<HTML><BODY style="word-wrap: break-word; -khtml-nbsp-mode: space; -khtml-line-break: after-white-space; "><DIV><DIV>On Jun 12, 2007, at 2:35 PM, Barbara Richmond wrote:</DIV><BR class="Apple-interchange-newline"><BLOCKQUOTE type="cite"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px 0px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; text-align: auto; -khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none; text-indent: 0px; -apple-text-size-adjust: auto; text-transform: none; orphans: 2; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; "><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">Hi all,</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">I'm serving as a consultant to a local junior college that is building a new facility and purchasing instruments for it. The recital hall will seat 350. Even at this small size (well, small compared to other places I've worked), I would think it would be preferable to be looking at 9' pianos, compared to something in the 7' range. I could be mistaken, though. (I'm a great consultant, hey?) I've been told the acoustics will be good (that's what they all say...). What do you think?</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">Thanks,</SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"></FONT> </DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">Barbara Richmond, RPT </SPAN></FONT></DIV><DIV><FONT face="Arial" size="2"><SPAN class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10px; ">near Peoria, IL</SPAN></FONT></DIV></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR><DIV>I suspect a 7' would "fill the hall" with sound just fine. However, a 9' has it beat for bass, and for overall, how should I put it, "harmonic integration," the sound of the whole thing put together. And, hey, the street price institutions pay for a 9' isn't that much higher than 7'. I'd advise a 9'. (We have a recital hall seating 330, and we have 2 Ds in it, FWIW). Also, from a pragmatic point of view, your "touring artist" (or hotshot from the neighboring town) will look askance at the 7'.<BR><DIV><DIV>Regards,</DIV><DIV>Fred Sturm</DIV><DIV>University of New Mexico</DIV><DIV><A href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></DIV><BR></DIV><DIV><BR class="khtml-block-placeholder"></DIV></BODY></HTML>