Can even the top end hybrids really satisfy a grand player?

johnstaf There's very little low bass in a piano, so I wouldn't bother with a subwoofer. When playing even the lowest note on a concert grand you mostly hear harmonics.

I have not paired a decent subwoofer with a digital speaker system, so take this for what it's worth--but I can see why it would seem desirable. On a large grand, when struck moderately loudly, there's a huge reverberation that you don't necessarily hear, but you feel it cause your body/head/chest to vibrate. Even if I cough or sneeze at the bench, I can hear and feel the piano's soundboard respond and it in turn causes a physical rumble feedback that I can feel in my body.

I've never gotten that feeling with a stock digital sound system (even augmented with 5" drivers), but the cough thing aside, I can image why people might seek a subwoofer for that more visceral response that is lacking with regular speakers?

Gombessa My JBL 306p studio monitor (6" driver) specs says it goes down to 47Hz (-3dB). That frequency is just below G1, according to this. A0 is 27.5Hz and certainly would need a sizable subwoofer to reproduce at adequate sound pressure level.

One other problem of introducing a subwoofer to home studio setup is proper EQ at the crossover. To achieve a smooth transition from speaker to subwoofer would require careful frequency response measurement, room treatment and digital EQ.

Gombessa On a large grand, when struck moderately loudly, there's a huge reverberation that you don't necessarily hear, but you feel it cause your body/head/chest to vibrate.

I don't think I've ever experienced that, other than vibrations through the keyboard.

I have a subwoofer for my digital piano, and also a large concert acoustic piano. I feel the bass strongly in both yet in different ways.

For the digital, I feel it primarily in my feet area, and none in the keys. It’s more acute and localized.

In the acoustic, it’s more visceral. And I feel it primarily in the keys but also elsewhere. I wonder if the room setup plays a part as well. Having a large grand in a room, versus a concert hall, potentially concentrates the bass more.

HeartKeys From an audiophile standpoint, subwoofer is actually the most difficult to be set up in a room. Because the wavelength of low frequency is so long, reflections off the wall can interfere with the sound wave directly out of the subwoofer. The interference will cause a pattern in the room (called room mode) where the low frequency will sound alternatively loud to quiet (and even none/zero) as you walk around.

You can play with the placement of the subwoofer and try to find the best location that result in peak feel at your chest.

For home theaters, where multiple listening locations all need to avoid the dip (cancellation or null point), it is often necessary to have 2 to 4 subwoofers strategically placed and calibrated. The acoustic piano, with long string and large soundboard, resembles the multi-subwoofer setup which explains why room mode is less of a problem.