Why don't more recordings have soundstage outside of speakers


I always enjoy it when the recording has mixing that the instruments are well outside of the speakers.  I think it's really cool and what justifying spending extra dollars for the sound.  I just wish more recordings would do that.  Most of them would just have the sound from in between the speakers.

What are some of your favorite recordings that have an enveloping soundstage well outside of the speakers?
andy2
MC, exactly. I am understanding that "everything matters" more and more. But everything must be apportioned, too. (I’m not telling you anything new, just recounting my learning process.)

For me, this started with components, moved to cables and power, and finally to the room. (Vibration control is coming, but not there yet.)

I have understood that for many, the room element is too boring (because, no shiny things to buy) or too complex (time consuming experiments, the challenges of multi-factor acoustics!) or it bumps up against immovable limits (the spouse, the house, the lifestyle, etc.).

I’m at the point now where I see that while the room is too often neglected, those who get into that side of things have their own quicksand. They fail to realize that while the room is crucial and oft- neglected, it remains part of "everything" and is not 90% of that everything.

If Scylla is "component" and Charybdis is "room" then Ithaca is everything-in-proportion. Hello, Penelope! Nice to see ya!
Hilde45, it is not difficult at all! You just have to spend your money in the right place. You get one if these, https://www.amazon.com/miniDSP-2x4-HD/dp/B01I4NWRNM/ref=sr_1_9?crid=2FFPLBUR1NKCV&dchild=1&k...
and one of theses, https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-OmniMic-V2-Acoustic-Measurement-System-390-792
You not only have a wonderful subwoofer crossover but a full equalizer with adjustable Q. The entire package costs $550.00 and boy will you have a great time. You will learn more about room acoustics and speaker performance in one hour than most people learn in a lifetime. Your system's performance will improve by leaps and bounds even if you are analog only!
For sure all piece of gear matter, and everything someone could use to control all working dimensions of the system matter...

One even can go to upgrade all electronic parts there is in speakers or amplifiers...For sure, why not?

All this is common place fact...

But for all of us there is limit in the money, time, and abilities we can use in this process...

And for me music come one day and i did not care too much now with an improvement in sound, EVEN if my system value is 500 bucks...Any costly upgrade is useless for me.... My goal was music and S.Q. /price ratio not the best system in audiogon.... Anyway i am not so infinitely far behind most good system...

We must keep in mind that the only thing that must be proportionate in audio is not so much the % of time and money allocated to any piece of gear, but more the S.Q./price ratio in itself.... After that if the system you own is already relatively good and well chosen, acoustic is the greatest investment in time for an optimal S.Q. improvement.... Saying that all matter in audio is a common place fact, an evidence that do not contradict this essential fact in audio about the primacy of acoustic...




What is NO MORE a common place fact is the way acoustic control is hugely impactful and could cost very low amount of money...

This is the reason why i wrote about it and was insisting about that.... If we dont lived through it, it is unimaginable because we are conditioned by the electronical design market publicity..

These things being said, there is NO solution that fills all people needs for sure,including my own solution...For me audio take a dedicated room which is not a solution for most people anyway...

But huge transformation at no cost in audio is not a so common fact, then, i could not stay silent about it....Even if all my solutions cannot be useful to all...Even if some would oppose my view...




I will end this post with my last month discovery...

Before i was controlling the room in a complete rightful way, the nearfield position was the better listening position....No discussion here...

Then i discovered that each step taken to improve the room were impactful on the near field listening position and not only to the regular position, and very surprizingly, the improvement were at the same level for the 2 positions with each improvement....

But passed a certain point, the improvement begins to be more impactful for the regular position....And now the regular position is better, more natural, livelier, than the nearfield position....The integration of the detph imaging and soundstage is more natural and the timbre more natural and lifelike also....The only thing that seems better and on par is the details of sound, but this is an "illusion" caused by more direct wave than reflected one....In reality i miss nothing in regular position and the way the details are integrated in the whole is better , this is the reason why instrument timbre and voices are more real like....
Imagine you listen music like with headphones but with a way more natural sound and more life like than headphones....I will never use any of my 7 headphones ever...




Then my conclusion is when a SMALL room is under control, the regular position is BETTER on ALL counts than the nearfield position... Not only even better than headphones...


This is how you know that you have succeed in room control....

Is it not surprizing? i dont remember that someone has ever speak about this fact here.... Perhaps i am wrong.... Correct me if someone know about this surprizing acoustical fact...

My best to all....


With all the supposed audiophile brain trust on this site, where are all those experts chiming in?

I will give you a hint. What do you think happens when the sound from the right speaker gets to your left ear? How about what happens when the sound from the left speaker gets to your right ear? I will give ya another hint. The time for the sound to get from one side of your head to the other is probably related to the angular width of your speakers.
Some recordings some delayed left channel added the right or vice versa and that can make the width seem wider, but you better be in the sweet spot.
There can be additional information in the volume, but as one of the more astute audiophiles noted, you better have your system tuned to get the most of it. I see the posts on here. Most of y'all aren't even playing baseball let alone in the ballpark.

Ya all worrying about cables and fuses when ya can't even get the basics right. You need some tough audio love.