Speaker Imaging

Pycroft

I've had a couple of people tell me things like, "The speaker imaging isn't as good on this model". Can someone give me a definition as to what this means? Is it clarity?

Pycroft

maximillian

If you envision a stage where your speakers and equipment are and imagine that the instrumentalists are actually on that stage, then there are two key words that describe the position of the instrumentalists: soudstage and imaging.

Ideally you want a large soundstage. You want the impression that the instruments are placed much farther apart than your room size. This means width, depth, and height. Even for small bands, you want to have the sense that the room you are in is larger than it actually is. People may describe this as a system that has "airy". It's where you are able to hear reverberation of the sound that appears to come from walls that are spaced much further apart than your room is.

Imaging is then the ability of your speakers to accurately place the instruments in the soundstage. Ideally the speakers should "disappear". You should not be able to hear all your sounds coming directly from any speaker. Sounds will appear to be coming from different parts of the soundstage.

The speakers attribute the most to soundstage and imaging, but people have noted improvements on these two when changing sources, amps, and cables.

There are other posts in this forum that describe soundstage and imaging further. Please use the search function to find them. The web also has some articles.

ShinAce

Pycroft wrote: »

I've had a couple of people tell me things like, "The speaker imaging isn't as good on this model". Can someone give me a definition as to what this means? Is it clarity?

Pycroft

It has to do with how much a speaker reflects light when taking photos of it. Better imaging means easier to sell on the net.

Or, imaging refers to how well a speaker reproduces the stereo effect of a recording. Sound stage is used as well to represent how wide the instruments seem to be apart. A good recording and good speakers should have you pointing to each source(vocal, guitar, drum) with your eyes closed as if they were really playing on a stage in front of you.

As max pointed out, imaging is how well the sources stay put. Bad speaker response, bad speaker placement, and interference can cause the image of a wandering instrument, no matter how wide the 'playing field' sounds.

Bubinga99

I think a lot of times people confuse image for focus. If you compare a Polk SDA with a conventional speaker (or just do an A/B test with the SDA cable in or out) you will see that without the cable some instruments will appear to come from a precisely defined point at one loudspeaker or the other. SDA tends to open that up if the left-right difference is large enough, and some people confuse that for a flaw because they're so used to that focus in conventional speakers. But that's really a key point of the SDA effect (the broadening), and live performance doesn't emmanate from a precise point.

Ron Temple

Of course, if there are stereo effects going on where vocals and instruments pan and reverb from front to back, it's part of the recording not a imaging problem :cool:.

Face

I can't stand when the singer isn't centered, especially when they're way off center.

concealer404

Face wrote: »

I can't stand when the singer isn't centered, especially when they're way off center.

Agreed. I literally throw a temper tantrum.

Face

concealer404 wrote: »

Agreed. I literally throw a temper tantrum.

I just throw the CD across the room.

concealer404

Face wrote: »

I just throw the CD across the room.

Hahah... you should try microwaving it. It's pretty satisfying. Makes for a dandy decoration afterwards. That's one thing i hate about this hobby. There's some cds by some of my favorite bands that i just CANNOT listen to anymore.

Fongolio

CD's aren't too bad for this but I find vinyl records are rarely balanced in the same place. By that I mean if a singer is supposed to be in the middle dead center between the speakers, on one LP it will be to the left the next to right next dead on center. Has anyone experienced this? Is it the way various records are cut or a result of one half of the groove worn more than the other because of an improperly aligned cartridge. I have worn a path in my floors getting up to set the balance correctly because it drives me battly not to have proper balance. Thoughts?

Ron Temple

While I haven't noticed a problem with lead vocals not being in the center, many recordings image the way the band sets up for live performances. Also, if there are more than 1 main vocalist, they'll sometimes image stage left or right during portions of the song...usually until the main chorus takes over the center stage.

mstang1988

As stated above it's more or less using stereo sound to create the sense that there is a stage in front of you. Some speakers can almost make that stage 3 dimensional, some just 2d (left to right). B&W's usually image well as do many higher end speakers if you want an example. It allows you to "hear" where the original vocalist/instrument/effect was intended to be placed. My favorites for 3D so far have been the Paradigm Signatures with lots of room to breath. In particular it was the S6 v2's listening to some bone thugs in harmony - Creepin on ah Come Up - Song 8 - Moe Cheese. The piano in the background was amazingly placed further back then the vocals and more to the right. Sadly my RTi's and the Studio 100's v5's couldn't even get close to this :-(

Placement is Key for imaging. Get them out from the wall with plently of space and make sure they are adjusted properly and slightly toed in so the speakers are slightly wider then your ear (so you are hearing the off axis sound). If you get it setup properly people wills swear it's the center channel making all the noise when nope, it's the L/R channels.

MillerLiteScott

Face wrote: »

I can't stand when the singer isn't centered, especially when they're way off center.

Mike you need to get a wide couch so you can scoot left or right adjust the balance to center up the vocals.

Bernal

http://www.audiophilecds.com/

Face

MillerLiteScott wrote: »

Mike you need to get a wide couch so you can scoot left or right adjust the balance to center up the vocals.

It's plenty wide, I'm just too lazy to move.

One track stands out more the most, Squirrel Nut Zipper's "Hell". The vocals almost entirely come out of the left channel. First time I heard it I thought my right channel went out, lol.

treitz3

*clears throat*