This is a heavy duty topic. Icho, I also at one time owned Divas. You loved them because they were dipole linear arrays. But, you were right to get rid of them. They were very fragile and hard on amplifiers. But there are good examples available today. Magnepans on the less expensive side and Sound Labs at the higher end. The Sound Labs are IMHO the best speaker made today.
Dipole linear arrays image better then any other types of loudspeaker for several reasons. Because of their radiation pattern they in part take the room out of the equation. They produce a more realistically sized sound stage and project power better. Sound Labs are one way ESLs. No crossover, less distortion and better transient response. They capture detail like no other loudspeaker.
Getting the very best imaging out of any system is a difficult proposition.
The problem is that speakers of the same model will have slightly different frequency response curves. It is impossible to make them identical. Then they occupy different positions in the room which increases these variations. We locate sounds by phase and volume. If certain frequencies vary from one side to the other you smear the image.
This is where digital room control comes in. You test the frequency response of each loudspeaker at the listening position. The computer then calculates mirror image filters for each speaker bringing everything to dead flat. Then you can overlay any frequency response curve you like. A set of corrected ESLs is a thing to behold. It also makes you want to murder a bunch of recording engineers. Older classical music is usually wonderfully recorded. Studio popular music is usually a disaster.
Live recordings are generally better but they are taken off the soundboard and are subject to human fiddling. Jazz is generally better again live recordings rule. Pop and Rock recordings you simply have to accept the fact that they are more like works of art rather than duplicating a live performance. It comes down to whether or not you like the experience not whether or not you feel as if you are at a live performance. It is interesting that when you watch a great concert video the sonic image does not matter as much. Vision always rules.
Dipole linear arrays image better then any other types of loudspeaker for several reasons. Because of their radiation pattern they in part take the room out of the equation. They produce a more realistically sized sound stage and project power better. Sound Labs are one way ESLs. No crossover, less distortion and better transient response. They capture detail like no other loudspeaker.
Getting the very best imaging out of any system is a difficult proposition.
The problem is that speakers of the same model will have slightly different frequency response curves. It is impossible to make them identical. Then they occupy different positions in the room which increases these variations. We locate sounds by phase and volume. If certain frequencies vary from one side to the other you smear the image.
This is where digital room control comes in. You test the frequency response of each loudspeaker at the listening position. The computer then calculates mirror image filters for each speaker bringing everything to dead flat. Then you can overlay any frequency response curve you like. A set of corrected ESLs is a thing to behold. It also makes you want to murder a bunch of recording engineers. Older classical music is usually wonderfully recorded. Studio popular music is usually a disaster.
Live recordings are generally better but they are taken off the soundboard and are subject to human fiddling. Jazz is generally better again live recordings rule. Pop and Rock recordings you simply have to accept the fact that they are more like works of art rather than duplicating a live performance. It comes down to whether or not you like the experience not whether or not you feel as if you are at a live performance. It is interesting that when you watch a great concert video the sonic image does not matter as much. Vision always rules.