Steinway & Sons P300 2.1

Description

Overview

The Steinway & Sons P300 2.1 is the flagship processor of the Steinway Lyngdorf range and the component every other part of the system answers to. It decodes sixteen channels natively, covering Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and Auro-3D alongside the legacy formats, and addresses up to 256 loudspeakers through the Steinway Lyngdorf Digital Link. Where a specification calls for more than sixteen channels, several P300 units stack to map out as many as 64 channels of native decoding. Two optional input boards, AES3 or AES67, let it work alongside DCI-compliant cinema processors and servers, so a private room can be built to commercial requirements.

Design & build

The P300 sits in a slim chassis of 14.0 by 45.0 by 35.9 cm weighing 8.4 kg, either rack mounted in four rack units or left freestanding. What matters more is where it sits in the signal path. The processor does the decoding, the room correction and the crossover work in the digital domain, then hands the result to an A1 or A2 amplifier over the Digital Link. Conversion to analogue happens at the last possible moment, inside the amplifier, right next to the loudspeaker terminals.

Sound & performance

Quoted response is ±0.5 dB from 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz, with total harmonic distortion no higher than 0.005% across the same band. RoomPerfect room correction is built in and measured from several positions with a microphone, so it serves the listening area rather than one seat. Above that sit 32 adjustable voicings, each holding up to eight shelving, high pass, low pass or parametric filters with adjustable gain and Q. That is enough control to tune a room separately for film, concert video and two-channel music, and to switch between those settings instantly.

Key features

• Sixteen natively decoded channels: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Auro-3D and the legacy formats.
• Up to 256 loudspeakers addressable over the Steinway Lyngdorf Digital Link.
• Units stack to map out up to 64 channels of native decoding.
• Optional AES3 or AES67 input board for DCI-compliant cinema processors and servers.
• Five HDMI 2.1 inputs and two HDMI 2.1b outputs with full matrix switching, eARC and Dynamic Lip-Sync.
• Five Digital Link outputs, plus single-ended stereo analogue and coaxial S/PDIF for a second zone.
• Media player with internet radio through vTuner and airable, AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect with Dolby Atmos Music, Roon Ready and DLNA.
• Control by RS232 on DB9, RJ45 Ethernet, IR sensor inputs and output, trigger input and four trigger outputs, two USB ports and an SD card slot.

Technology

The Steinway Lyngdorf Digital Link is the brand’s own interconnect between processor, amplifier and, on some models, the loudspeaker. It runs on CAT 5e cable, which makes it straightforward to install, but it is neither a computer network nor an analogue interconnect. Amplifier to loudspeaker connections are made with Neutrik speakON. On video, the P300 takes 8K30 in RGB or YCbCr 4:4:4 at 10-bit, 8K60 in YCbCr 4:2:0 at 10-bit and 4K120 at 4:4:4 10-bit, supports VRR, Fast Vactive and ALLM, and passes HDR metadata through for dynamic HDR, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, at the 40 Gbps fixed rate link and 18 Gbps TMDS video rates.

Specifications

• Channels: 16 native decoded channels, stackable to 64; up to 256 speakers via Digital Link
• Formats: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Auro-3D and all legacy formats; optional AES3 or AES67 DCI input board
• Video: 5 × HDMI 2.1 in (HDCP 2.3), 2 × HDMI 2.1b out with eARC; 8K30 4:4:4 10-bit, 8K60 4:2:0 10-bit, 4K120 4:4:4 10-bit; VRR, FVA, ALLM; HDR10+, Dolby Vision, HLG; full HDMI matrix
• Other: RoomPerfect; 32 voicings; THD 0.005% max; ±0.5 dB 20 Hz to 20 kHz; 4RU rack or freestanding; 14.0 × 45.0 × 35.9 cm; 8.4 kg

Who it’s for

The P300 2.1 suits a dedicated cinema or a large listening room where the channel count is high and the specification is settled early. One point is worth making plainly: this is one part of a Steinway Lyngdorf system, not a processor you drop into an existing rack. The loudspeakers are driven by A1 or A2 amplifiers fed from the processor over the Digital Link, and there is no passive, use-any-amplifier option anywhere in the range. If your room needs fewer channels, the P100 2.1 covers similar ground on a smaller scale.

Why buy from Hidden Home Technology

A processor at this level is only as good as the design around it, so we treat it as a design job rather than a box sale. Hidden Home Technology is based in Bath, and we are a CEDIA member. We will arrange a demonstration, work out the speaker layout, amplifier count and cabling before anything is ordered, then install and calibrate RoomPerfect ourselves. Tell us about your room and we will tell you honestly what it will take.