Are there speakers that disappear regardless of the recording?


I have a pair of B&W 805d3’s. Strictly analog system. Source is the Clearaudio Ovation, Hana SL cart. Herron VTPH-2A phono stage. Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum II integrated amp. The speakers sound great most of the time. I have many records that cause the speakers to essentially disappear with a holographic sound stage, beautiful imaging and great dynamics. Some other records, not so much. Curious if there’s a way to achieve disappearing speakers no matter what recording you throw at them? Thanks!

paulgardner

This is probably not what the OP is referring to, but anyone who has ever heard the Beveridge electrostatic speakers would have to answer YES.  They generated a true cylindrical wavefront - you could walk anywhere in the room including around and between the speakers without ever being able to tell where the sound was coming from!

You appear to be referring to PRESENTATION of the music in your listening environment. On this very aspect, some transducers are better than others, yet even the best of the best need a great deal of perseverance with set up for your needs. 

All upstream and downstream technology and features need to be well selected and tuned to achieve a palpable soundstage in all dimensions. When this is achieved, it can be a revelation and one's enjoyment of the music should take a huge leap forward.

The recordings do matter a lot and setup too. Most speakers CAN disappear, and do it much of the time.

Magneplanars disappear like 95% of the time except with hard-panned, L-R, jazz. They can be finicky, but even when they're not perfectly optimized they're nowhere to be found. Switching back, almost all box speakers have some box sound to them which makes them easier to"find". 

Don't get me wrong, I love box speakers, the visceral aspects of boxes with traditional drivers keep me coming back. But Magnepans disappear with ease. 

"Are there speakers that disappear regardless of the recording?"

No, I don't think so.  The sense of space and the stereo stage is a function of the original recording.  Others have mentioned the old RCA and Mercury recordings as examples of recordings that capture that space.  Those were made during an age where recording engineers let the conductor and the musicians take care of the balance.  The engineers spent a lot more time finding the optimal location for 2 or 3 microphones.  Some more recent recordings by Keith Johnson, the folks at Telarc, Chandos and Chesky achieve similar results with more modern equipment, but adhering to the minimalist approach to miking the orchestra.  As soon as you start adding more mics, things have the potential to go downhill fast.  Decca in England had some interesting techniques that involved additional mics and were successful in capturing the space, but it was done very carefully.