Spirio | r is the world’s finest high-resolution player piano. In collaboration with the Music Technology and Engineering team at Steinway & Sons, Intelligent Product Solutions has helped to expand the horizons of piano performance, recording, editing, sharing, and artistry.
Steinway has been making the finest pianos in the world for over 160 years. IPS was engaged in a technical deep-dive to thoroughly understand and quantify the complex, traditional mechanism. The team worked with Steinway to architect a system delivering ground breaking new features without sacrificing the instrument's exclusive tonal range and color.With the detailed results of the audit, Steinway leveraged their in-house system architecture and mechanical engineering expertise to lay the foundations for the next generation of Spirio. Joined by a complementary team of IPS engineers, they set out to bring their design to life.
"The Steinway Spirio is as close as one can get to hearing private recitals by world-class musicians." - The Telegraph (London)
Integration of Advanced Technology
The Steinway Spirio | r stands out for its seamless integration of high-resolution player piano technology with the traditional craftsmanship of a Steinway. This innovation allows the piano to not only play with extreme precision but also to record and play back performances with unparalleled accuracy, capturing the nuances of a live performance.
Enhanced User Experience
The Spirio | r offers an intuitive interface via an iPad app, making it easy for users to access a vast library of music, record performances, and edit playback with ease. This emphasis on user experience combines cutting-edge digital features with the timeless appeal of a Steinway grand piano, providing a unique experience for both novice players and seasoned musicians.
High-Fidelity Recording and Playback
One of the key highlights is the Spirio | r's ability to record performances at a high resolution, capturing the smallest details such as key speed and pedaling with remarkable accuracy. This makes it a powerful tool not only for performers who want to capture their performances but also for educators and composers who need precise playback capabilities.
Solution
BLENDING ARTISTRY & TECH
To Steinway’s extensive and robust musical technology and intellectual property, IPS hardware and software engineers added a high-performance embedded control system, consisting of distributed microcontrollers networked for the high speed movement of data. The sensors and control system have been incorporated into the instrument without impacting the playability or sonic characteristics.
In order to authentically reproduce the nuances of the original performance, controllers provide precise timing in a multi-step note drive process, delivering accurate timing and dynamics of note events. Hammer velocity and proportional pedaling are all monitored hundreds of times per second. The high-resolution recording hardware captures the artist's performance ensuring accurate reproduction of dynamics, timing, and pedal motions.
But apart from the science of development, the true magic of Spirio results from its full integration with the actual music production within Steinway’s recording studios and post production facilities where thousands of hours recording hundreds of world class artists provide the meticulous detailed and nuanced performance testing required to build the finely tuned algorithms embedded in Spirio.
"Spirio | r technology integrates seamlessly ensuring no alteration in the musical performance nor compromise in the instrument's beauty."
App Development
FEATURE ENHANCEMENT
The application’s user interface is effortlessly friendly, enabling users to access Steinway’s vast and ever-expanding world-class music library of recorded performances. In addition, Spirio | r features connectivity options through WiFi, ethernet, USB, Bluetooth, MIDI, and HDMI, allowing for unprecedented interoperability.
MUSIC LIBRARY & ORGANIZATION
Access an ever-expanding library of performances from contemporary to classic. Relive historic performances in every detail.Optimized search function to find songs quickly and effortlessly.
HIGH RESOLUTION RECORDING
Record and playback performances in high fidelity. Recordings can be saved and shared in different formats; Spirio high resolution, MIDI, and MP3.Edit every detail of recordings, in the Spirio Editor. Modify note velocity, note duration, pedal data, delete/add time, and even correct wrong notes.
"Spirio enables you to enjoy performances captures by great pianists - played with such nuance, power and passion that they are utterly indistinguishable from a live performance."
