Make speakers disappear. Simple, cheap

Dear @treitz3  : " 

" When a system performs so superbly, even if your eyes are open and you have visual cues and a true 3-D experience? When a system makes you want to close your eyes to experience even more? 

That’s when you know you are listening to a stellar system.  "

The  @gdaddy1  is not my room/system main priority as it’s not too soundstage.

As many of you I attend often to music hall to listen live MUSIC.

I always seat at near field as I can and normally the orchestra stage is highly iluminated and during the play of the score ovserve that no one close their eyes but the other way around: way open.

Yes in a live MUSIC session I like to listen MUSIC not my " imagination " ( in the instant that you close your eyes you can imagine everything you want everything that your brain builds and in the way you like it. ).

In the recording proccess the microphones are " seated " at near field position to pick up the developed sound not exactly the sound stage.

Characteristics of MUSIC is for me the critical subject: timbre, rhytm, natural brigthness, dynamic power, natural tone balance and the like and these and other main characteristics is what I want to appreciate in my room/system listen sessions. I like to listen full range room/system ( with out good bass management MUSIC just can't exist. )

Every room/system develops its own " soundstage " that we can change it according what we prefer about and that " soundstage " it’s not wha comes from the recording microphones.

Each one of us have our MUSIC listen home ystem priorities where in my case soundstage is " important " but almost at the end of my MUSIC charcateristics list.

A question for you: if we are seated at nearfield positon listening at live SPL to a trio of piano, trumpet/horn and battery: can you have a precise and well defined soundstage? and do you think that can listen to that live horn seated at near field for say: half an hour?

A experiences like that are as a learning sessions.

Like I say that’s me and that’s why I " disagree " with some of you. Maybe I’m wrong but it’s what it’s.

I like to listen my system and that my system can put me nearer to the recording.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,

R.

Dear @treitz3  :

" 

 When a system makes you want to close your eyes to experience even more? 

That’s when you know you are listening to a stellar system   "

First than all I know for sure that I'm ignorant of many/several home audio subjects

due to the complex audio world. 

Now, in my over 40 years in audio this is the first time that I read a precise " conclusion " like yours and I wonder all what I'm missing , I mean the very good reasons you have and know to arrived to that " conclusion " . that according your sentences I'm far away of a " stellar " kind of room system.

I really apreciated and maybe other gentlemans too that you can share your way of thinking in that important quality subject in a home system. Thank you in advance.

R.

A book could literally be written about some of the questions presented in the last two posts. Near field is something that I have done before, but isn’t my typical listening style. It can sound fantastic, and has, especially when there are no side walls and there is a valley behind you. 

If you are wondering how that was achieved, we set up an outdoor system on a porch that forced you to sit near field. The side walls were pretty much non-existent, because to the Left, only a foot worth of a stone chimney darted out from the wall 17 feet away (fireplace was inside) and there was nothing on the other side. Behind us, the mountain literally dropped off a cliff hundreds of feet below us and didn’t come back up for about a 1/4 mile. That was the absolute best I have ever heard a near field setup. 

You do speak truth, in that the microphones do not capture things the way our ears do. That said, the recording and mastering engineers have ways to manipulate the sound, that "recreates" the event, according to how they want it to sound. The best we can ever hope for is the best "approximation" of the original event. Even with the best gear, microphone placement, mastering and recording techniques. Even when utilizing one’s favorite playback format. At the end of the day, it's still just an approximation. 
 

Tom

Stereo itself creates an audible illusion. I can hear the sax on the left side, bass player on the right and the singer is clear in the middle. Not perfect but pretty darn good when set up correctly. I like it alot!

@treitz3  the set up on porch is very interesting. You created a blank space with no visual distractions between the speakers that would enhance depth of field. Did you ever listen to it on a dark night? Looking into the dark abyss? With eyes wide open you can 'see' the musicians. Instead of staring at a wall.

Since I don't have a mountain drop off I'm using dark faric to create a similar type of effect that works either near field or equalateral.

Well, not completely dark. There was the kitchen light that shined through the full window door off to the left of the setup. The illusion of what was heard was flat out, special. This was just a crazy setup we created out of leftover gear at an audio event eons ago. Still unforgettable. 

We were obviously in the mountains, so no ambient or city lights were around us. The nearest town was 7 miles away, over the other side of the mountain, and even then. That was the first town for about 30 to 50 miles, in all directions. Plus, it was a very small town....so it was rather dark. If you walked off of the porch? You couldn't see a thing, even after 5 minutes of no lights being on. A flashlight was required to see.

The only exception was when there were no clouds and an unobstructed (by the mountains) full moon. 

Tom