I've been at this hobby seriously for 45 years, and owned hundreds of components, and I had not heard a system that produced what I would call holographic imaging until a couple of years ago. By holographic I mean images that are completely divorced from the speakers, spread left-right and front-rear as live, in front of and behind the speakers. Frankly I had believed that reports of this phenomenon were marketing hype.
A few years ago I met a fellow 'phile through a local group that owned a system built around Shindo electronics and cables and Devore Gibbon Super 8 speakers. His listening/ living room seems unexceptional, with some treatment, but the sound was truly holographic, as I've described. Vocalists seemed to be 3-4 feet in front of the speakers, with instruments spread out, some seeming to be as much as 10 feet behind them, with a similar left-right spread, well outside of the speakers. I was shocked and stunned. I had never heard the like. I would have thought that it would take a high end multi-channel system to created this illusion, but I'd never actually heard anything like this. I've since heard this system a number of times. A couple of years ago he changed to Daedalus Athena speakers, which improved the sound greatly overall, and maintained or enhanced the illusion.
I've pondered this system for several years, trying to understand what is responsible for this and how I could reproduce it. The room has some peculiar properties, I think (although I don't understand what they are), and the owner has gone to great lengths to get his speaker positioning right, down to 1/4", using laser measuring and a positioning scheme he has embraced. I've not heard other electronics there, but the Shindo gear is at least partly responsible.
So- it is possible to achieve this, but I believe equipment alone won't do it. The room dimensions, treatments and positioning are major contributors; a major rabbit hole, should you choose to go down it.
A few years ago I met a fellow 'phile through a local group that owned a system built around Shindo electronics and cables and Devore Gibbon Super 8 speakers. His listening/ living room seems unexceptional, with some treatment, but the sound was truly holographic, as I've described. Vocalists seemed to be 3-4 feet in front of the speakers, with instruments spread out, some seeming to be as much as 10 feet behind them, with a similar left-right spread, well outside of the speakers. I was shocked and stunned. I had never heard the like. I would have thought that it would take a high end multi-channel system to created this illusion, but I'd never actually heard anything like this. I've since heard this system a number of times. A couple of years ago he changed to Daedalus Athena speakers, which improved the sound greatly overall, and maintained or enhanced the illusion.
I've pondered this system for several years, trying to understand what is responsible for this and how I could reproduce it. The room has some peculiar properties, I think (although I don't understand what they are), and the owner has gone to great lengths to get his speaker positioning right, down to 1/4", using laser measuring and a positioning scheme he has embraced. I've not heard other electronics there, but the Shindo gear is at least partly responsible.
So- it is possible to achieve this, but I believe equipment alone won't do it. The room dimensions, treatments and positioning are major contributors; a major rabbit hole, should you choose to go down it.