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In Reply to: RE: How do I widen soundstage posted by Patster on February 21, 2009 at 19:38:22
You can't increase the soundstage without affecting imaging since images are placed within the soundstage and changes to the size of the soundstage are going to affect apparent position of the various images. You can certainly change the size of the soundstage while still keeping imaging of the same quality, ie of the same "sharpness"
There are several aspects to soundstage width. The first thing is distance between speakers: the wider it is, the wider the soundstage is. Recordings can be mixed in ways that throw some images to the outside of the speakers but, even then, the distance between the speakers is a primary factor.
The second thing is listening angle. If you can't get more distance between the speakers, try moving closer to the plane of the speakers so that the angle between them, measured at the listening position, is greater than 60 degrees and the 2 speaker to listening position distances are shorter than the distance between the speakers. That gives the perception of a wider soundstage.
Imaging is a more messy question. Floyd Toole states that research indicates that most people tend to prefer the kind of imaging you get with some absorption at the first reflection points on the front wall (the wall behind the speakers) and bare walls with no absorption at the first reflection points on the side walls. One of the things this does is produce a broadening of the image that many find pleasant but it can also reduce the sharpness of images.
A possible problem in an irregular shaped room is that if there is a difference in the left and right side reflections, it tends to throw the image and soundstage out of symmetry. The centre image tends to drift to one side and the amount of image broadening can be different on each side, producing a lop-sided balance to things. You can correct that by using absorption at each side wall first reflection point but you lose the image broadening and get more precise, smaller images in my experience, though I also tend to find the smaller size a bit more realistic.
Some people recommend diffusion at the side wall first reflection points but in an asymmetrical room my experiments with diffusion didn't give as good a result as absorption. Diffusion reduces the strength of the first reflections but if the left and right side first reflections are different strengths, it doesn't equalise them so the original imbalance in reflection strength still exists, although at a lower level, and the asymmetrical effects of those reflections are reduced but the difference may still be perceivable enough to be a problem for you. In addition, you need space for diffusion to develop and one of the basic recommendations is not sitting closer than 10' to a diffuser. That's a problem in a small room. In my experience, diffusion also tends to reduce the sharpness of imaging to some degree and the "sharpest", most precise, imaging I've experienced has always been achieved with absorption at the side wall first reflection points rather than bare walls or diffusion. What you need to consider here is just how sharp you want the imaging to be and also how much image broadening you want. Pick the approach that gives the result you prefer. There isn't going to be a single solution that suits everyone.
I took a look at your photos and it looks like you also use the system for movie soundtracks. If that wasn't the case I would recommend a near field or quasi near field setup like the Audio Physic setup (see the FAQ here) but that's probably not going to be a useful setup with a TV in the middle. The TV may also be a source of first reflections, hard to tell from the photos, and you may find imaging improves if you throw a blanket or quilt over the TV when listening to music. Obviously that won't work when you're watching movies but a lot of your imaging cues then are going to be visual so any problems caused by reflections from the TV screen may not be as noticeable as they may be when there is no visual input to help localise apparent sound sources.
So that's my take on your soundstage width issue. You can increase the width by increasing the distance between the speakers and you can make it seem wider by increasing the angle between the speakers as measured at the listening position. Side reflections can provide some image broadening and possibly a greater sense of width but if the side reflections are of different strength that can cause the soundstage and possibly images to be larger on one side than the other and also to pull the centre image to one side. You can solve that by absorbing the side wall first reflections. Diffusion may help if you have enough distance between you and the diffuser but it may still leave you with side reflections of different strength so it may reduce but not eliminate any problems caused by unequal reflections. You're also going to have to consider a trade off between image sharpness and image broadening where personal preferences come into play. Finally, covering the TV with a blanket, quilt or some absorbent cover may help the soundstage and imaging when you're listening to music.
You can also look at setups like the Audio Physic setup but the placement of speakers and listening position may not work well when you are also using the system for movie soundtracks and have to consider placement of the screen as well.
David Aiken
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