Link to video on can you see the lips of the singer? studio.kzfaq.infoVIpTt5SB3_k/edit Link to playlist on audio discussion: kzfaq.info/sun/PLtkU4eRp056bRN8b4opAFCg21ICgyszh0 Link to hifiexpress for SMSL A2: hifi-express.com/products/smsl-vmv-a2-digital-pffb-power-amplifier?variant=40216029954205 The answer to the thumbnail is at the last 3 mins of the video.

Love these videos more than review Thomas. Regarding scale, my preference is as big & tall as possible. I love the feeling of my music being played by giants or being in a big live concert!

Cool video and great topic Thomas! I found holographic soundstage can be achieved with many entry level setups, if you go near field and as far from wall boundaries as possible, especially the back wall (behind the speakers...). It is a weird setup, but having speakers close to a chair, in the middle of a room launched me to another dimension. The thing is, I found it true for equipment that was not recommended for near field, as well as equipment matching that does not work well with mid/far field setups. Once I go bak to more traditional setups, yes, the room to speaker size (and off-course, distance from the back wall) are the key factors. I keep mentioning back wall because even if I get a sound stage, it just feels artificial if I don't get the distance from the back wall that matches it. I did find it that once there's a god tier soundstage, all my sound preference go out the window. Bright, shouty, fatiguing... it's all good.

You know, the biggest upgrade to my sound system recently was when my other half inherited a ‘high wing backed’ chair. Made an enormous difference to the sound stage of my system.

I really enjoy your approach to music and tech because it is conversational, entertaining, practical, and not jaded. Your practical approach challenges the breakdown of bias and the usually expected snobbery. I would be honored to have friends such as yourself and your listening buddies because you all individually seek the truth, integrity, and high standards... while punching holes in the tradional audiophile pretentious snobbery... but not at the expense of insult and hurt feelings. You supply a "safe space" in which experience is honored and respected... while at the same time by allowing the newbie the dignity to fail and learn without destroying their eager--if sometimes overly zealous intensity. In otherwords, the music is important, the science and technology always are intriguing and challenging... but you are always there to humanly tie it altogether in order to bring it down to earth...you always seem to have an inside joke going on with just enough "tongue in cheek" to keep it not only practical and on point and thought provoking,--but also fun and playful... while encouraging yourself and others, not to take themselves too seriously and spoil the enjoyment of the hobby in the process. Please keep your approach in tack... classics, like ethics and high values never lose fashion... but arrogant know-it-alls do because they are out of place and ruin the enjoyment for others... thank you! Oh, and by the way--not only the lips... but the teeth and the tongue, along with the diaphramic breath control. 😉

It took me more than two years moving and matching equipment to get the soundstage you are describing. My total equipment investment is about $3200. No room treatments- Just Bookshelfs and furniture in a 14'x14' room. Again, this was a two year journey experiencing many disappointments. Still waiting for your book to be published. I will be the first requesting a signed copy.🤞

An under-discussed factor to soundstage size and scale: the volume you listen at! Paul McGowan even mentioned once noting down the volume level for his favorite recordings that achieved what he thought was appropriate scale for each recording.

After thirty years, I have learned that, after you reach a certain level of fidelity, what matters most is controlling the 'presentation' of that fidelity, via control of parasitical vibration in speakers, electronics and power supplies. Vibration control plus a clean mains makes just about any well-made equipment sound musical. Most of our frustration that a system only does certain things to a satisfying level comes from failing to deal with vibration and poor mains. The idea that listening to a system is just a matter of matching circuits, in a vacuum, is lunacy. We live in a world where unwanted, exterior and interior physical variables intrude. Most of the 'character' of what you hear is colored by the raw physics of mains pollution and vibrations caused by microphony and internal noise. You can make startling character changes in your music by changing just the feet of your equipment. You can 'tune' your system to an incredible degree, if you know what types of supports to use. I can make an amp or CD player sound 'tubey' or 'clean' or 'textured' just by using different supports. Instead of looking for improvements in 'detail retrieval' or 'cleaner bass' by changing to a different amp or speakers, you can try far cheaper vibration-reducing footers and shelves and get most of the desired result. I'd much rather refine an existing system by playing with new supports than go back to the merry-go-round of constantly changing amps, speakers and sources hoping to find a perfect fit. I never found that perfect fit. What I learned instead was to find a system that got close to my dream sound and then tinker with various tweaks until it approached being everything I hoped for. It's cheaper, fun and you have a more precise control of shaping the sound in directions you want to go. Anyway, my two cents.

Thank you very much for this video! I arranged my speaker in my room a Little bit different like before… now I have THE Stage!

hello new viewer here, been a car guy most of my life and i'm looking at you audiophile hobbyists and it's very accommodating how similar you people behave, i am talking about your anecdotal stories of min maxing [from video games] and a/b testing and trying out new equipment though i believe your methods are crude compared to automotive engineering i see potential and maybe one day i can create a perfect speaker for my own anyway thanks for your hobby videos hopefully i will utilize the knowledge in those and from other resources on this rabbit hole of a hobby! Cheers.

I think another more consistent way is to treat your room properly with quadratic diffusers, provided you have an expert doing it for you since there is no guessing with acoustics.

Sound stage for me is all about speaker placement , width and toe in. There’s something special about sitting in the sweet spot listening to a good recording close your eyes and hearing where all the musicians are.

I thought about your take on rooms that are assymmetrical. Many of us who don't have a dedicated audio room have this problem. So now I changed my listening position to the left of my previous 'central' position, move 1 spkr further away from the front wall and tilt/toe-in both differently with respect to the front wall. So basically, I rotated the whle triangle clockwise. I would say that overall depth of the soundstage changed, can't tell for better or worse. But I'll certainly experiment further with the toe-in and observe the effect. Thanks for the heads up!

Thanks for the playlist! Much appreciated!

I couldn’t add a second and a third like. I enjoyed this video again. I’ll be watching some of your older videos. Remember who you are 😊

Great video as usual Thomas! Got some great ideas to try with my two system’s! So many thanks for that!

For me a properly speakers setup impact the soundstage the most.

Much appreciated Thomas, that was an eye opener in my case. After a little under a year of owning my speakers, I'm still moving things around. In the beginning the singers were giants so the speakers had to be further apart. Thanks to a tip you gave in a previous video. Now I've learnt more. Love these videos Thomas, they really help. I mean what's the use of spending so much money to buy the gear just to set it up it all wrong and have Schitt sound.

Living in a attached house, I have a lot space but it's narrow. I placed my speakers 2.5 feet away from my sofa. Imaging is amazing, I can feel that I am in the front row of a concert or I could touch the singer. Because I don't have space behind the sofa, my soundstage is kind of limited. So I am trying to find another set-up more suitable.

Another fantastic video! I think you’re really onto something with these discussion videos. Equipment reviews are helpful and can be fun, but these discussions really serve to further the hobby, not just move product. Also, I have to say that your discussion (and reviews as well) are so thoughtful, insightful, genuine, and just plain refreshing; a stark contrast to so many of these so-called audiophile KZfaq-ers - (one in particular who claims to be in “recovery”). I never find myself questioning your sincerity or feeling like I’m being sold a bill of goods. And, lastly, (at least for today) I find the way you compare and contrast the way Asian (and Chinese in particular) audiophiles value certain sonic characteristics of audio reproduction, and the words they use to describe them, insightful and fascinating. I have NEVER in my 35 years of Western audiophilia heard some describe seeing the lips of the singer or critiquing whether the singer sounds not only the right size, but also the right age! It’s so basic and completely brilliant. This type of insight and discussion is EXACTLY what this community needs. Thank you for all you do!!

A big yes to more discussion videos!

Great discussion, Thomas. Those KEF 105 speakers are responsible for starting my obsession in hi-fi, forty years ago!

Thomas Perhaps your penchant for tube pres is related to 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙪𝙡 comments I noted that Nelson Pass stated... He discovered negative phase 2nd harmonic increases soundstage dimensionality and image specificity. Pass also concluded in-phase 3rd harmonic improves dynamic presentation. There's much more, but the salient elements; "𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦-𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤𝘴" As I recall he affixed an un-labeled control on the face of a prototype amplifier, allowed others to enjoy the amp and then explain which switch position they preferred and why. I believe such exploration and findings are essentially the impetus driving his First Watt designs. Thanks for the content, I really dig the anecdotal story time.

Experience based anecdotes are super interesting and useful. Thanks.

Totally agree Thomas. to me room treatment is extremely important. while i have good soundstage due to my room's small size & irregular shape my soundstage is limited. Once i get my room treatment sort i believe it will be as good as it will get.

Great video as always Thomas. Such a joy hearing you share your stories and wisdom. Especially for a newbie such as myself

I always look forward to a new Thomas video, specially the discussion type. I give the price for the most important and interesting audiophile video on KZfaq to Thomas & Stereo's "Just Right" discussion video called "What does a high-end DAC has to offer? Meitner audio MA-1 DAC (Not a review)" ! This and Steve Gutenberg's are the top audiophile channels. Keep up the good work!

Thanks for this discussion Mr. Thomas. I ended up moving one speaker ahead of the other after your video, in my uneven room and WOW!

Absolutely. My desk setup is a pair of Klipsch R-15M and 15w monoprice amp. There are tracks that make it sound like the singer’s head is somewhere just behind my monitors. It isn’t the most pristine sound but proper positioning can yield some pretty impressive results with probably a lot more gear than some might think.

Thomas let me tel you, I watched that vidoe of Ron last week. And that did wonders. Learning every time from you guy's. Thank for this lesson.

Love your videos.very down to earth presentation

Hi Thomas. As always, a very thoughtful, balanced and entertaining discussion. For me it was the switch to open baffle speakers that made the most impact on sound stage in my room. Spatial Audio M3 Sapphires. They are worth investigating - especially if you know and love he sound of an actual piano. For this music lover of 55 years the next change will necessitate architect and builders to modify the house... Thanks for your excellent input to the conversation. As always, greetings to you and yours.

Great video! Very interesting. Being honest with yourself and what you want out of your system is probably the best approach. I know I'm going to get a lot of flak for this...., but my soundstage/my system really opened up after I replaced a couple of stock power cords and a couple of stock fuses with higher-end options in my equipment. I already had everything else pretty much like I wanted it, and my room was pretty acceptable, so the components that received the upgrades in the chain really stood out.

For those that are wondering whats the first song Thomas was talking about, seach "Bei Yi Wang De Shi Guang"

I moved the electronics out and off to one side for speaker scale sake. Doesn't cost a dime and you just may hear a difference. Good one Thomas

Great topic, great video. My biggest improvement was upgrading from Node 2i to a Lumin streamer. Big difference!! I do have one of those irregular shaped rooms and I’m left constantly trying to angle the speakers and never seem to get it right......

Single driver/ open baffle speakers have been my greatest epiphany as far as soundstage is concerned.

Nice video and very audiophile ... For desired soundstage all the audio setup should be consistent, balanced, and also the room is very important. I reach the "soundstage nirvana" without real preamp, without room treatment, with almost the same setup only with the source changed and for final touch I change the DAC who fixed all the "books" in real "toys" around my head....Next step could be, for my point of view a real preamp in place, to saw is something happened and to finalize a USB cable choice. In the next few days I will listen USB cables from 50 usd to 1500 usd without Nordost and mooooree expensive ones. Also I play with expensive setups and low budget like your friend, and YES, the biggest joy is to have very good sound with low budget gear, even DYI "tools" .... Cheers Mr Thomas

Nice chat Thomas, its a good thing to continue...it also sparked interesting comments.

Quality content very pleasant to watch. Thank you for taking the time to make new video. Greetings from 🇬🇧 J

Hi, I followed your recommendation for the VMV A1 and I still cannot believe how good it sounds in my setup, I am using the Shiit Freya + as preamp. This has replaced a Audio Rearch 5se and a PS Audio 250 Signature. Crazy? No, I am 60 now and have been an audiophile since age 12. Money will not always buy you better sound. And the engineers in China have done a great job.

The most intellectual HIFI reviewer and commentator. Always thought-provoking.

Told IT once will say it again, love this kind of video's, stories are perspectives, perspectives are option and new possibolities 😉 also nice to know what happend with the A2, wanted to share IT with a friend 🙂

Been following audio-related stuff heavily for the past half year or so. Each video I watched brought up another item to add to a 'to do list'. Till at some point I just shook my head and went to an audio store to listen to a set amount of speakers. The differences I heard there weren't quite as big between some, yet very big between others. At the end of the day I went home with a pair of Focal Aria's 926. It's easy to get lost in this audio-hobby world, and to other people trying to get into this hobby best to just take it step by step. I don't have expensive speaker cables, a 5k$ amp and dac combo or a specific living space set up just for audio-related things. But a lot of these things can be worked towards over the months/years. Step by step. Thank you for these insight vids!

Nice job Thomas . I was listening to Neil youngs greatest hits HDCD and Wow !! My soundstage came alive and was chasing me around the room 😆

This is one of my favourite video from you, even compared to Ron, Steve, Taran, Sean and Jay, this IS a very "en-point" video on soundstage and imaging, which arguably is the most important criteria for a "healthy" audio system. This video is almost on par with John's "X" video that he has learnt in 10 years, in terms of valuable understanding and expectations on how to get the best buck for your system. Thank you Thomas. The idea of getting the right speaker for the room is so so so so so true. A reviewer may sing high praise of a speaker, but it can sound awful in your room (I've learnt that the hard way). So it's not the speaker, it's not even your room, it's the matchingness of these 2 elements. The same speaker that sucked in my home, sounded jaw-dropping in my training room (4 times bigger) because the speaker has a "long throw" and the bass is booming the room perfectly. Thank you for planning your video content for hobbyists like us.

Over the years, people have gone away from a "system" and now so many homes will just have a Bluetooth speaker of some sort. The age of instant and easy gratification. Just no! The audio experience has vanished from too many lives! You can spend $200 on used vintage gear and it's miles better. I actually got a guy into audio by doing just that. Bought some pieces and parts and told him if he doesn't like it - it's free. He paid me what I paid and he was over the moon happy. Said he spent the entire weekend listening to music for the first time since he was a kid. I'm so glad there are people like Thomas here putting out helpful videos so people may enjoy and continue to enjoy audio. It's meant to be an experience you feel, those pesky emotions aren't always a hindrance as much as I deny it. Keep enjoying, people.

Tube pre. is a good reason for great soundstage. In my room I do not place the speakers in the typical triangle. I have them a little wider and I do not toe them in that much. Maybe 15%. I also think that standmount speakers disappear more easy that other speakers. Thanks for the video.

Very informative sir. I believe tube in output stage (power amp low watts) and solidstate pre amplifier makes better realism in my system. I hv learned rational speaker placement from Bob robin... I m very passionate on spending hours on speakers placement and little tone setting.

Thanks for your work. I appreciate and value all the information your share. I loved this particular piece.

Good question. I think sound stage is most impacted by the recorded music and then by the source. In my case a digital streamer with triode output. Just cleaning up the clock signal has a huge impact on sound stage. Of course the rest of the system has to be well resolved. Everything matters. I have a switch on the amps to change feedback. Big change on the sound stage. Less is more btw.

The great thing about building speakers is that you don't have to worry about matching, just tweak the speakers for the amp etc. That said I always tweak my speakers to be able to "see" the words come out of their mouth. And Sada is an excellent voice to test that. If I can't "see" her mouth, my speakers suck. So I will tweak them till I do. And after doing this stuff for so long I know how I can do it. I do it with the crossover and acoustically by tweaking my (unique) acoustic gap under my single driver speakers for treble and med. Ther is a small gap between the driver and the box and the speaker hole is also treated with a shallow bass vent tube. This extends treble and bass and makes a voice sound to die for. Am I crazy? With an a-b test with normally mounted drivers I clearly favour the open sound and increased soundstage of the semi open cone. It also brings tube like ambiance. More spacial and I can easily "see" their mouth.

System synergy is key. I like detail but I always look for a warm smooth sound when putting together a system.

Great video, thanks Thomas!

Another thought provoking video. Must be great to have few good audio buddies to compare notes and get inspired.

Hi Thomas, I actually prefer discussions over reviews, it gives a lot more insight into how to get the most of what you have and it doesn't cost any more. Take Care

Great video Thomas! A tall room opened my eyes to scale with revel M22 speakers. Really depends on the speaker IMHO. Other speakers work better in "normal sized" rooms. Full range single drivers seem to work best of best in small and medium rooms. Amazing how much mid range is covered up by woofers.

Most impact was switching to a tube amp. i run a boyourange MT 34 push pull tube amp and alternate between that and a Schiit Vidar. Tube amp ahs a much better sound stage but Vidar is better for high energy rock and rool music. It's interesting going A/B on the two amps. The Vidar is better with Saxaphone, the MT 34 is better with Trumpet. MT 34 is excellent with violin and viola, Vidar is amazing with Bass and Cello. I am really thinking about trying something like a Doge 10 to see if I can get the best of both worlds. Also, speaker positioning and getting the subwoofer dialed in and correctly located was huge.

Thomas, I agree that the room the recording and the components will generate a certain soundstage. But in my experience while listening to multiple systems the recording itself hands-down has the biggest effect. If I had to give it a percentage I would probably give it 80%. If the recording itself doesn't offer a vast soundstage the room and the components cannot materialize one without having something to work with. I know this might be hard for audiophiles to digest but if they are really true with themselves listen to multiple recordings I'm talking hundreds to thousands of them and I guarantee if someone is being honest with themselves they have to admit that some recordings just have crap for a sound stage and some are utterly brilliant. This alone proves recordings are most important at providing a distinct soundstage

I had a Proceed avp preamp until it went down. I had so much fun listening to it compare to the one i have been using. i wish someone has a circuit board. One of the board is burnt due to couple of blown capacitors.

Agree with speaker positioning (but the asymmetry can drive one nuts!). I think the most vital bit is to have friends who can sit down, listen and fine tune with you. Not fun moving speakers alone. Lol.

Changing my speakers to off axis opened up my soundstage while maintaining the imaging.

Speaker placement...Get them away from the wall behind them. Get them the proper distance from your listening position and the correct distance apart. Get them at the right height. Toe in as needed. Enjoy

Highly precise positioning seems to be paramount, provided that the speakers themselves don't have time or diffraction issues. This is extremely easy tondemonstrate in a small listening room such as mine which measures 10'x10'. Magnepans can vanish and present shocking depth, width that wraps around you, and not lose focus. Move one corner of a speaker 2mm and the illusion is broken.

Thomas, who does not know, who Mr. Vintage is?!? Seriously, i think the most important startingpoint is the match of the room and the speakers. Treating the room is for perfecting the match but not a solution of a mismatch. Sure you should choose a speaker which fit your needs and butget, but if it does not fit the room, start over. My experience: I moved 7 times in the last 24 years with the same speakers. So I can not stress enough the impact, the room has to the performance of the system.

I had few substantial differences felt in a good way. 1. Speakers with proper positioning 2. DAC, the source has to be of a good quality!

Great video as always thanks Thomas

Go Thomas ! Yes Scale is where we get Real… I’m trying to use crossovers to achieve.

Amazing video. Thank you so much for sharing 👍.

Excellent video! In my experience there are two kinds of high level soundstage presentations. One is the traditional: we can see the lips moving, the drumskin vibrating, and able to portray smaller scale music with pinpoint accuracy. The other (Altec / big horns, or big omnidirectional speakers) can project a whole orchestra or a big rock soundstage accurately. For example, you know whether you are at the first row or on the balcony, and you can hear the singers moving on the stage in every direction - back and front, left to right, kneel down, and hear as they turn as the sing. Well, you an hear this with pinpoint-speakers as well, but there you hear small puppets in a confined space and not flesh and blood human size beings on a real stage. Or, you are at an actual Pink Floyd concert in a big arena, in the crowd, not listening to tiny porcelain people shouting and playing on your carpet. The Altec way projects small scale music bigger than life. Yet, I have to say when I close my eyes, its presentation of singers and instruments is closer to real instruments / real people talking in the room than the hyper-pinpoint-holographic presentation of common speakers - real people / instruments do not sing / play with hyper-realism nor holography - the live sound projects and radiates, it is not held in a confined space. The pinpoint-projector speakers create a miniature rendering of a full orchestra - while very exciting, it's nothing like a real orchestra or the representation of orchestra by big horns. I personally prefer the big Altec way as its scale is more life-like, but also have a second system for the smaller scale projection with "regular" speakers, which cannot deliver large scale but excel at intimate moments. I think the two imaging methods are complementing each other, varietas delectat, with very different perspectives and different moods. One night I want to be at the opera, and another morning I want to listen to the archlute in quiet contemplation.

I can’t talk about preamps or gear because I haven’t owned enough. But, pulling my speaker away from the wall and adding treatments to my room have made big changes in soundstage. Having bass traps in the corner, carpet on the floor, curtains and plants behind speakers are all things that made a big difference.

Mr vintage sounds like he knows what he is doing .....thank u Thomas for being honest. Greetings from Greece.

Tried it . Seeing the lips of the vocalist. I swear I could hear the singer turn her head as she was singing. The sound seemed to move only inches. Very cool.

Love the arcade machine behind you ;)

With my point source semi open cone speakers, the sound seems to be comig from everywhere except the speakers.

Have you tried a Schumann Resonance Generator? It elevates the 3D to a new scale of optimization. I have a Zero Zone that uses a supplied (3) PSVane 6J1 tube. I’ve added silver cables to optimize my unit.

The room and speaker placement.

So glad I found your channel!!

I had a square room , optonica sa5206. And cheap, $ 69 per pair realistic mc1200 speakers. Mounted on custom shelves exactly 6 ft high, and exactly centered on opposing wall, and it was kickass hi fi

What about the other extreme? when I listen to the typical small dome tweeter the "mouth" sits on a horizontal line 1" high. It might get a nice horizontal fixed position for imaging. But instead of being too high/ large, it is only that thin line. And then the position blur at crossover points. When I got back into Maggies a few years ago my son (he has a good system himself) said after literally seconds of hearing them that he now knew what was wrong with every other speaker system he has ever listened to. Yes especially with the recording micing you can get a 6' mouth. But if you go to most performances it will have a sound reinforcement system with a 10' mouth. But when I get a really good mic'ed vocal (e.g. Red Headed Stranger, Willie Nelson) you can see his tonsils!

Hey Thomas. At this point I'm starting to do the math for room acoustic calculations because I can appreciate that experimenting can only take one so far. This video was great; I believe you. Edit: I'm hearing a lot lately (maybe I'm focussing on it more?) about the power of room acoustics. Gene and his team is doing that with guests like Anthony Grimaldi over at Audioholics. There are other channels. I think that this is a growth area, especially for sound lovers who are ready to mature into an untapped area. I used to work in a boutique electronics shop in Toronto back in the day (Kromer Radio), and although sure that our top guys knew about it, I never heard anything about it. So yeah, I want to maximize the most import thing I have, my space, because my audio equipment is good enough for now (NAD amps, flagship YAMAHA AVR, PSB Image XT2 towers, etc). I have a small 300 sq. ft. perfectly L-shaped space. The "L" is 11' 'thick' and 19' in the two directions. Easy enough to visualize. So it's narrow, especially when you consider the virtual hallway space, so it means we only have 8 feet of play space for the speakers, outside to outside. I have experienced what for me is a satisfying soundstage. In fact, I really like it considering the room constraints. The speakers (front-ported narrow towers placed very close to the back and side walls, like a foot away each side) are about 6.5' apart at the center of the drivers, and oriented slightly asymmetrically (both in toe in and position) depending on listening positions. So I appreciated your point about asymmetry. It makes a noticable difference, but I find acoustic panelling makes for even a greater impact on the soundstage. I noticed a few touched on that point. Of course all things taken together, right? I don't have to tell you about panelling, but in my little experience the image becomes more focussed and apparent, sound is more dynamic (because of the reflections are being addressed) in a sweet way, all the while still maintaining the large stage. About the imaging. I like it. Voice is about the size I'd expect (eyes closed), and stays between the speakers even if I'm sitting on axis in front of one of them. But I can't see the lips or imagine walking around the artist/group. I have a Yamaha flagship AVR and really, really enjoy the DSP sound fields, especially Jazz Cellar with jazz music. With the upper front presence speakers playing only the reflected sound of the back wall of the space (while the mains play only the sound as recorded, no DSP - that's how Yamaha works), the stage lifts up (which I like) and moves waaay back behind the back wall of my room. It's really, really nice for me. But then again as you mentioned, I notice the image widens (the singers head becomes wider). I know that you weren't speaking about Yamaha DSP effect, so I'm just saying.

I've always found the preamp to have the biggest impact on soundstage. Over the years I've experimented with passive and active preamps and found that image depth increases with active preamps in my setup.

BTW, Broccoli isn't a punishment, its' high in Omega 3 for a vegetable and doesn't spike your blood sugar. It will keep you and your ears healthy. There's high end eating just as there's high end audio.

I would never fall asleep on you Thomas everything you say interests me greatly. This was a fantastic video and again as usual I've learnt a lot from it. Starting to think that my Wilson audio Sasha's might be a little big for my room now. I've recently removed my watchdog series 2 subwoofer. And lo and behold less energy in my room and better bass response. So what I may end up with here is a very expensive coffee table 😂 I'm about to get pretty serious with room treatment which I'm hoping will help specially in the bass area. As with most relatively small rooms, room mode issues in the lower frequencies are the biggest thing I'm dealing with now. My room is 4.5 m wide by 3.6 m deep with 2.5 m ceiling height. So interesting times ahead I'm looking forward to seeing what can happen with some good well positioned diffusion and bass traps. Really enjoyed this video Thomas, and I agree from a production point of you it's easier but for me just as informative to throw in a few discussion videos like this.👍🎧😁

+1 for tube preamp

Fantastic!

@13:50 plus good OFC audio cables…

In my experience, Toe in angle is what you need to play with. If you create an equilateral triangle with your speakers and point the tweeters right at your ears, you will get the correct 'size' of the singer.

Great vid Thomas. Keep it up!

Definitely a good preamp, a tube one if possible!

There also needs to be understood that some tracks when they are mastered are mastered with just EQ, doing this keeps the soundstage big and large> if you like live venue sounds etc> the masterred track will sound fine> when you master a track with compression etc> the compression shrink the soundstage and puts a different perspective of the mix> it more in the back and not upfront (big / large etc). Matsering Compressers such as SPL Iron do this to a track< puts it into smaller focus soundstage.

Greetings Thomas. Another worth watching video. Good one. However, I wonder if those audiophile quality traits IMO should come holistically. My experience with clean & good power isolation (when applied correctly) DOES make significant contribution. Ideally, when such things achieved, one might get 3 dimensionality with details spreading across that imaginary dimension (hence my comment of ‘musically analytical’ on your synergy video). As for scale issue, isn’t that strongly related to the mic positioning during recording (eg. Carla Bruni - French Touch, which has extremely close mic positioning that contributes to this ‘scale issue’ IMO, it does so on my system compared to many others such as Norah Jones - Come Away With Me)? Anyway, keep up the good work. Thanks for sharing!

Cool.I think I will get test cd. I noticed a big improvement retubing my PL PA with GL platinum grades from Upscale Audio.The PL amp is very sensitive re sound stage etc to the V1 tube 12ax7.EG the Tung Sols were way too bright ;while the stock tubes were really dull.The GLs just right. In my system the recording quality makes a huge difference.There are some REALLY bad recordings out there!But some great ones as well.David Foster does an especially good job on recordings.eg Josh Groban ,Il Divo et al .Josh appears in the room! I only use digital sources with a Vincent hybrid pre amp (with tone controls and loudness.)

speaking of soundstage , I would enjoy a review of the MBL 6010 preamp clone . Supposedly have an amazing soundstage.

My soundstage is truly three dimensional. Musical instruments and other sound sources are spread out in a large arc in front of me with the arc's angle ranging from 45 degrees to 90 degrees. Sound images exist to the left and right, extending well beyond the limits of the loudspeakers and all the way to the extreme left and right even beyond the left and right walls. I experience a sonic sound depth of 10 to 20 feet with sound images clearly floating behind and from time to time, in front of the speakers.

Great video I really appreciate it

I just upgraded from Focal Electra 1008be to Sopra No. 1 speakers with a Primaluna Dialogue Premium integrated amp with Tungsol kt120 valves. My room is about 13ft by 21ft. The difference is enormous. The soundstage has expanded significantly and the speakers have disappeared. I think I have finally found my last setup.

Great video and from my own experience over the last 50 years to get the last inch of music resolution it's not worth to spend on high end gear that can cost lots of money. Play with Room acoustics, clean power filter and the right cables that can upgrade your existing equipment you have. IF YOU HAVE A CHANGE TRY VARIOUS SPEAKERS WITH THE AMPS YOU OWN OR THE OTHER WAY AROUND WHICH WILL BE HELPFUL TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOUR LIKING.

2:47 If the soundstage and holographic effect is not in the recording it won't be in your system. With point source speakers the diffence seems more obvious. 2D recordings don't sound any different to any other speakers on good point source speakers. But 3D recordings sound even more 3D than most regular 2-ways, with good point source speakers!

Vivid presentation = excellent imaging. Either room treatment to deaden the walls and ceiling, or go nearfield to increase the ratio between direct and indirect sound. Random reflection will definitely degrade the sound reproduction