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What affects front to back depth in room/ system?

I've been moving speakers around for a while now trying to maximize their placement for a happy balance of soundstage width, focus of center image, vocal height, instrument placements, etc. I want to get the speaker placement settled before acoustically treating the room. The room is 15x20 with 8' ceilings. Speakers are setup along the 20' wall. I'm pretty happy with most aspects of the sound, but what I can't seem to figure out is how to improve the depth. Honestly, I'm not sure if what I'm after is attainable to begin with. Is it possible to have depth that reaches the listening position in a 2.2 channel sound system? The depth behind the speakers is great, just not much in front of them- unless it's one of those songs that has a part where it has that inverted phase trick. Then it washes over me. I want that all the time. Any feedback and advice is appreciated. 

veerossi
mihorn
468 posts
 
magnuman

mihorn, I wish you would have named the system that that singer is singing on it sounds very natural even through my phone I can hear how nice it is.

My system consists Oppo 95 (modded), Bakoon int. amp (modded), and Wavetouch audio speaker with Wavetouch cables. Here the system video. Alex/WTA

wolf_garcia
6,626 posts
 

Soundstage depth is accomplished by a recording mixer by using relative volume level adjustments on isolated or semi-isolated instruments, and width is from panning from the middle outwards. That's it. Vibration controlling silliness or room reflection worries are minor or irrelevant.

8th-note
348 posts
 

@wolf_garcia 

You are leaving out a major mixing tool for creating the illusion of depth in recordings. Reverb and delay on particular instruments/tracks is, in my experience, the most effective way of creating depth in a recording.

wolf_garcia
6,626 posts
 

Reverb and delay add reverb and delay, and not depth particularly in my experience. Maybe an illusion is enough, but level is key and burying an instrument in reverb tends to obscure its position in the mix more than accent it. Listen to the infamous brilliantly recorded later Steely Dan recordings...one of the first things you notice is the utter lack of reverb.

tablejockey
3,791 posts
 

"Listen to the infamous brilliantly recorded later Steely Dan recordings...one of the first things you notice is the utter lack of reverb"

I'm listening in my head...

Skunk Baxter's  "Bohdisahttva or Walter Becker's "Josie" solo would have been ruined with noticeable reverb. OD tone/reverb is an odd pairing to my ears. 1-2 max on the knob- if any.

Those geetars are dry!

wolf on point.

 

 

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