Not seeing the sound


The other day, I was playing around with speaker positioning, and hit upon a spot where I could no longer "see" the sound coming out of the speakers directly. Now, the sound seems to be in different places relative to where the speakers stand, sort of in an etherial way. I like it. This may be a dumb question, but does this mean I've finally gotten a "soundstage?"
rlb61
aolmrd1241 ... I’m not that funny. ;-) Misunderstandings occur, so let’s forget it ever happened.

rlb61.  I thought your post was a stab at some audiophile humor. Sorry if I offended you with my sarcastic remark...🍺

I think there are other members who have not found their optimal speaker placement. When I look at some of the "Systems" photos, there’s no way some of the speakers are placed in an ideal position.
It took me weeks to get it right when I bought new speakers.
aolmrd1241 ... No! I moved quite recently, so I had to start from scratch in a new room. Bet you didn’t bother to think of that possibility before posting insulting comments, did you, Einstein? And, quite frankly, I posted a legitimate question, the answers to which might help others as well. Getting great soundstaging is difficult and can prove elusive, even over a number of years. I shouldn’t have to justify or otherwise explain to you my particular circumstances, as they are irrelevant to the question posed.
rlb61... You have been an Agon member since 2001 and you are now just positioning your speakers in a way to get the most out of them? WOW!!! and double WOW!!!
" I believe I may have found an audiophile unicorn."

Maybe. How much does it cost and what is the horn made out of? There's a lot of Chinese knockoffs going around.
Now take the next steps,treat the room & move to Tubes.When you can listen to a live recording with crowd sounds seeming to come from hundreds of feet away you will have reached NIRVANA!
Reflections and edge difractions are what kill the imaging. Speakers should be 3 feet minimum from any side wall even if that means they are closer together than you would really like.
The sound is quite 3D now. There’s width, height and depth, if that makes any sense.
Yup, that’s it. As stated above, the speakers have disappeared.
You should also now hear quite a difference between many digitally remastered (compressed) recordings and the original versions. The original will have depth and space between instruments, e.g., the singer will be forward and center, while the drum kit will be located at the back of the soundstage.

When I achieved this desired quality in my system, I stopped buying compressed remasters and went looking for the original CD's. This applies mainly to Rock and I now shop for music on Discogs.
The sound is quite 3D now. There's width, height and depth, if that makes any sense. Truly, a remarkable thing to experience in my own listening room.
When you see the phrase "disappearing act" or "the speakers disappeared", this is what they mean. You hear the music, however, if you close your eyes you don't hear the music coming directly out of the speakers. This is a key audiophile attribute IMHO. If your speakers sound good tonally, have frequency response that is high and low enough for your taste and they also disappear, you've officially got yourself an audiophile system!

Enjoy it........
I call this "not hearing the speakers"

Meaning, when you can no longer hear that you have distinct boxes making sound but instead perceive the illusion of sound events coming from a number of places.

Good speaker placement and acoustics matter a lot to make this happen.
Yes, the musicians are positioned in the correct places, and vocals come out dead center. So, I don't think the speakers are out of phase. I believe I may have found an audiophile unicorn.
In addition to chayro's description of a phase issue, you most likely will experience a loss of bass impact. If all the instruments/musicians are positioned in the right place and your imaging has width and depth with good dynamics, then you have found your soundstage.
Check the phase - out of phase speakers have sound coming out of nowhere.  Put on a cd with a well-centered vocal like Nora Jones and make sure she's coming from dead center.  If not, your speakers are out of phase or you moved them to such a wacky position that there's no imaging.  Soundstage denotes the illusion of the musicians spread between, behind and in front of the speakers, but everything should be identifiable in terms of location, IMO.  If you can't tell where the performers are, something is probably screwed up.  
I would say you found the sweet spot and now have a soundstage.
You might want to consider marking the four corners of the floor with tape for each speaker and then continue to alter the position of the speakers because you might improve the soundstage. If not, you know where to put the speakers back to achieve the sound you like.