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Depth Imaging

My KEF 104/2s are 92" apart and flank a Sony 36 XBR. The fronts of the KEFs are 38" from the wall, 35" from the side walls. Frequencies below 80 Hz are shunted to a Velodyne HGS-15. I improved depth imaging for stereo by removing two equipment cabinets that sat on each side of the XBR and between the KEFs, and removing the cabinet around the XBR. Horizontal and vertical imaging are excellent.

I want a larger video image to better match the large sound stage. Front projection is an obvious answer that would improve audio depth imaging further, but I'd need a flat panal display behind a pull down screen so we don't have to sit in a dark room for regular TV viewing. An alternate is a flatter monitor that sits between the KEFs, e.g. a plasma or the new 60" Sony XBR Qualia spin-off rear projection.

This raises the essential question of this post: Is it the mass or the relective surface area between the speakers that interferes with good depth imaging? That is, would a 60" plasma monitor interfere any less with depth imaging than a 60" rear projection monitor? My knowledge of acoustic propagation and its effect on depth imaging is not up to the task, so I'm seeking help.

db
donbellphd
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
db,

Unfortunately, anything you put in between the speakers is likely to have an adverse impact on the soundstaging that the speakers can deliver. Large flat reflective surfaces are the most difficult to deal with. Once you decide something must be in between your speakers, it's all compromise from that point forward. Moving from a 36" screen to a 60" screen is just going to make the soundstaging that much more challenging. Our nemesis for many years in a former home was a large upright piano between the speakers. For us, the solution for listening was some heavy damping/absorbtive material placed over the piano and the speakers pulled forward further into the room, but we could never achieve satisfactory recreation of depth in the recordings. Today, in a different house and room, we have nothing in between the speakers, the speakers about 1/3 of the way into the room, and the soundstaging, including depth reproduction, is excellent.
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null1
76 posts
 
Hi, Rushton is correct, for best soundstaging you need to move tv away from speakers. It is the reflective surface of the tV that is messing with your soundstage and depth imaging
r_f_sayles's avatar
r_f_sayles
872 posts
 
Excellent call there Rushton, I had a similar problem and then cure by moving an old teak Hifi component cabinet that we were unwilling to part with out from between the speakers and the result has been most satisfying soundstage wise. It is a beautiful piece of Scandinavian modern furniture but it just confused the imaging. I ran 6m cables from the front-end gear and cabinet on an adjacent wall to the mono blocks and speakers and now all is well. It cleared so many things up that were not quite right about the sound. Donbellphd, is it an option to sink your TV into the wall with acoustic treatment flanking it? Then as Rushton suggests dampening the screen when critically listening. Good luck in your endeavor.
unsound
7,341 posts
 
Donbellphd, I suspect the plasma will intefere less than a rear projection set. That is just a suspicion. It may turn out that the deeper rear projection might just break things up a bit. There are now screens from Sony and DNP that enable front projection with some ambient light. These screens are more expensive than typical ones. I suspect that a good projector and one of these screens would be less expensive than a 60" plasma. I suspect that such a projector set up would off the best sound, especially if you could draw drapes over the screen.
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