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Soudstage Height?

The other night I experimented by using my Jolida 502B integrated as a preamp running through my well renowned solid state power amp. Things sounded okay but the biggest surprise was the amazing drop in the height of the soundstage. I went from tilting my head ever so slightly back to envision Diana Krall doing "Garden in the Rain" with the JoLida doing everything, to seeing her shrink to the height of my Kestrels via transistors.The depth seemed about same though. Can somebody explain to me what gives a soundstage height?
mg
subaruguru
1,375 posts
 
Try tilting your speakers slightly forward or back.
Verity suggested that I tilt their Encores FORWARD slightly to elevate the soundstage. This was counterintuitive, but makes some sense to me in that the tweeter's arrival time is slightly shortened vis a vis the midrange below it.
The psychoacoustic effect is a change in stage height. Cool.
Experiment with your listening axis, too. Adding a cushion to your chair, or taller stands, may do wonders! Have fun.
nilthepill
842 posts
 
Try listening to near field, with your ears at tweeter height. In my experience that is how I perceive Diana Krall singing over the piano and bass. Further away I sit,lower the height.
mikeschuster
6 posts
 
I agree with Nilthepill and found much improved height in the near field after moving the listening position forward. Also, try using track 11 LEDR of Chesky JD037, JAZZ SAMPLER & TEST VOLUME 1 to check for and eliminate first reflection problems.
mewsickbuff
237 posts
 

I also noticed the phenomena of the sound stage height rising the closer I got to the speakers. But while the center stage remained constant, unfortunately, the music no longer came from the sides of or back of the speakers. Surrounding music and voices became directly attached to the left and right upper frequency drivers. How do you balance nearield listening AND keep a realistic sound stage width and depth?

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