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If you don't have a wide sweet spot, are you really an audiophile?

Hi, it’s me, professional audio troll. I’ve been thinking about something as my new home listening room comes together:

The glory of having a wide sweet spot.

We focus far too much on the dentist chair type of listener experience. A sound which is truly superb only in one location. Then we try to optimize everything exactly in that virtual shoebox we keep our heads in. How many of us look for and optimize our listening experience to have a wide sweet spot instead?

I am reminded of listening to the Magico S1 Mk II speakers. While not flawless one thing they do exceptionally well is, in a good room, provide a very good, stable stereo image across almost any reasonable listening location. Revel’s also do this. There’s no sudden feeling of the image clicking when you are exactly equidistant from the two speakers. The image is good and very stable. Even directly in front of one speaker you can still get a sense of what is in the center and opposite sides. You don’t really notice a loss of focus when off axis like you can in so many setups.

Compare and contrast this with the opposite extreme, Sanders' ESL’s, which are OK off axis but when you are sitting in the right spot you suddenly feel like you are wearing headphones. The situation is very binary. You are either in the sweet spot or you are not.

From now on I’m declaring that I’m going all-in on wide-sweet spot listening. Being able to relax on one side of the couch or another, or meander around the house while enjoying great sounding music is a luxury we should all attempt to recreate.
erik_squires
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
The only arrival time that matters is differential arrival time, i.e. the time difference between the time a sound reaches each ear.
Arrival time is how we localize sound in the world.

Phase coherence is how we tell if it's live or Memorex.

Unfortunately, many tests are performed on the unwashed. Just as some can't tell if a piano is in tune, some can tell you how much it's out, how much it's stretched and the reference A.

If time delay is inaudible, why would manufacturers bother? Spica, Vandersteen, Wilson. Marketing hype? Methinks not.

Today, it's trivial to use DSP to remove displacement delay in multi-amplifier systems. One can model up the analog crossover, make direct driver connections and calculate the driver offset. Next create two presets with and without offset compensation. Switch between them. Let us know.
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sgreg1
612 posts
 
IF you want “stero” everywhere I will sell you my old pair of Bose 901’s very cheap. That is the only thing they do well is sound the same anywhere you are in a room.
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,767 posts
 
the problem w time and phase and the very related pistonic motion is that it is difficult engineering and requires precise execution, few can do it, take the time to do it. 

the ear brain can localize to stay alive, a few years of television, bad audio and know it all’s on the web can’t erase x years of evolution.

for those interested in what just a few well placed microphones can do, listen to the classic RCA Red Seal work done w Fritz and Chicago.....
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,767 posts
 
also, let’s be very clear, your credentials relative to Vandersteen are zip. Since 1977 building time and phase correct speakers that are well reviewed AND widely accepted in the global market. Quarter million model 2 sold and an improved variant still in production, supported by a dealer network, factory parts and service.

go build something., record something, .....
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