

IOW, it's not the fact that the piano is at an angle, but rather the fact that putting it at an angle creates more distance.

Right?

So, assuming all of the above is correct (and it may not be), the question is, does this have a positive impact?

I think the only way for you to tell is to put it both ways and see which one you like best. It will most likely not sound like it did when you tried it, my piano has sounded slightly different in each house we’ve lived in.

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:
No happy dance yet, the sellers have 7 steps and two tight turns that the piano movers will have to maneuver, that will give me a heart attack (if writing the check doesn’t!)

They got it in, right? They'll be able to get it out. (She glibly says, knowing she was unable to watch them haul her piano over the ledge into the house.... )

Take deep breaths