Most speakers can deliver an acceptable soundstage. The question is can they do it in your room with your equipment? Placement has a massive impact on this and garbage in, garbage out in terms of signal.

I have purchased stand mount speakers that are really expensive and if they aren't 9' apart and 2' off the back wall imaging just falls apart. When they were set up correctly, imaging was amazing. Others are less finicky.

What are you going to drive them with and how will they be placed in your room? If the amp your drive them with is underpowered for instance, you will find imaging falls apart.

Full disclosure - I am in the industry and am the importer for Art Audio and am launching my own line of speakers in April under the brand Verdant. To follow rules here in this forum I need to disclose. Also, I will offer no POV on brands to purchase. I leave that to others.

I generally avoid posting since I started my company but this one is important from my perspective because just getting a brand of speakers with a good reputation for delivering a strong soundstage isn't enough.

It is true that some speakers image better than others. But placement and potential factors in your room are far more important. If placement stinks, no speaker will image well. If placement is optimal, most well designed speakers will deliver an acceptable soundstage if driven properly and fed a good signal.

Some speakers definitely image better than others but honestly, your room and flexibility in placement is so much more important.

Hey insoc789, I have gone thru dozens of speakers in my years. Many vintage pairs that I liked just ‘cause they kicked ass. I have a pair of KEF Reference series, 105.3s. Mid 90s. Their top of the line at the time. I love them! They replaced my Definitive Technology BP2000s. I have listened to speakers twice the price that don’t sound as good. I’ve heard that new KEFs are made in China, not England. If you can find a pair on Audiogon, should run about $1000. My soundstage extends past the side walls. Actually, some good CDs for speaker audition are Lindsey Buckingham’s “Out of the Cradle” and Madonna’s “Immaculate Collection”. Yes, Madonna. I hear instruments behind me on that CD! Have fun dude!

Bierfeldt, I moved the placement of my fronts to what you suggested above. Amazing sound difference!

I actually used a measuring tape to get everything perfect. I didn’t realize how I never had a true sweet spot as each speaker was not spaced perfectly so the soundstage would center at my ideal seat In the room. Also each speaker was not the exact same amount inches and feet off from the wall as well! When I measured it I couldn’t believe my eyes! Now, I can totally hear more nuisances in the music and the imaging is much more articulate. Thank you for reminding me to go back to basics!

Awesome! Glad to hear it helped. Amazing what little changes can do for our sound

Disclosure - I am founder of Verdant Audio and importer for Art Audio.

Quick note - Madonna's Immaculate Collection is recorded in Q Sound. It is explicitly designed to deliver a very immersive three dimensional soundstage. If a speaker can't deliver an extraordinary soundstage with that disc it is either set up very poorly or it is a bad speaker. Great for weeding out garbage speakers or bad showrooms, it is sort of like testing a hitter with a slow pitch softball when they know it is coming.

Love the disc but the real question is can you get your system to make most recording sound as good as the Immaculate Collection?

Disclosure - I am the founder of Verdant Audio and importer for Art Audio.

I own B&W800 Diamonds and the soundstage is massive and very 3D on recording with 3D encoding. OTOH, the best imaging I've heard was from a pair of Wilson Alexia V2's because there was a specificity with a layering of depth and height that only the very finest of speakers manage to achieve.

I sugges that you check out the Wharfedale Diamond 250 speakers, which run $1000 per pair. They are very good.

insoc789 wrote:

Hello. One of the things I enjoy the most while hearing music is the imaging (or soundstage or 3d effect), closing my eyes and feeling like the band is in front of me playing a song, with e.g. the singer on the center in front of me, the piano on the left, guitar on the right, chorists on the far right, etc. etc. As of today my speakers consist of a pair of Triangle Titus 202 bookshelf speakers and Triangle Zerius 202 floorstanding speakers.

I'm in the search of NEW speakers and while I got really impressed hearing a pair of Polk Audio speakers (model S60) and how remarkably good they imaged, in leaning towards KEF AUDIO speakers, basically the R3 bookshelf or the R7 floorstanding ones.

Do you have any recommendation of speakers models known to be great at imaging and reproducing the feeling of "being there" in front of the band playing? I know all stereo speakers SHOULD do this but I guess there are better speakers than others in that matter. Thank you very much!