Warren,
your one of the lucky few that own a 2.4SE model and it sounds like judging from your measurements you must have a large room.
Have you tried moving them out a little further apart ?
Only the Indigo Girls song is familiar to me , buy coincidence
I listened to thier second album earlier , it’s Friday Folk for me.
I don’t have any of the albums by other artist you mentioned.
The room is about 14’ x 23’. You can see it in the Virtual Systems.
Oh I’ve played with the positioning of these, and my previous Thiels, extensively. I could always get decent soundstage and imaging regardless; but was never convinced by the vocals. i.e. the wider spacing always made it seem like the singer’s mouth was a foot wide, and accompanying guitars were 6 feet long.
I reassessed the positioning by using the Cardas placement equation as a starting point, and readjusted from there--4" farther apart, and 2" closer to the front wall. So yes, the dimensions break the golden triangle, but it seems to work, and impresses me with the most realistic aural output. Soundstage width is never a problem, as these speakers (unlike most others I’ve heard) push right to the side walls when appropriate.
As for the music:
Pierre Bensusan - Awali
From the album Wu Wei, the French version of this Folk/New Age song features solo acoustic guitar and bass, with layered vocal tracks and percussive sounds. I use it to test image size, voice distinction, and Pierre’s tenor articulation (he has a slight speech impediment).
Olivia Newton-John - Warm and Tender
This is a relatively unknown album of nursery rhymes and light AOR songs from the late 80’s. She uses her softer breath voice exclusively on it. It’s really close-miced, and sounds like she’s singing 2 feet from your face.
Rush - Red Barchetta
From 1981’s classic rock album, Moving Pictures, the headphonic quality of the bridge pushes the limit of soundstage width. "Wind in my hair..."
Deadmau5 - Sofi Needs a Ladder
This is an EDM (electronic dance music) track that can punish a system with the punchiness of the bass and sibilance in the vocals. There’s a lot going on here with its 3D density, and nontraditional instrument placement. Not for everyone.
Rammstein - Los
The original version from Reise Reise is my preferred test track of a audio store’s tolerance for continuous rolling bass notes and German industrial metal. This tells me a lot about room interaction and whether there’s enough absorption and decay occurring. Also, there’s rim ringing from the snare drum hits that many speakers miss. Plus there’s harmonica!
Cheers,
Warren
