Soundstage depth and width

Let me add that my use of the term "hobby" is used solely with regard to the equipment involved. I, by no means, consider listening to music a hobby, but rather - at least for me - a necessity of life and one of endless enjoyment, regardless of said equipment involved.

Ballywho, Are you referring to depth or a recessed soundstage? There is a difference. If you think your system has depth because the performers sound like they have moved beyond the wall behind your speakers you are mistaken. It is still a flat sound stage.

I guess we should define what depth in a stereo system is.

Do you get the illusion of depth on all recordings? If you do, it is most likely an effect manufactured by your system and its set up. All recordings present a different perspective on width and depth and your system should give an accurate representation of each recording.

Our best reference for recorded music is a live acoustic performance. Not listening to equipment in stereo stores until your wife thinks you are seeing another woman.

Reference level sound staging and imaging is something so elusive, so condition specific and subjective that it is something I personally have stopped trying to achieve. Much of it appears to be a recording artifact and a playback artifact that I think varies more from system to system than probably any other aspect.

It may exist but I have not yet seen a reference sound stage and imaging recording list. For X recording this is the appropriate sound stage and image. I would hazard to say they don't exist or surely in a very limited capacity. Maybe a Stereophile mapping track would be the closest thing I've heard.

Surely there should be some more concrete way of defining and achieving proper sound staging and imaging. Maybe Sam Telig going through a complete mapping process from a known reference. "This image should appear 5 feet directly behind your left loudspeaker and 5 ft from the floor, this imagine should appear 5 ft behind your left loudspeaker, 1 foot inside your left loudspeaker and 5 ft from the floor. This image should appear 20 feet behind your left loudspeaker, 3 feet inside your left loudspeaker and 7 feet off the floor etc... That process would continue along a grid and map out and entire virtual sound stage. The same measurable and repeatable method as is done with test tones and such. Until we have a known reference like that I don't think I will overly concern myself with sound staging and imaging beyond a reasonable degree.

Rrog,

Inna's thread is titled "soundstage depth and width." My take on "soundstage width" is sound that extends outside the stance of the speakers... "Soundstage depth," then, would be the other axis, if you will, of the stereo image: that which extends both out into the room and beyond the rear.

And no, I most certainly do not get the illusion of depth on all recordings. The Jethro Tull "Aqualung Live" album that I bring up in another thread, for example, has a very spacial (deep and wide) quality to it, whereas the vast majority of my The Smiths bootlegs have relatively zero sense of depth (as you can imagine).

Launche, You give Stereophile and Sam Tellig way too much credit if you think they could possibly perform such a feat. Keep in mind reviewers are just people like you and I playing around with stereo equipment except their perspective is skewed by advertising dollars.