Is Imaging Worth Chasing?
Man, am I going to be torn apart for this. But I says what I says and I mean what I says.
Here’s a long term trend I’ve noticed in the audio press. Specs that used to be front and center in equipment reviews have essentially disappeared. Total harmonic distortion, for instance. Twenty years ago, THD was the start and end of the evaluation of any amplifier. Well, maybe power, first. Then THD. Armed with those two numbers, shopping was safe and easy.
The explanation for the disappearance is not hard to figure. Designers got so good in those categories that the numbers became meaningless. Today, most every amp on the shelf has disappearingly low distortion. Comparing .00001 to .000001 is a fool’s errand and both the writers and the readers know it. Power got cheap, even before Class D came along to make it even cheaper. Anyone who tries bragging about his 100 watts will be laughed out of the audio club.
Stereophile still needed to fill it’s pages and audiophiles still needed things to argue about so, into the void, stepped imaging. Reviewers go on and on about imaging. And within the umbrella of imaging, they write separately about the images height, width, and depth. “I closed my eyes and I could see a rock solid picture of the violas behind the violins.” “The soundstage extended far beyond the width of the speakers.” And on and on.
Now, most everyone who will read this knows more about audio equipment than me. But I know music. I know how to listen. And the number of times that I’ve seen imaging, that I’ve seen an imaginary soundstage before me, can be counted on my fingers. Maybe the fingers of one hand.
My speakers are 5-6 feet apart. I don’t have a listening chair qua listening chair but I’m usually 8-9 feet back. (This configuration is driven by many variables but sound quality is probably third on the list.) Not a terrible set-up, is my guess from reading lots of speaker placement articles. And God knows that, within the limited space available to me, I have spent enough time on getting those speakers just right. Plus, my LS50s are supposed to be imaging demons.
I’ve talked to people about this, including some people who work at high-end audio stores. Most of them commiserate. It’s a problem, they said. “It usually only happens with acoustic music,” most of them said. Strike one. My diet of indie rock and contemporary jazz doesn’t have much of that. “You’ve got to have your chair set up just right. And you’ve got to hold your head in just the right place.” Strike two. Who wants to do that?
(Most of the people reading this forum, probably. But I can’t think of any time or purpose for which I’ve held my head in a vise-like grip like that.)
It happens, every now and then. For some reason, I was once right up next to my speakers. Lots of direct sound, less reflections. “The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads” was playing. And I literally gave a start because David Byrne was standing on the coffee table. Cool.
But, generally speaking, imaging is something I only read about. And if that little bit of imaging is the dividend of dropping more money into my system, I’m not sure that I want to deposit into that account.
I think that I still have a few steps to take that will pay benefits other than imaging. But maybe the high-end is not for me.
Showing 6 responses by paul6001
sbank says " Your OP sounds like you're hoping we'll all chime in and tell that it's not worth it, because you don't want to set up your room in a way that will optimize the sound reproduction that your gear is capable of. "(Why is my font so small?) Is that it, sbank? Am I looking for validation for my laziness? I've given that question a moment of introspection, perhaps a moment more than it deserves, and decided that I'm doing Okay. God knows that, within the confines of my room, I've spent plenty of time trying to get the best speaker placement. I think that I've done all that can be done, even if my set-up is not ideal. I do take some comfort in the number of people taking the "not worth the chase" position. Obviously I'm turning thoughtful, nuanced posts into an easy yes/no position but I think everyone but the pedants will get my meaning. (Another disclaimer I shouldn't have to make.) It makes me feel better about my system. (And myself? Maybe a little, as strange (and sad) as that might be) be.) I will walk away thinking that imaging would be nice if I could get it, but it's not the be all and end all. As I said up top, even if I could get the perfect sound set-up, I don't think that I could keep my head still long enough to get everything that imaging could offer. Thanks to those who are responsible for the comfort I've received. I'm sure that wasn't the cause of your post but it is a welcome effect. Now, I'm going to Whole Foods. During the walk I'm going to think about the my system/myself conundrum. Certainly grist for my next post. Which I'm going to make right now. Whole Foods can wait. |
tony1954—ATC is my dream. I think that I'd go active but, still, I envy you.tony1954—You probably know that you can ATC for something like half-price in England. There's got to be a way to have a nice trip to London, ship those heavy speakers back to the U.S., and come out ahead. If you have any ideas, maybe we could put together some crowdfunding and start a nice little businessheretobuy"—you shouldn't expect others to validate your imaging apathy." I was going to say something. But I've decided to rise above it. You post something on this forum and you gets what you gets. And I've decided to skip the stereo/identity post. That raises fierce questions about the value of material goods in a capitalist culture, a question better left to A. Smith and K. Marx. And with that, I shall check out of this thread. Thanks to (most) of the participants If you have further criticism about my system or my motivations, I can always be reached via message.
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I’d love to know something about the engineering aspect of imaging. Some/most of the music I listen to was made by recording each instrument on a separate track. Often, each instrument is playing in a separate room. If nothing else, the singer is almost always recorded separately from the band. But somehow the engineer can put these tracks together in such a way that it forms an image. Fascinating. The comments above make it clear that this task is performed with differing levels of care and expertise. But how is it supposed to be done? If someone could point me to an "Image Engineering For Dummies" article, that would be great. Another disclaimer that should be unnecessary: Before anyone gets on me for not doing my own research, I'm trying to draw on the wisdom of the audiophiles on this forum. Some people like sharing their wisdom. If you don’t, then don’t. But, really, I can do without your comments. |
mijostyn—"Ignorance is bliss."I couldn't agree more. For instance, to me, all vodka tastes the same. Once you climb out of the well, it's all the same. I have no favorites. If I put some time and effort into it, I'm sure that I'd notice the differences. A little more effort and I'd have a favorite. But it's so much easier—and cheaper—not to care. If only I could say the same about wine, maybe I could afford those better speakers.
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