Why don't more recordings have soundstage outside of speakers

If all early reflections are well dampened it is physically impossible for sound to come from beyond the speaker without studio tricks

That’s quite a bold statement... what’s it based upon?.. happy to be educated if there’s some definitive research out there.
The studio tricks are just an exaggeration of an effect that exists in nature which is that if a source of noise is closer to one ear than the other then our brain is able to detect the phase difference to help identify the point in space from where the sound came. If these differences are recorded to the left and right channels they can be reproduced by the loudspeakers. From your listening position each ear can hear a bit of each channel so I agree you can’t expect a 360˚ holographic stereo image. But I also don’t see why the stereo image should be bounded between the speakers - if our brains only used relative amplitude to locate the sources of sounds then it would make sense, but it’s not that simple.

Great post.... This is also my experience....

And all my Helmholtz resonators grid distribution is there to make easier this localization for the brain of the 2 first frontwaves marked out by them coming from the speakers and walls....

Their other function is to adapt, by their fine tuning of the neck lengts/diameters/orientation, the room response to the particular speakers i used....


By the way just this claim about dampening ALL early reflections is the proof of a complete ignorance of concrete acoustic experiment in specific room....All he know is to adapt anything to his electronic equalizer processing.... It is opposite of a sane uitilization of equalization Which cannot replace neither material passive treatment nor active control....

Actually, many recordings can image outside of speaker boundaries.  IMHO listening equipment is just as important as recording quality.  My audiophile evolution has in part been driven by a desire for better sound staging and realism.  I am now at the point where I frequently hear images outside of my speaker locations.  I also hear depth, and height.   I primarily listen to vinyl through tubes, including and SET amp. Speakers are ls3/5a monitors and KEF LS50 / both known for their imaging abilities.   I am familiar enough with my system that I can hear sonic differences when I change equipment.  One of the points I listen for is the ability to hear outside of the boundaries of my speakers.  Some changes that I think would be an improvement are not, and vice versa.   Equipment is very important, but does not have to be expensive: the first time I really became aware of outstanding image width etc would through a mid level Thorens TT, Stanton 881s cartridge, VanAlstine Super PAS3, a restored pair of Heath W4 monoblocks, and NEAR 10m speakers.   Good records are important, but so is carefully chosen equipment.  

pragmasi,
I gave ya the answer above. Okay, I gave ya a hint.  What happens when the sound from the left speaker reaches the right ear? What happens when the sound from the right speaker reaches the left ear?  The sound from the other speaker not gonna magically disappear. The studio tricks aren't exaggerating stuff, they are just crude noise cancellation, cept the noise is the other speaker. Those tricks let each ear hear only one speaker sort a, just like headphones. Reflections got nothing to do with it cept creating false images. Sounds real good too. Most people like it. Makes it feel like you are there. But get carried away and what's in front of you, the important stuff, starts to sound like crap.

I dont have tube amplifier....I own a good S.S. Sansui AU 7700...

Room passive treatment and active control cannot be replaced by good equipment nor good equipmewnt could be replaced by acoustic active  devices and surfaces panels...

There is no way to short the path to the goal.....

I gave ya the answer above. Okay, I gave ya a hint. What happens when the sound from the left speaker reaches the right ear? What happens when the sound from the right speaker reaches the left ear? The sound from the other speaker not gonna magically disappear. The studio tricks aren’t exaggerating stuff, they are just crude noise cancellation, cept the noise is the other speaker. Those tricks let each ear hear only one speaker sort a, just like headphones. Reflections got nothing to do with it cept creating false images. Sounds real good too. Most people like it. Makes it feel like you are there. But get carried away and what’s in front of you, the important stuff, starts to sound like crap.

This does not correspond at all to my experience with my room controls..

Sorry for ytour obsession with "tricks"....

A coherent working with an optimal timing of the waves for each ears can do magic....

A tuning of the room with resonators distributed relatively to the speakers characteristic bass driver bandwidth and tweeter bandwidth response in the treated room can do magic....

A coherently working magic manifesting itself differently relatively to each recording but always staying coherent is not an acoustical "flaw" it is what i call control AT WILL....

You seem very used to work with TOOLS and digital format processing, but working with a specific room and ONLY mechanical devices and our ears it is not the same experience sorry....

A room acoustic is easier to solve by the ears than by the complex equation describing it....It cost nothing....And if is tuned relatively to the users ears....And timbre is not a sum of frequencies only on a dial, timbre is an experience in a room for some ears....