Strange Klipsch thing

Actualy, I think you make a very good point, just that to be fair, it's not quite so black and white. As an analogy, it's a bit like, pushing a spoonfull of sugar deep into ones mouth so that only the back of the tongue is exposed to it, and keeping the spoon there till it's swallowed. Since the tip of the tongue is what is most sensitive to sweetness, one doesn't get the opportunity to taste it as thoroughly, as one typically does.

To Grimace

Yes this is typical to Klipsch vintage horn speakers. As a over 30 yr. owner of a set of Lascala's they do not have a shred of depth.

They produce an enormous sound stage with life size height and width but no depth.

I believe that depth is Audio illusion. Whenever I hear live music I close my eyes and have no idea who is in front of whom! Sounds overlap and are not separated either.

In some audio gear I have owned the higher end pre-amps produced more depth than the cheaper one from the same company.

I use my Klipsch with vintage tube amps and they produce no depth either. The Klipsch can produce depth with a pre-amp designed to create it. The only downside is image is shrunk to create depth. Leading me to believe depth is audio trickery.

My Lascala set up gives me plenty of depth, partly due to them being away from the wall, and also, because I treated the wall behind them to my liking. Not being corner loaded gives the flexibility of positioning them to get the best of everything. My only problem with the Khorn has always been the corner placement. The best Khorn setups I have been involved with or heard are situations where they were not so far apart, versus the listening position. I designed false corners for some clients in the past that brought them closer, and they took on more depth. My opinion about the Heritage series of Klipsch speakers are that for the money, and with some correct modifications, they are hard to beat, at least to my ears.

FWIW: the reason reflected sound can contribute to soundstage is due to the way our ears hear. Our brain makes a copy of an initial sound and compares it to others coming in. If the others are delayed versions of the original, the extra information is used to get a better understanding of where the sound is coming from.

So its not a coloration, and speakers are designed all the time to take advantage of it, and is why getting the speakers out into the room a little can help out the soundstage.

MrDecibel
I will have to try that as I am finishing off a basement to get the most out of these speakers. I just take it as a weakness of the horns projecting sound forward.