[Ultralight]

This is probably becoming my fav forum.  I realize that I know a smidgen compared to many of you audio gurus so what better place than here to learn.  I have the proverbial zillion questions but will space them out over time....


Curious.  Heard a pair of speaker today designed to be placed within inches of the rear wall. Very well regarded maker. I was told that they will have a large wide and deep soundstage.  Demo was done by one of the top few experts of this manufacturer so I have no question that it was demoed correctly.

However, while the soundstage is wide, they were not deep.  When we shifted it out a couple of feet, they soundstage became deep.  The speaker were not designed to be shifted that far out but it worked better to my ears.

Question: Is there actually any speaker that can go near the rear wall and yet provide a deep soundstage? I've never heard any sucessfully do that but then my experience relatively limited.

Thanks,
UL

[Tyson]

No I never have.  Only speakers with a bit of breathing space have depth of soundstage.

[WireNut]

Mine are 3 feet from the rear wall. Moving them closer to the wall would kill the depth even with acoustic treatment.

[rajacat]

Large waveguide speakers set into the corners aimed 45 degrees so that they cross in front of the LP might give a deep soundstage. I'll soon find out. Rumor has that they do.

[JLM]

Depth of soundstage can be projecting forward and/or behind the speaker.

Imaging has more to do with the recording than the gear/room/setup used to reproduce the event, but setup (and especially speaker design) can make a big difference.

Bose has their special setups/recordings that can do magic (black magic), so I'd only trust a demonstration at your place with your associated gear.

[Letitroll98]

When Allison was in business they made speakers designed to go against the wall.  My Allison 3's went into the corners and still produced reasonable depth of field.  However, when pulled out into the room, for s&g, they did produce a deeper soundstage, albeit with less bass of course.  As noted above, maybe some waveguide speakers, like Gedlee, might do the trick.

[Wayner]

It is indeed possible. I have 4 sets of speakers in my vinyl room that have a very wide and deep sound stage and they are sitting on a shelf 4' off the floor with only inches behind them. After many hours of adjusting, each has found it's own unique resting place, ideal for my near field listening pleasure. Listening in near field is part of the equation. It basically takes the room nodes out of the picture.



The speakers are (from the outside inward) a pair of Dynaco A25XLs modified, Focal 706v, AR-4X and some Paradigm Atoms v.3.

Wayner

[Blackmore]

Sorry about the OT, but Wayner, that is such a cool setup.

[rollo]

  Love the Piano carpet. Nice touch.


charles