Speakers "Disappearing"

some of the older hard stereo crap will never disappear, vocals to the left, guitars to the right...always from the speakers.

@nitewulf - 

Some of that is "fake" stereo. Actually multi-track mono recordings they put out in stereo to try and cash in. I think there's at least one famous Beatles recording like that. 

But even then, there's a difference between hearing the instruments coincide with the speakers and hearing the speakers themselves as unique sound sources in your space.

Best,

E

i think with good placementand gear, and room acoustics, ie, rugs and things, you should definitely have a phantom center image. but expecting every recording to go beyond the speakers' width is a tough ask, i think its very recording dependent.

Most speakers I have heard would sound much better if they did  " disappear ".

Precise placement of speakers down to 1/4” only works if your own ears are totally symmetrical.  Most of us have ears and eyes where one side is slightly favored by your brain and that’s why you have the balance control.  Also, I have compared two CD players in my system where the same CD is presented slightly differently by each as far as imaging goes which I did not expect.  Experimentation is your friend.