Open baffle speakers

Also, I am of the opinion that when sound is coming from the rear and bouncing willy-nilly about the room, it may give a sense of depth to the soundstage but can’t really be good for imaging compared to a nice closed-back point or line source, or even time-aligned speaker.

@toddalin  Well, I’ll take the other side of that.  As a musician it’s obvious that musical instruments project sound in a 360 degree pattern, not just forward.  If the room can’t deal with that info then it’s a problem more with the room than the speakers.  When I’ve heard dipole designs from Spatial, Nola, etc., when they’re properly set up in a room they can be absolutely beguiling in a way traditional box speakers struggle to match.  And I’m a proud and happy owner of box speakers so not like I’m biased one way or the other.  That’s been my experience anyway. 

When Dizzy is blowing his horn, certainly some sound goes to the rear and bounces around.

But with open back, were talking essentially as much sound going "backward" as is going forward, and it’s out of phase. Maybe this is proper for a Leslie, and some percussion (including piano) but little else that primarily goes forward, including guitar amps, PA systems, and such.

It just doesn’t seem like it would present the same pin point imaging as two well placed speakers with no sound emanating to the rear except what is natural to the room they are being played in. But my listening to these OB systems is limited.

If there is anyone in the Orange County, CA area with a nice OB system that they would like to share, I would love to come hear it! Of course you would be welcome to come hear my offerings.

The first open baffle speaker was the venerable Dahlquist DQ10. Below 300hz bass was handled by a sealed box woofer. The speaker was notably open and transparent sounding. I have a restored pair.

Wharfedale SFB preceded the DQ10 by 20+ years. 

DeKay

@toddalin 

I have owned planars, horns and box speakers. The OB speakers that have come through my room are the GR Research Super V, the Spatial Audio X3, and now the Qualio IQ. It is my opinion that the OB speakers image just as good as anything else I've owned and better than some. The key is having a space large enough to get them into the room and away from the wall behind them.