The art of speaker imaging

[heliumflight]

Hello Friends,

The art of speaker imaging is all about creating a virtual soundstage that simulates the placement and positioning of instruments, artists, and sound effects within a space. It's the ability of your speakers to make you feel like the music is happening all around you, rather than just coming from two boxes in front of you

Here are some key aspects of speaker imaging:

Stereo Imaging: This involves the precise placement of sounds within the stereo field, giving listeners a sense of spatial location, width, depth, and even immersion.

Soundstage: This refers to the apparent depth, height, and width of a recorded sound played via speakers. A well-defined soundstage makes it feel like the music is coming from a three-dimensional space

Psychoacoustics: This is the science of how our brains perceive and process sound. It plays a crucial role in how we interpret the spatial cues that create imaging

Speaker Placement: Proper placement of speakers in your listening environment is essential for achieving good imaging. This includes distance from walls and the main listening position2.

When done well, speaker imaging can create an incredibly immersive and realistic listening experience, making you feel like you're right in the middle of the performance.

Best!
helium

 

[heliumflight]

In this pursuit I realized, DACs and other electronics have very little to with soundstage. Biggest contribution is from the recording, then speaker, speaker placement from walls/toe in-out, and room interaction.

 

[arj]

In this pursuit I realized, DACs and other electronics have very little to with soundstage. Biggest contribution is from the recording, then speaker, speaker placement from walls/toe in-out, and room interaction.

This is my experience but while the width of soundstage and to some extent depth are the Room and speaker including making it disappear, the density of the soundstage, its 3D clarity and even the individual placement are very much driven by the chain from source to amp as well.

eg when i change my Dac/phono the quality of the soundstage including width and depth also changes and of course you can hear a lot more of instruments and place them in the space more clearly.

 

[heliumflight]

​

I am right now playing with my Arcam airDac for imaging. The only thing I'm missing is the sound of cymbals, stick and snare. Can anyone advise how can this be corrected?

Stereo HiFi Rig: Cambridge Audio Cxn v2 + Arcam airDac + Cyrus6 / Elekit tu 8730 300b + ASI Live line power cable + ASI Live line Reference IC + Townsend Isolda speaker cables + Linn Keilidh speakers

 

[mbhangui]

I am right now playing with my Arcam airDac for imaging. The only thing I'm missing is the sound of cymbals, stick and snare. Can anyone advise how can this be corrected?

Stereo HiFi Rig: Cambridge Audio Cxn v2 + Arcam airDac + Cyrus6 / Elekit tu 8730 300b + ASI Live line power cable + ASI Live line Reference IC + Townsend Isolda speaker cables + Linn Keilidh speakers

I'm obssessed with the sound of cymbals, the stick and snare. I never could figure that out until I replaced my tube amp with a solid state class AB AVR. Later I replaced it with allo class D and that too sounded better for cymbals. If I listen to jazz recording, no matter how great the sax, piano may sound, if the cymbals don't have the correct bite and aliveness, I don't like it. What I do now (for almost 2 years now) is have a switcher to switch between my tube and solid state class d amp. When listening to just vocals, I switch the output of the preamp to tube. For the rest I use my class D (currently V3 mono) or my Yamaha AVR. It is possible that my tube amp is not a good one, so I woudn't generalize that all tube amps are bad at producing good sound in the high frequency range.

 

[Kannan]

What I do now (for almost 2 years now) is have a switcher to switch between my tube and solid state class d amp

you are treading on dangerous waters .

 

[heliumflight]

I'm obssessed with the sound of cymbals, the stick and snare. I never could figure that out until I replaced my tube amp with a solid state class AB AVR. Later I replaced it with allo class D and that too sounded better for cymbals. If I listen to jazz recording, no matter how great the sax, piano may sound, if the cymbals don't have the correct bite and aliveness, I don't like it. What I do now (for almost 2 years now) is have a switcher to switch between my tube and solid state class d amp. When listening to just vocals, I switch the output of the preamp to tube. For the rest I use my class D (currently V3 mono) or my Yamaha AVR. It is possible that my tube amp is not a good one, so I woudn't generalize that all tube amps are bad at producing good sound in the high frequency range.

I have a Elekit tu 8730 300b tube amp and still not hearing the sound of cymbals, the stick and snare. I tried Cyrus, Arcam & CA.

 

[Analogous]

I have a Elekit tu 8730 300b tube amp and still not hearing the sound of cymbals, the stick and snare. I tried Cyrus, Arcam & CA.

Then, It could be your speakers…

 

[Kushanava]

Every speaker has soundstage and imaging.However some speakers highlight the macrodetails which conveys a more solid image while others which have lot of micro details and resolution may sound diffused and are very difficult to work with.

The key contributar for a good sound stage is room acoustics ( speaker placement + room treatment) and the imaging is more apparent at a lower noise-floor ( electronics, cables isolators)..

 

[heliumflight]

Linn Keilidh speakers

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

I'm obssessed with the sound of cymbals, the stick and snare. I never could figure that out until I replaced my tube amp with a solid state class AB AVR. Later I replaced it with allo class D and that too sounded better for cymbals. If I listen to jazz recording, no matter how great the sax, piano may sound, if the cymbals don't have the correct bite and aliveness, I don't like it. What I do now (for almost 2 years now) is have a switcher to switch between my tube and solid state class d amp. When listening to just vocals, I switch the output of the preamp to tube. For the rest I use my class D (currently V3 mono) or my Yamaha AVR. It is possible that my tube amp is not a good one, so I woudn't generalize that all tube amps are bad at producing good sound in the high frequency range.

I believe a system needs to have great leading egde definition, transient attack and dynamic headroom to properly playback a cymbal strike. Most tube designs are more rounded sounding, softening that leading edge for smoothness. Which is probably what a majority of the tube audience are looking for.

But there are tube amps that dont soften those edges, then they are called SS sounding, like most Octave tube amps. Each have their fans of course

As Troels-Gravesen once wrote, replacing a smooth sounding capacitor on the tweeter with a grainier sounding capacitor will make the tweeter sound more airy. So we all still have a choice

 

[reignofchaos]

Honesty is a virtue - both for humans and for audio components!

 

[heliumflight]

I believe a system needs to have great leading egde definition, transient attack and dynamic headroom to properly playback a cymbal strike. Most tube designs are more rounded sounding, softening that leading edge for smoothness. Which is probably what a majority of the tube audience are looking for.

But there are tube amps that dont soften those edges, then they are called SS sounding, like most Octave tube amps. Each have their fans of course

As Troels-Gravesen once wrote, replacing a smooth sounding capacitor on the tweeter with a grainier sounding capacitor will make the tweeter sound more airy. So we all still have a choice

Thought provoking. Anything else I can play around with to get the sparkle back in my life?

 

[arj]

Thought provoking. Anything else I can play around with to get the sparkle back in my life?

When nothing else works...there is champagne.

 

[Analogous]

It’s possible to honestly repeat an untruth while believing it to be true.
The audio component is described as “true” or colored, or rolled off or whatever by humans. By itself it’s just a component in an environment

When nothing else works...there is champagne.

Or helium

Linn Keilidh speakers

This is an intriguing mystery.
Try getting some hometown audiophiles to visit and diagnose your problem.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Thought provoking. Anything else I can play around with to get the sparkle back in my life?

Sorry I wish I could be of help. But I really would'nt know as Iam unfamiliar with the components in your system

 

[heliumflight]

I need a HiFi Doc to diagnose my symptom and prescribe medication.

Stereo HiFi Rig: Cambridge Audio Cxn v2 + Arcam airDac + Cyrus6 / Elekit tu 8730 300b + ASI Live line power cable + ASI Live line Reference IC + Townsend Isolda speaker cables + Linn Keilidh speakers

 

[mbhangui]

It’s possible to honestly repeat an untruth while believing it to be true.
The audio component is described as “true” or colored, or rolled off or whatever by humans. By itself it’s just a component in an environment

Yeh sab moh maya hai