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Is soundstage just a distortion?

Years back when I bought a Shure V15 Type 3 and then later when I bought a V15 Type 5 Shure would send you their test records (still have mine). I also found the easiest test to be the channel phasing test. In phase yielded a solid center image but one channel out of phase yielded a mess, but usually decidedly way off center image.

This got me thinking of the difference between analog and digital. At its best (in my home) I am able to get a wider soundstage out of analog as compared to digital. Which got me thinking- is a wide soundstage, one that extends beyond speakers, just an artifact of phase distortion (and phase distortion is something that phono cartridges can be prone to)? If this is the case, well, it can be a pleasing distortion.
128x128zavato
zavato's avatar
zavato OP
1,397 posts
 
I don't think my componenets are "poorly designed", as I use a rather nice Sim Audio CD player, and have an LP12/Ekos/Arkiv B turntable set up. I don't know whether the point of stereo is to spread the sound outside of between the speakers. I thought it was to create a sound stage as wide as the distance between the speakers, which of course was nothing when dealing with a single speaker in mono reproduction.

None the less, rarely do I get much of anything beyond the speakers unless the speakers are pretty much pointed straight ahead, but then I loose a solid center image.

Notably, the widest soundstage I can get at home sometimes seems to be through a pair of AKG 701's but I know some view their portrayal of soundstage as exeagerated.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,088 posts
 
Good gear alone does not assure a wide sound stage. Room acoustics, setup and listening position are big parts of the equation. Plus sound stage will vary naturally recording to recording.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,189 posts
 
Soundstage is determined by recording technique. For purist recordings the microphone setup is the determinate. For studio recordings soundstage info is created via electronic processors.

On the reproduction side it is not clear to me that audiophiles are interested in an accurate soundstage reproduction. Wider or deeper seems to be desired whether or not it is warranted. Dipoles, wide dispersion or rear firing tweeters and omnis all overlay additional soundstage info to what is already in the recording.

If your system can provide a reasonable facsimile of the real soundstage info present in a purist recording, it means your system a lot of other things really well.
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Grab any Q sound encoded source material and you'll Very Clearly see (hear?) that soundstage is not only not a "distortion", but its also not purely a function of your system. If your program material is recorded in a manner that allows dramatic staging, a good system will pass that through in the listening.

Marty

BTW. Q sound isn't necessarily great in any other way, but the stage is dramatic. IIRC, Madonna's Immaculate Collection (Hits) is a Q sound disc
abucktwoeighty's avatar
abucktwoeighty
1,079 posts
 
Google "Q Sound". Their website has a list of all of their q sound recordings.
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