Looking for the next level in imaging...

My Opus 3, Test Record 1 - Depth of Image, assists in speaker placement for greatest effect.  The 16 tracks describe what you should be hearing and where.  It's amazing (to me) how deep and wide the soundstage can be.  Then I am disappointed at the vast majority of recordings that showcase very little of this.  Leading me to believe 90% of the soundstage is in the recording and 10% is system dependent.  It is my opinion that throwing a lot of money at new equipment will not change that.   

I agree with what others have said about omnidirectional speakers. I recently heard a pair of German  Physiks and can’t say I was impressed, very clean, airy, sound BUT absolutely no imaging. Everything sounded like it was all blended in together. All high end electronics in the chain.  For $36,000, I was not impressed.

Ps Audio FR30 ! The Ethos and mentioned comparable's would then collect dust. 
A gift at that price point, find an audition…bring your wallet.

Cheers 

I misunderstood when I suggested the Larsen 9, because you’d mentioned the MBL’s. You’re looking for imaging, but those two are omnis. Sorry! I am intrigued by the Larsens (and MBLs, which I have heard) because they throw up a "wall of sound" that is more like live music but with less instrument and voice image specificity. Many of us, myself included, are conditioned by front-firing traditional speakers, though some would argue that the imaging and precise soundstaging they offer is an artifice, not realistic to live music. Of course, much recorded music, especially if recorded in the studio with many tracks combined at the soundboard and mixed for effect, is an artifice. Other than orchestral and chamber music, much of what I listen to probably wasn’t recorded live with all the musicians in studio together, playing as they would on stage in performance.

All that said, people who know and love the Larsens warn that the experience is quite different than front-firing speakers, and the AbSound review says that also. They have some advantages apparently, like being able to be placed up against the front wall without harming bass response, and are less affected by sidewall distance and room effects. 

I note that AbSound’s Jon Valin has as one of his reference speakers the top of the line MBLs with massive subwoofers. Big bucks!