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Soundstage Width and Depth

I’m curious about what your systems produce when it comes to soundstage. My speakers are about 8’ apart and I sit about 10’ from the front plane of the speakers. The speakers are toed in so that they each are pointed at a spot about 8” from my ears on each side. (Laser verified) My room is treated with bass absorption and diffusers.

In many recordings my soundstage is approx 28’ wide and, although this is tougher to determine, I would say on most recordings I’m hearing sounds 10’-15’ further back than the speaker plane. Some sounds, usually lead guitars, are presented slightly in front of the plane of the speakers. There are also recordings that produce height in the soundstage. Some fill the room floor to ceiling, while others are more on the same plane about 5’ from the floor. I do get layers usually in about the same order, guitars, lead singer, bass guitar, drums, violins and backup instruments and singers in order front to back. Again this is recording dependent. Intimate recordings that feature a singer playing a guitar usually has all of the sound between the speakers. Is this what everyone experiences? Could the depth be deeper? Do many of you hear sounds in front of the speaker plane? Do you have any recordings that accentuate the front to back soundstage?
128x128baclagg
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
@simao ...Oh, thanks. That makes sense in the context of this thread. 
I was thinking that somehow a decibel meter would be used. That's dB-A, for A weighted measurement.
Thanks for straight dope.

simao's avatar
simao
1,822 posts
 
@lowrider57 Word
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Excellent answer by @millercarbon. dBA? A-weighted measurement?

No not dB-A, DBA: Distributed Bass Array. Multiple subs asymmetrically distributed around the room.

The XLO Test CD has a great imaging test track. Roger Skoff is talking in a bare room. He describes the room, dimensions, microphone placement, and where he is standing. As he talks you can plainly hear exactly what he's talking about. I mean it is like you are the microphones and he is talking at you. He strikes a calves and you hear the reverb. Then he starts walking around the room. Talking the whole time. He walks to your left, he was to your right. He walks behind you! He stands behind you and hits the clavis! If your system is mega this will blow your mind! The room he is in, and the microphone placement, the dimensions are close to the same as me in my room. So its just crazy spooky to hear. 

There's demagnetizing tracks on there too. Some decent level and channel test stuff. And several examples of really good quality recordings, including Michael Ruff Poor Boy in mono. Another good reference disk for setup and tuning for imaging.
erik_squires
16,118 posts
 
of course this thread has devolved into a discussion about DBA, of course it has.

OP:  I find the combination of room treatment and speaker dispersion in the plane of question what affects sound stage.  That is, if you have front and back depth, having good treatment behind the listener and behind the speakers is what helps the most. Want width?  Narrow dispersion or treating walls is what helps. Height? Carpet and ceiling.

There's also a known enhancement if your speakers dip around 2.4 kHz. Wilson used to take advantage (or cheat) of this behavior, though later speakers have forgone this.

In general  you can get a really good idea of how good your system could sound with an ideal room by listening 2' from the speakers. Everything that changes between that and your listening location is due to the room.

Best,

E
baclagg's avatar
baclagg OP
151 posts
 
@erik_squires  My listening area is my living room and I had to balance aesthetics with functionality when it comes to room treatments. They have been my best investment to date. GIK was great to work with and my sound stage, imaging and tonality were all improved beyond my expectations.
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