Is your image centred?

I also mostly hear the off center effects with 70's and 80's lp's (mostly rock), although some lp's from all era's have this anomaly.

I also hear variations within the soundstage. The most hard panned information can sound like it is coming right out of either the left or right speaker. Sometimes hard panned images can also be located at various depths right behind speakers.

As for the loudest sounds (what I would call the center image), that can vary anywhere within the soundstage, in other words, from side wall to side wall (sometimes even the illusion of outside the walls), it can also change in depth, from in front of the speakers to the front wall. This also sometimes changes within a single cut and/or album.
Also, often the highest level information is off centered, while lower level information is centered. If you understand how a stereo mixing board works, you'll discover that almost any variation of imaging is possible.

I would think if you are hearing every album with a centered or near centered image, you're not hearing a high resolution system. The fact you hear variation in central images is actually a good thing!

If it is natural to hear these things with analogy, then I can accept that. After all these years with CDs, I just found them sounding a bit steady in this regards. They may have artificially corrected the mix before creating the CD masters! I will get a mono disk to try out as well. Analog could be more fun but also more hard work to get it right!!!

Analog could be more fun but also more hard work to get it right!!!

Yeah, well. Where ya' been? ;-) Digital does a few things well. In some cases, very well. But to get that real, you are there sound. Analog is the way to go. For the record I do work at and enjoy both mediums.

A mono recording is good for helping to set azimuth, and maybe trouble shooting a system problem. But I suspect that for someone who seems to be sensitive to imaging, you probably won't enjoy mono. Hopefully, in spite of all of this mind trick image stuff that some place so much importance on, you will find a mono recording of music that you enjoy. Regardless of the medium that is still what all of this is about.

Luna, you are correct, they often remix the remastered cd's. Still, I have any number of cd's that replicate what I hear with analog, ie. strange imaging.

I also simplified what can happen in the studio during mixing. It is not only mixing boards, but miking techniques, the mikes used, the recording space, limiters, faders, equalizers, compressors, etc., all can affect imaging as well. The amount of tools they have is almost unlimited, its no wonder there is almost infinte possibilities in reproduction of soundstaging/imaging.

As Dan ed alluded to, there are some who don't prioritize imaging on the sonic palette, Art Dudley of Stereophile being perhaps the best known. There is no doubt a system with good imaging can make some of these anomalies more difficult to listen to. As for myself, I don't prioritize imaging, but I find it critical to reproducing a more live experience in the home, three dimensional images (holographic) can be a thrill. One's system can excell in all sonic parameters if one is willing to work for it, I don't want to deny myself anything in the sonic palette. It sounds like your system does imaging pretty well, enjoy it for what it is.

As for the differences between digital and analog. You should be hearing more of these anomalies with your digital setup. Digital has more inherent seperation, which should exasperate sounstaging cues, on the other hand, analog often has a larger soundstage which tends to have the same effect. I would suggest your digital is homogenizing imaging, shrinking the soundstage to the point where everything sounds more centered.

One more issue in the recording chain I almost neglected, and perhaps the most critical of all. In monitoring the playback in the recording studio, the systems they use likely don't image or soundstage anything like our home systems. Look inside many recording studios, and they have speakers tacked to the wall, they haven't a clue as to what we're going to hear at home!

No doubt that the above statement is true. I have many records and their CD counterparts, and very often the soundstage has been 'moved' to appear more balanced or centered. I think it almost always is more contrived, and of course, less natural. Besides the 'you are there' seal of reality that vinyl has, the engineers who do the digital remasters end up throwing in their 2 cents on top of the original artists work. If they were such geniuses they would have albums of their own. I want to hear the original artist's and engineer's work, not some later day yahoo who got hired for the job. The only exception in when a really great engineer does the remastering, which happens every so often.