The “They are here” vs “You are there” sound topic


Hi all,

I want to start a topic about the “They are here” vs “You are there” type of sound. I have read that different audiophiles usually fall in one of either categories, but what does it actually mean? So here a few questions:

- what is the definition of “They are here” vs “You are there” in your opinion?
- what is the main difference in sound? E.g. soundstage
- which kind of sound do you prefer?
- which type of speakers fall in one or the other category in your opinion?
- what type of sources, amplifiers or even cables fall in one or the other category in your opinion?

For instance, I believe the Esoteric products from Japan fall in the they are here type of sound. Do you feel the same?
128x128richardhk

Showing 5 responses by millercarbon

The Linaeum Model 10 speakers I had many years ago threw a sound stage so enveloping a friend said, "You are swimming in it." This 2 way speaker used the linaeum tweeter, a unique sort of dipole. I always thought that dipole shooting sound out the back (but not to the sides) had to have something to do with the incredible you are there sound. Thanks Duke for explaining so clearly just how that works.
Wait, what? Duke hasn’t posted yet??? Must be working on it still then....
It's all an illusion and this discussion is really about semantics.

Semantics is the study of language with respect to meaning. The very first response, mine, clearly and succinctly lays bare the distinction in meaning between the two terms. Therefore the discussion is about anything BUT semantics.   

People can, and often do, ignore the points raised. That's not semantics either. That's just plain old poor reading comprehension and weak reasoning.


- which type of speakers fall in one or the other category in your opinion?
- what type of sources, amplifiers or even cables fall in one or the other category in your opinion?
 Unless it’s mostly about the room in your opinions.

Its all there. Read it again. There's a word or two that matter you seem not to have caught, and instead have latched onto a couple that aren't mentioned because they don't. One word in particular matters a whole hell of a lot, and you went right past it.
They are what they are. They are here is easier to achieve. They are here is sounds so good and clear its like they are here in your room. But you still know your room is there. They are here was the near impossible to attain goal for quite some time. Still is for most. With a lot of recordings probably always will be. But you never know. What the right tweaks seem to be showing is there's way more in those recordings than a lot of us ever thought.

Still, fact remains, they are here is a limited version of you are there.

Because with you are there, well, you are there. Your room no longer exists. Your walls, floor, ceiling- all sense of the physically limited space you know yourself to be in- is gone. With you are there you are... there. The recording studio. The concert hall. The whatever. 

You are there is a lot harder to achieve, primarily because a lot of our sense of the size of the space we are in comes from subtle very low frequency vibrations. Think about it. When you go to a concert hall you know roughly the volume of the hall even with your eyes closed. A monster king dome size concert sounds bigger, almost like being outdoors. Almost. You can hear and feel the difference. There is no reverb outdoors.

The reverb of large spaces is unique to large spaces. So you are there depends heavily on extreme low bass fidelity. 

The disappearing speakers act is sufficient to deliver they are here. Only truly magnificent deep bass response is capable of disappearing your whole room to the extent required to achieve the sublime state of you are there.