Imaging/Soundstaging - Does room size matter?


Hi guys,

I have a great little system in a pretty small room, 17 x 13 x 10. The center image is perfect. On vocals, the speakers totally dissappear, and all I hear is the singer chillin' in between the two channels. But most things that aren't supposed to be completely centered don't image very well. Instead of simply coming from one side or the other, they always seem to come directly from the drivers. Is there something that room acoustics or speaker position can do about that, or is it just going to be that way because of the size of the room?

Thanks!
omains
Wow, thanks for the help you guys! So it seems like a bit more tinkering is in order, and maybe a bit more dampening on the side walls.

Thanks, Duke, for the felt reccomendations. I'll give that a try.
And yes indeed, the system is in phase, according to the second track of stereophile test cd 3.
good post Rolf. My wife factor and the general layout of my room negates acoustic tweaks on the walls. My soundstage, however, is still, quite amazing. Has more to do with the speaker positioning and system, itself. I wonderwhat it would be like in an acoustic paradise? The tweeter deal, 360 degrees? Still haven't heard a soundstage like you're talking 'bout. Not in any system. go figure. peace, warren
Looking at the photo of your system setup your speaker positioning seems like it should give you pretty good imaging. It might be time to look at your gear also, though speaker placement is the number one factor in imaging I think some gear just images better than others. So it may just be that your ss integrated just doesn't do the imaging thing that well. Also keep in mind that some recordings, especialy vintage jazz, is often recorded with a hard left-right pan that keeps the sounds stuck to your drivers. So keep experimenting, but try some different recordings and see if maybe a buddy had another amp he could bring over, particularly one that is tubed.