In your opinion is a Yamaha the best grand piano as far as sonority, tone color, and dynamic range is concerned? Is Steinway better, or does it really just depend on each piano individually? What is the best piano you've ever performed or played on?
I think you're generalising a bit here, saying that one company's make is better than the other's etc. How good a piano is is purely subjective and as you've said, it depends on each individual piano. For example, a turn of the century Steinway will sound different a new Steinway. There will never be the perfect piano, that is why pianos are still being made and that is also why there will many innovations to come. Also, as Vladimir Horowitz said, "Perfection itself is imperfection."
The best piano I've played is a Steinway Model C, 1985, Hamburg (I think), but I don't particularly like it. The keys are quite heavy, and as a result, it feels unresponsive because it's so difficult to get the dynamics you want without constant experimentation and hard work. As with many Steinways, the bass notes (particularly when it is unpedalled) sound ugly. That said though, it has wonderful resonance, particularly when it's tuned, and the action feels wonderful.
The best piano I've heard is the Gaveau concert grand that Georges Cziffra plays in that EMI Classics DVD. The tone is absolutely gorgeous, though the bass is lacking a little in power. Too bad the company doesn't exist anymore (it was taken over by Erard, then Erard was taken over by Schimmel) and I would love to play one. At least the Gaveau concert hall still exists, a somewhat small consolation.
Topic: Best piano?