Are there speakers that disappear regardless of the recording?

Totally agree with @zgas-music 

But there is a lot to be said for getting the speaker-room interaction as correct as possible.

NO. It’s all about the source.

Assuming your speakers are doing a terrific job of presenting imaging from superlatively recorded/produced recordings, thus ’disappearing’ within the sound stage, like your B&W’s do now:

the speakers ’disappear’ because they become instruments within a wide soundstage, the phantom center and phantom off center being present in the imaging are a large part of why the speaker’s disappear.

as you progressively reduce the effective skill of recording/producing, the speaker’s progressively reappear.

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balance:

some very involving recordings, the balance is a speck off, a very small tweak to proper balance makes a large difference, everything, not just center get’s refined. best is remote balance from listening position.

note: it might be something in your system causing an inadvertent, perhaps inconsistent minor balance imperfection. My vintage McIntosh jacks were corroded, and very slightly undersized. move one cable, it disturbs another, .... Audio Classics changed all the jack panels to new gold plated, AND, I changed to locking RCA’s on my inter-connects. I think one of the benefits for short runs of XLR is they also are locking.

I still find tracks that benefit from a small tweak, most often on compilations where many different engineers/producers are involved.

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mono was mentioned.

I used to use Mono mode on my McIntosh Preamp, but still used my Stereo Cartridge.

I took advice here, glad I did. recording teams, equipment and techniques were surprisingly good before stereo came along.

Vinyl: the best is a mono cartridge, mono lp, mono mode, played thru only 1 speaker. then listen from anywhere. do NOT let your habit of seeking imaging get involved.

Some are only minor improvements, some quite a lot.

Mono is horizontal vibration info only, mono cartridge has no output of any vertical movement. Stereo cartridge will find/pick up/make noise from any inadvertent vertical movement, warp, dust, ,,, there is more than you would think. It smears the content with noise. One speaker, some noise, two speakers, double the noise.

I have a compilation LP, mono, early Chicago jazz. Played stereo cartridge, even via mono mode, it is far from involving, just a history lesson, probably never play again. played with my true mono cartridge, even both speakers, it becomes an involving experience you will want to replay. not imaging, but the distinction of individual instruments is there. played mono/mono/1 speaker, even more involving/instrument distinction.

Count yourself lucky.  You must have a nice sounding system.  You might consider adding a pair of REL SHO subwoofers.  Their high-level connection allows them to play like woofers.  The trick is to dial them in until you cannot detect them.  I have a source where you can buy them brand new for about half the price.  If interested, I could let you know my source only if you do not divulge the source. 

I have noticed some recordings produce more db at the same volume settings.  I am not sure why.  I often have to adjust the volume on my amplifier downward.  Perhaps this also reduces distortion?  Certain recordings just sound better.  I have a number of recordings I play to show off my sound system.

NO. A speaker- properly designed - will reveal the recording, regardless of quality of said recording. Many recordings, especially pop recordings or old tech recordings, are awful. Its just like movies, a good TV does NOT improve the way all movies look.  Amazing recordings sound amazing on great speakers and can sound just okay on just okay speakers.    

Brad

My basic good but not high end speakers Mission Cyrus 781 never disapered when i installed them years ago in my non treated and non controlled room..

For sure disapearance of speakers is an experience related and coming from the way and good trade-off choices made by the recording engineer...

A mono recording will not sound stereo even in an acoustically controlled environment... 🤣For sure....

But there will be a big differences between a mono recording in a controlled room and in a non controlled one....The mono recording will MIMIC or SUGGEST a more 3-d sound like a sphere in the center and no more a dead surface between the 2 speakers...

And what means "speakers which disapear" for me?

They always disapear at some level and for some degree with all my stereo recordings, why and how?

The speakers disapear when the sound we listen to dont come from the speakers and the sound dont stay between the speakers like a dead body but fill the room, imaging is no more only in the direction back/front or left/right inside and outside the speakers locations, but also in some recording around the listener and in some recording behind my listening position, and sometimes for example voices directly beside my 2 ears like in an headphone and orchestra behind the speakers...

The same recording listened in another non controlled room will not give this experience...

Then it is ACOUSTIC treatment but especially acoustic mechanical control in a dedicated room that make this experience possible with basic box speakers...

All is in the recording?

Yes, but the TRANSLATION of the recording choices acoutical cues are only completely audible in a CONTROLLED room...The acoustic choices of the recording engineer cannot be translated completely in a non treated and non controlled room... Simple...

Knowing that by experience, it is the reason why i never boasted about my speakers or dac and amplifier to be the main cause and main reason of my deep imaging soundstage and listener envelopment experience with an intimate sound which feel like i had headphones with none of the inconvenience of my 7 headphones...

It is not my brand name specific gear, so good it is, the main cause and reason of my S.Q. wonderful experience all time, it is not even the difference in recordings which is big from one recording to another one, no, it is ACOUSTIC CONTROL of the room mechanically tuned with Helmhotlz method...

The main reason of the disapearance of speakers is to be understood by acoustic and psycho-acoustic science not by brand name gear marketing tacttic nor because someone boast about his specific speakers or gear in a review saying that it is the cause...

ANY BASIC relatively good gear can give a wonderful S.Q. experience modulo acoustic control in a dedicated room...

For sure my gear is LIMITED and cannot be transformed miraculously in high end gear by acoustic and cannot beat high end gear but i dont lag so much afar and behind high end experience as publicity and audio magazine want to make us believe ... 😁😊

On the opposite i dont want to upgrade at all because my ratio S.Q. /price is over the roof...Upgrading really will cost me 15,000 bucks versus my 500 buck system now... For only a clearer sound and a better dynamic and a better timbre, but not so much better because i can enjoy music without any frustration at all NOW compared to anything i ever listen to in all my life...

Audio experience is acoustic experience ....First and last.....

By the way all my albums sound interesting now even the worst recording.... Why? Because now i can HEAR all the trade-off choices of the recording engineer in my room and it makes all albums interesting.... Calling them "bad" make no more sense, they are not so well recorded for sure but they are interesting acoustically and musically for their own sake now...

And i dont listen to my 7 headphones now because they cannot beat my 500 bucks audio system in my controlled room , not even for the intimacy aspect...My room give an intimacy experience like my headphones were giving me in the past...But the sound is not IN MY HEAD now but around me and near me...

And anyway no headphone has a dynamic and a bass so natural to beat my modest speakers now....

Acoustic is the key not some chosen well recorded album...I dont pick album for their sound recording quality now... It speaks volume about acoustic control...

When someone enjoy only some recording album because it is a way better album than the others he own, it is a sign and a clue about the acoustic limitations of his room and this manifest in the fact that he cannot enjoy many albums which has acoustic cues from their recording characteristiuc more difficult to manifest in a non treated and non controlled room...Then he pick the best album to enjoy a good sound...All my albums present something interesting, i never chose an album now for the sound ONLY FOR THE MUSIC...

In a word i want to be clear: Acoustic control dont make "bad" recording good one but make them interesting ANYWAY...Acoustic control dont transform my basic gear in high end one at all, but put them no so far behind... THAT IS THE POINT...

Dont upgrade ever BEFORE embedding rightfully what you already own....

 

 

By the way the speakers disapear ONLY when your room disapear...Read it twice and think about it twice...Or the speakers disapear when the room and the speakers are INTEGRATED synergetically by Helmholtz method...

 

«If there is no speakers and no room where is the music? »-Acoustical Koan