Are there speakers that disappear regardless of the recording?

I’m still trying to get my speakers/room/seating position right, but there are many Symphony recordings and Rock albums from the sixties that sound really really bad no matter what you do.

All the best.

JD

Do you listen with your eyes closed? Visual cues do affect the listening experience.  My Quads disappear all the time, but having my eyes open can interfere with that. This was advice I got as a young guitar student going to hear Segovia. My teacher told me to spend a good part of the concert with my eyes closed; to focus on the music and not be distracted from the music by the eyes. If sound comes from the right in my system, for instance, and I see the speaker it can make “disappearing act” harder.

Agreed with other responders about some jazz and pop mixes from the 60s. Big bands with an entire sax section panned hard left, trumpets hard right.  Not much you can do with that. They didn’t start mixing/panning sound stages, it seems, until the 70s.

Recently switched from Martin Logan electrostatics 15a’s to vintage Von Schweikert’s VR10’s. The difference in imaging is truly remarkable. No more having to sit in that 2 foot sweet spot! You can be almost anywhere in the room, and still have a great sound stage, it’s unbelievable. Apparently due to the crossover, and rear facing drivers? Placement also doesn’t seem nearly as critical as the ML’s.

I also incidentally have never heard a speaker wherein I can understand the lyrics so well as the VR’s.

OTH, they are quite large, and not so aesthetic as the later models, as one of his earlier efforts. But that’s in the eye of the beholder. And, I didn’t buy them to stare at. 😁 I also just ordered a second Luxman M900u amplifier, as they seem to be really power hungry. But that’s another thread?

My Spatial X5s throw a wide and deep soundscape that does not localize to the speakers.  Every recording ?  Not sure but on most recordings that is what I hear.

It varies. As for those whose speakers throw a wide, deep soundstage, I’ve heard such speakers. They are wonderful but they also lack some of the precision in other speakers. From my experience, which is limited compared to many, a narrower sweet spot is compensated by more precise imaging in the soundstage. Some don’t prefer that. I kinda like it.

Oh, and that comment about needing a good (or well treated) room to do this? Absolutely. 1000% key.