Let go of the music

If the speaker is the strongest factor in sound reproduction, have you tried how it sounds without the power cords?

Haha, True- I’m a big proponent of clean power, if it matters in the system. Imo it matters less in a more resonant speaker design.

bjesien

That is such an intelligent question to ask. I feel exactly the same way. So many speakers are overly dampened, so like a sun room in a house the thick concrete absorbs lots of energy and then slowly releases it. Speakers with heavy boxes of MDF  are the same. 
Another thing that I think is important is the crossover. Some crossovers are bigger and more complex then for example a 300B amplifier an they suck up the soul of the music. 

@sounds_real_audio It's not easy to get across, but after listening to a speaker we should be able to predict what level of bracing it has on the inside. Typically cheaper speakers put less bracing and less thought into them.  On the other hand many use box resonance as part of their house sound.  I like both but my preference seems to lean towards more dampening- less box vibration.   

@bjesien --

.. Can anyone expand this position on cabinet design that in essence forms the image, or wall of sound?

Interesting observation. This review excerpt from 2012 by Wojciech Pacula over at 6moons of the Harbeth M30.1 addresses the matter: 

.. I once mentioned how Harbeth speakers interface differently with the listening room than traditional boxes. Because their enclosures resonate to play an important role as acoustic generators, their sound emits across a fairly wide field more so than usual. The result is a type of sphere or warm sound bubble with us at the center. ..

Myself I'm also very keen on the overall type of presentation coming from a pair of speakers, i.e.: how the totality of the sound reproduced is shaped more or less in front of us. Generally I wouldn't as much relate these different sonic shapes to how the enclosure interacts with the sound of the drivers in variable ways than the dispersion pattern generated via either a line source, point source(s) - be they direct radiating or via acoustic transformers, omni directional speakers like Ohm's or MBL, not to mention cross-over topology and the placement of speakers. A great test of any speaker I find is mono recorded music (or white noise, even) and how a pair of speakers make the sonic shape from such cohere in front of the listener. Tom Danley of Danley Sound Labs (pro manufacturer) I believe coined it "radiation bubble" when describing the sound sphere created from playing mono recordings on a pair of DSL Synergy Horns, that effectively act as a single point source per channel - brilliant design, really. Because of not only emulating but actually acting as point sources with all that entails in regards to ameliorating timing and phase issues, in tandem with their dispersion characteristics, the Synergy Horns are successful in delivering a smooth, homogenous and single radiation bubble from mono recordings. Personally I very much crave approximating this uniform sphere-like bubble of sound as the carrier in a sense of the music presented to you, indeed a core parameter of sound reproduction if you as me. 

@phusis Are you saying that the enclosure has less to do with the dispersion pattern?  I hesitate to name a few speakers because people get all fired up, but an example of a very inert speaker that images really well would be a Wilson, or a Vandersteen 5A. The presentation of this speaker is very different from a Harbeth.  Again, not saying one is better or worse, just different design intentions and end products. 

I think the wall of sound has a lot to do with room reflections sometimes. It would be interesting to see if you get the same wall of sound if the speakers we setup outside vs inside. I just a guess.

 This would also make it volume dependent as the secondary reflections gain amplitude or it could just be the threshold of human hearing and perceived loudness but I have experience the same thing as speakers get louder the wall of sound increases. 
I don’t get it with headphone really ever. 
I am very sensitive to noisy boxes. Some people hate bright tweeters or boom bass. Noisy boxes are my pet peeve. I feel like it really messes up the sound.  

 

bjesien

You might think that more stiffening is the reason for quick release of the notes..I am not so sure.  you would probably agree that electrostatic speakers let the music go quickly. Smaller speakers also do that. They seem to be more spacious and you might have difficulty determining where in location the speakers are...a nice attribute for sure. 

" Releasing " the music is a factor of the speaker design. Two properties come to mind. The easy one in my mind is " a large and complex crossover " in a speaker eliminate that possibility. Crossovers do not add music they subtract. 

@sounds_real_audio I think we are on the same page.  I must say the word "releasing" might not be the best term, but it is what happens directly before the image is created. Broadcasting can be another word, but in my mind would include the box resonance in this case. I realize this might be getting caught up in semantics, and all boxes have resonance, but for me it can hold value in determining the presentation of different kinds of speakers.  

  

It is difficult to describe in words...I thought to suggest the speaker might sound " fast " but I have heard that term to describe speakers that were muted and veiled. I think it is the ability of the speaker designed to sound organic and one that makes the music accessible. 
I am no longer in business but in 2005 ( I believe it was ) I had a room at the RMAF. Those were some of the words that reviewers used to describe our sound.