Is soundstage DEPTH a myth?


Ok, help me out fellas. Is it a myth or what?

I’m a good listener, I listen deep into the music, and I feel like I have good ears. But I can’t confirm that I can hear soundstage depth. I can hear 1 instrument is louder, but this doesn’t help me to tell if something is more forward or more behind. Even in real life and 2 people are talking, I can’t honestly say I know which one is in front.

The one behind will sound less loud, but is that all there is to soundstage depth? I think the answer I’m looking for has to do with something I read recently. Something about depth exist only in the center in most system, the good systems has depth all around the soundstage.

128x128samureyex

"Are you saying depth is a result of sound bouncing off the physical room? And since there’s nothing to bounce with in a headphone, there is no depth? I’m sorry for not understanding."

Not so much bouncing off of stuff in the room, but the interaction of the sound waves of the two speakers playing simultaneously in the room.

Something to consider. If both speakers play the same thing, in phase, there are constructive as well as destructive interferences (peaks and nulls) set up in the room. For something to be dead center, both speakers are playing the same thing, at teh same volume, in phase, reinforcing each other and sound is therefore louder at that spot. Similarly, depending on the wavelength and distance between the speakers, you could have a path differential that creates a null when both speakers are playing the same thing

But on headphones, the center is in your head and the sound of both channels is not reinforcing a wavefront making it louder, or quietier, if you are listening to a null spot.

Many Classical records made in real hall acoustic environment with small number of microphones have a real soundstage depth. I mean big part of live records (from 1970x - 1990x) and records done from 1955 to 1965.

Hi @mihorn ,

Some legendary vintage speakers produce sound stage depth very well.

For example, Quad ESL57, Tannoy coaxial speakers from 50x-70x.