Speaker Imaging - Do you hear a line, or do you hear an arc??

Erik-
Thank you for the kind words.
Sorry to hear about your lack of a listening room. Especially a shame since you were the first person here to mention any kind of room treatment to me several years ago. You said try hanging some blankets on the walls. Well, I did just that and was amazed at the difference it made. Thus began my quest of focusing on the room more than the gear. My system is very modest but sounds wonderful to me because of the room treatment and meticulous attention to the setup. 
And thanks again for helping me get better sound than I've ever had before (going way back to the 70s).

Tom

My system is very modest but sounds wonderful ... because of the room treatment and meticulous attention to the setup.

probably no need for "to me"

If only people would realize it's the room!

As a recording engineer, I mostly didn't give a rat's patoot about the hardware. The room however...

Tom :

Thanks so much for remembering me. I think you are the third person who ever took any of my advice! Getting good sound with minimal effort and cost is a goal I have for myself and like to share. I'm glad I could help you.


I could make things better here, I'm just ... settling. I had plans to donate furniture, and make a lot more space in the living room, turning the stereo around and re-positioning the 5 panels and 2 bass traps.


Unfortunately the Vet's org won't take furniture this big, and most want me to pay to ship to them, so I'm probably going to junk some big pieces as I downsize, and just thinking of that wears me out. :)


I should make it a priority and reward myself with a nice new rack from Butcher Block Acoustics.


Best,
E

I have a pretty big room....10' ceilings....12,000 cubic feet.  Speakers are Salk Veracity STs...9' apart and 30" out from the rear wall.  No room treatments...lots of glass, ceramic tile, and drywall...with a few area rugs and furniture....normal listening volume around 80db...max peaks of 85db.


As of now, I don't stream...only CDs.  Almost never is the soundstage for a whole CD an arc...but almost every CD has at least one song that has lots of depth and could be described as an arc.

Here are just two "arc" examples from some really old CDs...Al Stewart, "On the Border - Live Version"  and Steppenwolf, "Hoochie Coochie Man".

Or, a little more recent....Josh Turner, "Long Black Train"

Mostly, I would describe the overall sound as sitting at one of the front tables at a medium size club...you can perceive/recognize depth, width and height and occasionally when the song was mixed with a lot of ambience, it almost seems like immersion. 

@ieales- thank you!
@erik_squires - hope you finish it soon, and do reward yourself!

Tom