Shocking 3D sound in 2 channel

Not all speakers can do this (although, I'd be willing to bet there are more speakers out there that can do this than most of us may suppose...and yet, also, I'd bet that most people tend to (mistakenly, IMHO) assume that this is somehow primarily (if not solely) a function of the speakers themselves. I've never run across any speakers that could do this "without fail" and don't really expect that I ever will. But, it's the particular electronics that the speakers are mated with that more often seem to me to be the determining factor and, just as with most speakers, this ability doesn't seem to be simply a function of price. I doubt you'll ever hear this sort of thing in any mid-fi setup, but it has been demonstrated even in some fairly minimal, but somewhat inexpensive, rigs (say, $4-$6k). Most sources these days seem to be ok for this, if your spending, say, $1k and up (although, with vinyl you may need to consider the cart, at some point). Some amps definitely seem to be better at the whole 3D thing than others - as a class, SET's come to mind, but this may be one of the few categories of any equipment that is, overall, singularly regarded as having this trait...although, you might also want to investigate any crossoverless speaker designs out there. Otherwise, results may vary widely and you may end up having to 'luck up' a bit on having a good combination of components for this (or you may run across someone else who has). It does not seem to happen that way all the time, but sometimes it does. Some preamps are better at it than others, too. A pre should be either of very good quality or better, or perhaps not in the signal chain at all (stepped attenuators and the like). There are plenty of other factors that can have a direct bearing, but I view speaker placement, wiring choices, successful levels of power conditioning and etc as simply things that can occlude the 3D effect if not done well, but after having addressed ALL of those things, they may not in and of themselves alone result in true 3D realism - much harder to get there without them, yes, but the underlying key to me seems to be hitting on both the right electronics AND the speakers themselves, as well as the quality of the match the speakers provide to the electronics...and even Then, that doesn't Always produce the desired effect, but it still looks to me like the best shot we generally have.

"Can all speakers do this if set up right? Are there some that do this without fail? Was I just imagining it?"

Not all speakers can do that. Some are better than others. However, all the other components in a system contribute to the quality of imaging. You have to get everything right, not just the speakers.

I agree, to get this kind of presentation you need to have everything in the process working towards this goal.

That means a good source recording, amplification, speakers, speaker placement, and appropriate speaker-room interaction.

It's not just the speakers, although I think some speakers can do it with a higher probability and be more forgiving about the electronics to achieve it.

The system I listened to that best exemplified the 3-D, perfectly holographic sound consisted of a Music Hall CD-25, Jolida 302b, and Totem Arro's. The system was placed near a corner, and everything I played on it at the stereo shop sounded incredibly lifelike and, for lack of a better term, holographic. I think Joe (the person who was with me at the time) described it as "very forward".

Interestingly, I had nearly this exact system several years later, and although it sounded great, it never quite matched the 3D magic of that system at the stereo shop. Maybe we were using different tubes, or perhaps my not having it in the corner of the room, or something about the geometry of the room. I'll never know, but that's the closest to a 3D guarantee that I've come across (and it's quite a modest system, especially by Audiogon standards).

If the illusion of imaging is important to you, perhaps you should look more into tubes or digital surround/processing modes, as these can sometimes help with that effect.

Michael

Some recordings do not contain what you describe so he recording is an important factor.