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.

paul6002

All I know is that with my previous speakers, imaging was minimal at best.

With the purchase of new speakers (ATC SCM19) the imaging arrived in spades.

Because all the associated equipment remained the same and the speaker placement was almost identical, I have to assume that speakers are a major contributor to how any system images.

The second most important factor is the music itself. Listening to early jazz recordings from the likes of John Coltrane, there is great depth, width and such pinpoint instrument placement that one can't help but become immersed in the music.

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 business

heretobuy"—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.

 

 

But I says what I says and I mean what I says.

I think that's "I say what I mean and I mean what I say".

Imaging is the most difficult aspect of Hi Fi reproduction. Very few systems image at the state of the art. Most audiophiles have never heard a system image at this level and are unaware of this level of performance. 

All Aspects of HiFi reproduction are important. The absolute sound requires each one to be performed at the state of the art and cost has little to do with it. Spending a fortune will not guarantee this level of performance. Some rooms eliminate any chance of achieving the absolute sound.

Ignorance is bliss.