I agree, to get this kind of presentation you need to have everything in the process working towards this goal.
That means a good source recording, amplification, speakers, speaker placement, and appropriate speaker-room interaction.
It's not just the speakers, although I think some speakers can do it with a higher probability and be more forgiving about the electronics to achieve it.
The system I listened to that best exemplified the 3-D, perfectly holographic sound consisted of a Music Hall CD-25, Jolida 302b, and Totem Arro's. The system was placed near a corner, and everything I played on it at the stereo shop sounded incredibly lifelike and, for lack of a better term, holographic. I think Joe (the person who was with me at the time) described it as "very forward".
Interestingly, I had nearly this exact system several years later, and although it sounded great, it never quite matched the 3D magic of that system at the stereo shop. Maybe we were using different tubes, or perhaps my not having it in the corner of the room, or something about the geometry of the room. I'll never know, but that's the closest to a 3D guarantee that I've come across (and it's quite a modest system, especially by Audiogon standards).
If the illusion of imaging is important to you, perhaps you should look more into tubes or digital surround/processing modes, as these can sometimes help with that effect.
Michael
That means a good source recording, amplification, speakers, speaker placement, and appropriate speaker-room interaction.
It's not just the speakers, although I think some speakers can do it with a higher probability and be more forgiving about the electronics to achieve it.
The system I listened to that best exemplified the 3-D, perfectly holographic sound consisted of a Music Hall CD-25, Jolida 302b, and Totem Arro's. The system was placed near a corner, and everything I played on it at the stereo shop sounded incredibly lifelike and, for lack of a better term, holographic. I think Joe (the person who was with me at the time) described it as "very forward".
Interestingly, I had nearly this exact system several years later, and although it sounded great, it never quite matched the 3D magic of that system at the stereo shop. Maybe we were using different tubes, or perhaps my not having it in the corner of the room, or something about the geometry of the room. I'll never know, but that's the closest to a 3D guarantee that I've come across (and it's quite a modest system, especially by Audiogon standards).
If the illusion of imaging is important to you, perhaps you should look more into tubes or digital surround/processing modes, as these can sometimes help with that effect.
Michael