@rodman99999 Thanks for the tips, especially Paul McGowan’s video: I’ve got the bookcases, I just need to be more intentional in how I’m arranging them in the room.
From whence does Sound Stage come?
What drew me back to this hobby after dabbling in High School, was listening to a friend’s system, in a room over his garage filled with over-stuffed furniture, at least seven different amplifiers and twice that many speakers. What was new to me was a room literally filled with sound, and I couldn’t tell where it was coming from. I climbed over the furniture and put my ear to speaker after speaker, but I was never able to locate the source of the sound. It was a wonderful, awe-filled, experience.
Fast forward to the present. I have now built several systems, in different rooms, with different components. Sometimes I get a ‘sound stage’ where the speakers disappear, sometimes I don’t. I have been told that getting the speakers to disappear is all a matter of placement in the room: “Give me your room dimensions; and I’ll tell you where to place your speakers.” But I can tell you, some speakers disappear, and some speakers announce their presence with every note. I have had odd staging where a particular sound appeared un-naturally at the wrong place (like a cymbal hit at my feet); only to have the issue resolved to a more coherent shape with an upgrade to the analog output stage of the DAC. I have had a decent sound stage cast by a particular pair of speakers, only to have it destroyed with the use of a sub-par power amplifier. I’ve heard reviewers and designers talk about how their component offers sound stage depth as well as width (depth seems to be more difficult to achieve). And then there is the old canard about how tube amps present a ‘halo graphic’ sound stage. I can detail the equipment configurations that have I have put together that succeeded or failed at the goal of presenting a great sound stage, but I’m trying to ask a general question, I am not a bot, and I’m not seeking help with a particular configuration, just help on developing a strategy to tackle the issue of sound stage and imaging of instruments within it.
I will say that the best sounding solutions I have developed thus far both involved a Schiit Yggdrasil (now at ‘Less-is-More) into a SS McIntosh C100 (circa 1992) and either a tube Rogue ‘Stereo 100’ or a SS McIntosh MC252 power amp powering either the Warfedale W70E or B&W 801 Matrix speakers. If I substitute different amps, speakers, preamp, or DAC, the pyramid crumbles and I start hearing two speakers again; I lose my ‘sound stage,’ which is really concerning (to me). Anyone with more than two years into this hobby is qualified to address this question. I need some help, I can’t just keep throwing equipment (and money) at this issue. Any ideas?
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Bookcases DO make great diffusers. I use my old Magnepan MG12s for front, Home Theatre (5.1) speakers. Their back waves fire into a pair, from less than 15", instead of having to be further into room. You're welcome. Here's hoping something in those tips aids in the recovery of your presentation, whencesoever. Happy listening! |
@stuartk @rodman99999 @edisoncarter Moving my head a few inches to the left certainly helps me on the upstairs system. I moved the boxes off the left wall and stood up to make sure my ears were centered between the two speakers: Wow, what a difference! I passed the first test on the CD —the Stereographic Imaging Test; the left side was back in the frame! I still have issues with the LEDR tests, I can tell the image is shifting, but I find it difficult to tell how far it is shifting, and sometimes in what direction. The depth test went well, though. I suspect the XRT tweeter columns are defeating the vertical placement of the tones. I will have to rearrange the furniture 🪑 (again) to get my head in the right place upstairs. I think I’ll wait on the downstairs system until it is permanently installed (in another room). I would never have thought that 3” in head placement would cause the entire left half of the sound stage to ‘drop off a cliff,’ as it were. Many thanks to everyone who helped me sort out this rather elemental issue. |
David Fabrikant is the owner of Ascend Acoustics. He has many,many years of speaker design and development. He was asked what are the 10 most important parts or aspects of an audio system. I am a firm believer in this. Quality speakers, speaker placement and room acoustics have always returned better sound for me then cables, isolaters,power cords,etc then anything else under the stars. Followed up with decent equipment. |
@medialies I agree with you and David. Nevertheless, getting it all sorted out is proving to be a challenge. Also, while quality speakers are definitely a priority, there is more than one way to design a speaker, and each type of design has its own quality as well. So we can talk about quality speakers as well as speaker qualities. In my case, sometimes I feel like a monitor; sometimes I don’t. As much as I like my B&W 801 Series 2, after about two hours, I’m ready for something else. With my McIntosh XRT20s, I love their lush sound, but when I send the same source to my new Sony AN1000 Home Theater AV Receiver output through some really inexpensive Left, Right, Center, and Sub—wow— so much more clarity and depth of field, texture, and volume. I’m really scratching my head now. At least two factors come to mind. When I was an arrogant youth, I thought I knew everything and was loath to question myself; now that I am older, I realize (after making a few) that I can make mistakes (although, again, I am loathe to admit it). Second, my ears aren’t what they used to be. A third factor may be lack of focus. When I was young, I was clear about what I wanted— I wanted to play rock music louder! Now that I am older and listened to, and enjoyed, many types of music, I want to hear the fingers on the strings of a folk guitar, the gentle decay of a clear piano note, the depth of a double bass and the shimmer of a high-hat cymbal— not all on the same recording but on the same system: my system. |
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