Is soundstage DEPTH a myth?


Ok, help me out fellas. Is it a myth or what?

I’m a good listener, I listen deep into the music, and I feel like I have good ears. But I can’t confirm that I can hear soundstage depth. I can hear 1 instrument is louder, but this doesn’t help me to tell if something is more forward or more behind. Even in real life and 2 people are talking, I can’t honestly say I know which one is in front.

The one behind will sound less loud, but is that all there is to soundstage depth? I think the answer I’m looking for has to do with something I read recently. Something about depth exist only in the center in most system, the good systems has depth all around the soundstage.

128x128samureyex

Showing 4 responses by edcyn

I've mentioned this a couple times on this website, but I have several classical opera LPs where the characters wander around the stage as they sing, moving left to right, backwards & forwards, and sometimes going off stage as well. Choruses are often clearly heard as being behind lead singers. There are chaotic crowd scenes that fill up the stage.  It's totally addicting. My opera CDs aren't quite as 3D, but maybe that's just because I have less vintage/top flight opera recordings on silver discs. As for streaming, unfortunately even the classical streaming sites are more than a tad short on opera recordings.

I've never heard any perception of front-back depth while listening through earphones. To be sure, I've heard plenty of left-to-right and in-phase/out-of-phase trickery with headphones, but that's about it.

How come almost every animal that's ever existed has had both a pair of eyes and a pair of ears, both separated by a decent distance in order to allow them to appreciate three-dimensionality? I mean, sure, it's in survival's best interest to have back-ups but still...it's best if you know what direction that threat (or food source) is coming from and how far away it is.

r27y8u92 -- I pursue high-end audio because listening to high fidelity is such a viscerally rewarding experience. It's pure pleasure, something that seems to be an anathema in your world view. Yeah, I could survive on gruel, too, but I don't.