Why do some amplifiers throw a bigger soundstage than others?

I would think that class A amps with less negative feedback would have a bigger soundstage, that could be one of the reasons many tube amps have a great soundstage.

atmasphere

11,505 posts

03-08-2024 at 12:15am

”is this statement meant to rule out bass as being important to listener perception of soundstage?”

@benanders Yes. Bass (20Hz to about 150Hz) is important if you want to get the tonality right but it has little to do with imaging and sound stage- the lower the frequency the more this is true. Below 80Hz in most listener’s rooms the bass is 100% reverberant (which is why subwoofers don’t have to be in the same location as the main speakers if crossed over below 80Hz).

@atmasphere I’d assumed that has more to do with a discrepancy between wavelengths and reflection time vs. boundary dimensions, than with how we perceive bass overall (granted, research indicates certain higher frequencies are disproportionately influential on our sense of spatial scale). Should spatial perception x what you describe differ for, say, bass in outdoor setups (I am sorry - I realize this is slightly tangential from the OP query)?

You can try a simple experiment to show how this is so. If you use midrange drivers and tweeters as speakers you’ll find they can image nicely, but if you use only woofers that are rolled off at a normal crossover point you’ll find the image very indistinct or non-existent, depending on the woofer.

This made me chuckle at myself. Bass in my setup comes from stereo subs that can go up to ~180 Hz (I keep them crossed at 100 Hz). When I was setting them some years back, I did play them without the towers but directed my attention to measurements vs. room modes (vs. listening impressions); I admittedly wasn’t focused on soundstage of given tracks. “Tell me you already knew something but didn’t know how to say it ‘til just now.”

I’ll aim to give that simple experiment a whirl this weekend if time permits. Thanks again.

« This thesis investigates the extent of the human ability to perceive changes in the
direction of low-frequency sound sources, within the range of 31.5 and 100 Hz, in
a large, highly damped environment.»

... «It has also been demonstrated that the
presence of modal behaviour in the listening environment hinders the localisation
ability, as it leads to erroneous ITD cues. This fact could have contributed to the
belief that, as a rule, low-frequency sound sources are not localisable, a view which
this thesis aims to refute.»

Auditory localisation of
low-frequency sound sources
Mădălina Anamaria Năstasă

Auditory localisation of
low-frequency sound sources
Mădălina Anamaria Năstasă
School of Electrical Engineering
Thesis submitted for examination for the degree of Master of
Science in Technology.
Espoo 29.07.2022

https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/server/api/core/bitstreams/e43fa993-e3c9-4784-a6c2-05a292aab188/content

My sugden a21se combined with tannoy eatons throws a tremendous Soundstage. I believe it to be a very synergistic pairing. It helps that I also use a tavish tube phono preamp.

If soundstage cannot be measured, does it exist?