World’s Most Expensive Audio System Costs Over $157,000
Posted November 9, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
You may have spent a small fortune on that new big screen HDTV that barely fits in your living room. Maybe you forked over hundreds more for that perfect surround sound system that floods your place with theatre quality audio.
You may think you have it pretty good. But you’re still not at the top of your game. Not unless you have the ultimate sound system. But the one thing you may not want to hear is how much it costs.
The system with the unwieldy name of the Steinway Lyngdorf Model D is every audophile’s dream. It was created by Danish sound wizard Peter Lyngdorf and has the world famous piano maker Steinway’s trademark black lacquer. It promises to reproduce music similar to sitting in front of a live symphony orchestra. And it’s yours installed for the bargain price of just $157,500.
The Model D uses three-dimensional mapping to match the sound output to whatever room you’re in, to ensure perfect and optimal reproduction every time. It’s designed for those with a lot of money who really, really like their music pristine. “Usually it would be people who have a net worth of tens of millions of dollars,” Lyngdorf relates about the potential client base.
The idea for this monster music maker came when Steinway approached the engineer more than two years ago, asking him to design something that would accurately reproduce the sound of one of their pianos. It took $6.5 million in research, but the product was finally unveiled this week.
So will anyone actually buy one of these things? The answer, of course, is yes. The Steinway Lyngdorf system will be installed in two bars – one at the Ritz Hotel in Paris and another at the Core Club in New York. Still, you have to wonder if a noisy bar is really the best place for such an intricate device. A microphone-bearing specialist will now visit both locations and take intricate specifications from each room so that the sound is perfect when it’s up and running.
And if you want to follow suit, you’ll not only need a lot of money, but likely an even bigger house. The world’s most expensive audio system is more than two metres high. Which could mean it might fit into your room – but you probably won’t be able to.
