Here are some observations that I have made over the years regarding imaging. When my son was in the Chorale in college we went to various concerts from small intimate settings (piano and singer) to the full orchestra and Chorale inside big churches. The acoustics in large churches has a lot of reverberation. That tends to blend all of the voices together. I could hear general locations but not even close to pinpoint. Like someone said, some voices stand out; but placement is not precise. We bought the CDs of the concerts sometimes (they were always professionally recorded) and the sound at home was very close to what I heard live. When my son performed in a chamber with a piano I tried to sit front center. The intimate sound was just like listening to the stereo at home.
When traveling in cities on the coast or in Europe, I stop to listen to live performers and even groups on the streets. The sound is usually flat- kind of dead because the performers are in open air. There is no reinforcement for the bass. The imaging is very good since there are very few reflections.
Clubs are not my favorite because I do not like the over amplified bass most of the time. Sometimes they are great if the music is more acoustic than amplified. I find the imaging in a club to be not as good as my stereo because of all of the reflections and distance from the performers.
The first Cowboy Junkies record is a great benchmark for a stereo, I think. It was recorded in a church with two microphones. The imaging is more realistic because it is not a mix down of a bunch of mics close up to each voice and instrument. I played violin as a kid and when I listen to some classical with violin solos, the violin sounds like it is close to my ear like when I played one and yet it is some distance away like it should be when listening to a performer. I think that is called cognitive dissonance. That is, the sound is very detailed as if your ear is very close to the source; but the source is several feet away from an imaging standpoint.
Maggies have great imaging. I rank Quad ESL's (modified 63s) a 10 for imaging and Maggies a 9. I'd give my Thiels an 8 and Wilson Watt/Puppies an 8.5. There are a number of other speakers that do a good job too, of course. I just haven't heard many other brands in a while. But still, imaging is just one facet of a speaker's performance and a lot of work has to go into the source, electronics and room in order to help the speakers develop clear, focused images.
When traveling in cities on the coast or in Europe, I stop to listen to live performers and even groups on the streets. The sound is usually flat- kind of dead because the performers are in open air. There is no reinforcement for the bass. The imaging is very good since there are very few reflections.
Clubs are not my favorite because I do not like the over amplified bass most of the time. Sometimes they are great if the music is more acoustic than amplified. I find the imaging in a club to be not as good as my stereo because of all of the reflections and distance from the performers.
The first Cowboy Junkies record is a great benchmark for a stereo, I think. It was recorded in a church with two microphones. The imaging is more realistic because it is not a mix down of a bunch of mics close up to each voice and instrument. I played violin as a kid and when I listen to some classical with violin solos, the violin sounds like it is close to my ear like when I played one and yet it is some distance away like it should be when listening to a performer. I think that is called cognitive dissonance. That is, the sound is very detailed as if your ear is very close to the source; but the source is several feet away from an imaging standpoint.
Maggies have great imaging. I rank Quad ESL's (modified 63s) a 10 for imaging and Maggies a 9. I'd give my Thiels an 8 and Wilson Watt/Puppies an 8.5. There are a number of other speakers that do a good job too, of course. I just haven't heard many other brands in a while. But still, imaging is just one facet of a speaker's performance and a lot of work has to go into the source, electronics and room in order to help the speakers develop clear, focused images.