You are there vs. They are there

@mapman 

I think it’s the opposite.  Directional speakers do not bounce around the room and interact with the room as much so things can be "pin pointed" within the room more accurately.

One can have both a more forward sound stage and/or projection of performers into one's listening space yet also maintain depth so there is a sense of the recording venue. I have horns  SET amps and DHT preamps so this inherently more forward ss or sense of performers in room, but at the same time using strategically placed room treatments I've been able to create a center image that also extends behind plane of speakers. I also physically time aligned my mid and tweeter drivers which has greatly enhanced depth of sound stage. I've also experienced systems with less forward sound stage that have been very engaging, don't believe there's any right or wrong, all about preference. 

I think a balanced system does both depending on the recording. The spatial information is embedded in the recording. Some mixes feature vocals or other instruments "in your face" with the rest behind and maybe lead instruments projecting forward. Others create a more homogeneous ambient sound field where everything is in the same space behind the speakers. The system/room should reveal that spatial information to reflect the intent of the artist/producer. 

An example for me is Bonnie Raitt, "Blame it on Me". The vocals sit perfectly in front with the rhythm section projecting behind while the organ projects forward as if you're actually playing it. 

A song like "Thing Called Love" is more homogeneous like you were watching the band on stage. The stage begins at the speakers and spreads behind. 

The room will be a big factor in which one you get 

If anything spatially changes a recording in any way…. the reproduction is flawed.
 

Is it not the goal of a very accurate hi-fi system to project just what is there and add noting more?. Surely any alteration is like colouring or sound processing similar to an AV amp, so not true to the original. 
 

We all know that “sound fields” in home theatre are not real but generated, so it must be best practice to use equipment that play nothing more than intended? Using equipment that adds and subtracts to the ambiance of the sound stage is questionably not true hi-fi.