You will know what good soundstaging is when you have heard it! Until then it is totally in your own imagination or, in the case of avid readers, the imagination of others.
IMHO most folks do not know what soundstaging is only because they really have never heard it. It is kind of rare in the real world of audio. Putting together a system which has good, in your opinion, tonal balance, and a good sense of width and height, is relatively easy, but IMHO, something, in the final analysis which falls far short of what is possible unless your 'system', in toto, has the ability to create this illusion in your listening room.
When you have heard it you will never forget it and it will make what most audiophiles put together sound flat.
Good soundstaging is, IMHO, best characterized by the phrase 'floating an image' one that is independent of room boundries and its height, width, and depth and brings to life the individual voices (of folks and instruments) which are easily located in the space allocated to them in the recording with precise detail with out emphasis caused by manufacturers/designers, engineers, etc, to artificially enhance the appearance of space.
High resolution speakers are just the start! There are plenty of excellent high resolution speakers available but just owning them, so to speak, won't get you even close to what 'soundstaging' is all about with out: 1) A good recording; 2) a good source; 3) electronics which tonally match your speakers and your ears, electronics which are appropriate to your speakers, and careful attention to ancillaries; and, 4) last but far from least, careful placement of speakers and listening chair in your room with appropriate room treatments to eliminate excessive reverb and smooth out as much as possible nulls and nodes.
The best soundstaging I have ever heard occurred in about 1985 +/- in a moderate sized room using what was then excellent but not SOTA stuff. Using a recording that was made by using a simple mike set up with great attention, there was one cut of a small ensemble playing jazz, that included the playing of individual instruments as well as conversations amongst the players, that was so real that you felt you could walk into the group sit down with them and play! In another cut, an instrument in the rear of the group appeared in the sound stage as if it were beyond the rear boundries of the room.
I have been chasing the goal of replicating that experience ever since. I'm close but not there yet. In fact I don't expect to get there and now focus on just enjoying the music.
One thing for sure, the speakers alone won't get you close to excellent soundstaging, and while important are not what will get you there. One needs to think in the context of 'system' and the importance of set up and room boundry affect.
IMHO most folks do not know what soundstaging is only because they really have never heard it. It is kind of rare in the real world of audio. Putting together a system which has good, in your opinion, tonal balance, and a good sense of width and height, is relatively easy, but IMHO, something, in the final analysis which falls far short of what is possible unless your 'system', in toto, has the ability to create this illusion in your listening room.
When you have heard it you will never forget it and it will make what most audiophiles put together sound flat.
Good soundstaging is, IMHO, best characterized by the phrase 'floating an image' one that is independent of room boundries and its height, width, and depth and brings to life the individual voices (of folks and instruments) which are easily located in the space allocated to them in the recording with precise detail with out emphasis caused by manufacturers/designers, engineers, etc, to artificially enhance the appearance of space.
High resolution speakers are just the start! There are plenty of excellent high resolution speakers available but just owning them, so to speak, won't get you even close to what 'soundstaging' is all about with out: 1) A good recording; 2) a good source; 3) electronics which tonally match your speakers and your ears, electronics which are appropriate to your speakers, and careful attention to ancillaries; and, 4) last but far from least, careful placement of speakers and listening chair in your room with appropriate room treatments to eliminate excessive reverb and smooth out as much as possible nulls and nodes.
The best soundstaging I have ever heard occurred in about 1985 +/- in a moderate sized room using what was then excellent but not SOTA stuff. Using a recording that was made by using a simple mike set up with great attention, there was one cut of a small ensemble playing jazz, that included the playing of individual instruments as well as conversations amongst the players, that was so real that you felt you could walk into the group sit down with them and play! In another cut, an instrument in the rear of the group appeared in the sound stage as if it were beyond the rear boundries of the room.
I have been chasing the goal of replicating that experience ever since. I'm close but not there yet. In fact I don't expect to get there and now focus on just enjoying the music.
One thing for sure, the speakers alone won't get you close to excellent soundstaging, and while important are not what will get you there. One needs to think in the context of 'system' and the importance of set up and room boundry affect.