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Soundstaging and Imaging: The Delusion about The Illusion

Soundstaging in a recording—be it a live performance or studio event—and it’s reproduction in the home has been the topic of many a discussion both in the forums and in the audio press. Yet, is a recording’s soundstage and imaging of individual participants, whether musicians or vocalists, things that one can truly perceive or are they merely illusions that we all are imagining as some sort of delusion?

https://www.stereophile.com/content/clowns-left-me-jokers-right

celander
tostadosunidos's avatar
tostadosunidos
1,198 posts
 
I’ll accept that it might be possible for two ears to perceive the location of a source in relation to distance, but I’m not sure that the effect can be recreated with only two speakers. I’ve seen lots of mixing boards with a knob for right and left placement in the mix but never one with near and far or high and low. Probably because there is no way to do those.
rlb61
792 posts
 
@geoffkait ... I really don't think I missed the OP's point. Imaging is real based on the disappearance of the speaker, IMHO.
whart's avatar
whart
3,194 posts
 
@tostadosunidos - but if the performers are positioned front to back,  and the recording captures that, it should be reproduced. I can hear such placement and it is not the result of mixing left or right-
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
Soundstaging implies a 3 dimensional representation of a musical event.  It can acoustically compensate for our inability to localize sound through a “stereo” via the eye-ear-brain connection.  The result is more satisfying because it helps orient our brains into making more sense of an auditory stimulus.
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

Hi tostadosunidos

Recordings are actually 360degrees. When you place the speakers in front of you that's what gives you the frontal stage. 2 speakers can easily give you the 360 sound, it's the room you're hearing keep in mind.


mg

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