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I am Looking for That Elusive 3 Dimensional Room Filling Soundstage

I have heard it half a dozen times at home, small room, Primaluna HP Integrated or a Rogue Atlas Magnum II and RP-1 Pre and believe it or not a pair of close to 30 year old Paradigm Export Monitors.

The experience I had, I can only describe as sitting in an aquarium when the litlle rectangular glass aquarium was filled with liquid engulfing you from all directions with no awareness of the speaker boxes...it was just perfect!

The room is approximately 12 x 13 x 9, small bedroom converted to a den!

So the question is what speakers does everyone recommend to provide the same experience?? I have a budget of $2000 for the next little babies so let’s not talk about Focal uber expensive stand mounts at $9500 thank you!

Monitor not floor standers and the Primaluna is gone, it’s all Rogue And yes, I would consider a pair of floor standers that are not to intrusive.
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Showing 4 responses by snapsc

snapsc
666 posts
 
I've got a buddy who has 25 year old M&K bookshelf speakers which he runs full range; he also uses an M&K 12" sub to augment the bottom.  His electronics are 25 year old Adcom fed by an Oppo 103 player in a 12x14 room with drywall and hardwood floors over concrete.  The listening position is a sofa backed up to one of the walls.  He positions his speakers when listening, 7' out from the front wall, 3' off the side walls and 7' from the listening position.  Every time I hear his system, I'm shocked....it sounds like surround sound.

It makes me think that especially for smaller rooms, optimal positioning is even more critical to get that 3d soundstage you are looking for.
snapsc
666 posts
 
@kenjit I thought the same thing... nope, wired in phase... but tons of ambience probably caused by all the reflections off the hard walls, ceilings and floors.... so pinpoint imaging isn’t the greatest but soundstage is pretty impressive. 
snapsc
666 posts
 
+1 for the Walsh. Also, adding a subwoofer almost always improves the ambience and expands the soundstage. 
snapsc
666 posts
 
I have to admit that I also chased that "all enveloping" sound for many years.  Then, one day, I realized that I already had it in my car and that no matter how good the car's sound system was, the experience never matched my home system or live music.

It hit me that live music normally had a 120-180 degree soundfield from the listening position (not 360 degrees)...and that tonality, clarity and dynamics were equally key elements in the overall listening experience.  I stopped chasing "full immersion" and focused on clarity and tone and my home system experience moved up a whole new level.

I guess my conclusion is that 360 degrees is fun...especially for home theater....but at least for me when it comes to music, there are other things that are equally or even more important.
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