JPrice - before you jump - you are not crazy - 3d sound stage "should" exist, if you're doing it right. It is the holy grail that most read about, chase and are unable to achieve, so they say its a falsehood.
As for Mac and Jeff Rowland, if they took all the engineers and all the employees from Macintosh and lined them up in front of Jeff Rowland, they still could not shine his shoes. Jeff Rowland gear achieves things very few manufacturers can do. Its all in the power applications and attention to detail (ceramic circuit boards) for Jeff and no one comes close.