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narrow and wide baffles and imaging

According to all the "professional" audio reviews that I've read over the last several years, narrow baffles are crucial to creating that so-desired pin-point imaging.

However, over the last few weeks, I've had the opportunity to audition Harbeth 40.2, Spendor Classic 100, Audio Note AN-E, and Devore O/93.  None of these had deficient imaging; indeed I would go so far as to say that it was good to very good.

So, what gives?  I'm forced to conclude that modern designs, 95% of which espouse the narrow baffle, are driven by aesthetic/cosmetic considerations, rather than acoustical ones, and the baffle~imaging canard is just an ex post facto justification.

I can understand the desire to build speakers that fit into small rooms, are relatively unobtrusive, and might pass the SAF test, but it seems a bit much to add on the idea that they're essentially the only ones that will do imaging correctly.



128x128twoleftears
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
the Stradivari presented a more weighty, unusually solid picture that seemed to be a three-dimensional curtain wrapped behind the baffles and extending well back into virtual space.
A friend had the SF Amati’s which were really nice and had a great believable image/depth presentation, then his dealer persuaded him to trade up to the SF Stradivari same system same everything, ask me around to have a listen a to give my opinion as he wasn’t happy.

As soon as he put on a Diana Krall cd that I’d heard on the Amati’s just a week before, I turned as said to him "my god, why has she's suddenly got a 10ft wide mouth" he said "exactly" no amount of re-positioning fixed it, next day he had his Amati’s back.

Cheers George
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erik_squires
16,004 posts
 
There's kind of a continuum of room to speaker matching.

<narrow directivity> ----------------------------- < wide directivity >
<narrow sweet spot> ----------------------------< wide sweet spot >
<less room dependent > ------------------------< more room dependent>

It's not _just_ the room or _just_ the speakers. However, well treated rooms are, by and large, accomodate a wider range of speakers and have better, bigger sounding bass. 
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twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears OP
5,314 posts
 
@kosst_amojan OK, I'll bite.  By imaging I understand individual sound sources (voice, instrument) being well defined and easily localizable within the overall sound stage.  Ideally, the listener should be able to map, more or less precisely, where each "instrument" is on the left to right axis and, at least to some extent, on the front to back and high/low axes.  Also, importantly, the instrument should not appear to be substantially larger or smaller than the other instruments in the soundstage than it is in real life.  Example: a three foot wide clarinet.
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