Recently moved, stereo is now in a 11×19 basement room with carpet and dense sound proof ceiling tile. The room is very dead sounding, I hated it at first then after about a week I really started to enjoy it. I sit about 10-12 feet away and the imaging is so clear and alive, the speakers are about 3 feet from the wall. The sound just washes over you with almost no reflections. I am always amazed how the room is really the key too your stereos sound.

Imaging issue not usually considered; height of floor standing speakers off of floor. I raised mine 7.5 in off floor on block and then hdf foam (yoga blocks banded together) ʻpedestalsʻ. It raised the overall imaging up in relation to the room and the projection screen. Also use reflection dampening on walls and use rug/furniture arrangement for overall bass dampening. Still the biggest factor in imaging is the speaker, amp and sound source quality. Use of center and rear speakers helps to pull and place the sound in any given room. Mono recording can be very revealing and charming as well, but one has to increase the listening volume a bit to add to the dynamic.

All of this is why, after years of “purist” (and some very expensive) 2-channel systems, with considerable room treatments, I finally switched to a vintage Meridian 5.1 system which has Trifield processing. Bingo. No more “hole” in the middle of the soundstage, because there is a physical centre speaker. Interestingly, this is how stereo was originally designed, with three speakers (it was dropped down to two because the consumer media of the time couldn’t hold more than two channels of information). Having listened this way for a while, I doubt I could go back to two channels again, it’s just too good and so much less room dependent, especially with rears providing subtle ambient information too. Added bonus - you hear true multichannel recordings (and movies) in their native format, which sounds much better.

Steve, thanks for always being there to help us improve our experiences listening to music and tinkering with our gear!

I have always put absorption on the wall behind my speakers. To me, this is the single, best and easiest of room tweaks to improve imaging & transient clarity. In every home system I've had, the rear wall is just 1-2 feet behind the speakers, and I will build or buy a pair of absorber panels. 2'x4' is a decent minimum size, and at least 2" thickness. If you mount 2" foam or fiberglass absorbers on 2" spacers behind them, you get an effective 4" of absorption off the rear wall, which absorbs down to around 500 Hz. They don't have to be ugly either.... with wood frames and decorative fabrics, they can look really nice.

i love the chaos in the background

My solution, play the music outside. Ancient Rotel & Hafler electronics, BIC Beam Box antenna, and Baby Advent IIs in the garage gets moved outside to face my patio making an outdoor listening 'room'. I've taken great care in setting it up properly. Much less reflected sound. Doesn't play loud (good thing since I have neighbors ;) but imaging is really dreamy at times. Listening to the university station (90FM) over the air (that Beam Box really works) is the best. Try it if you can.

Agreeing with J.Atkinson's observation. Listening from a distance tends to feel like "distant monaural", although a sense of ambience is retained. A marching band heard from several blocks away has a definite feel of "ambiance" even if one cannot define each instrument's location.

I didn’t read that column from John Atkinson, but he does have a point. 😉 If you seat in a equilateral triangle between two speakers, you should have a good stereo image and separation. If you move closer to the center of those two loudspeakers, you will have a greater sense of stereo, even if you sacrifice imaging, the phantom center, and tone (you only get 100% stereo with headphones, since there’s no crosstalk between the two ears and individual audio channels). If you’re in a big room and you go further away from two loudspeakers (even maintaining the center axis between them), sound will become increasingly mixed between the left and right channel, up to the point that (if you have the distance), you’ll end up listened both channels mixed, which is the same as mono. You can clearly hear this effect on small stereo portable speakers, where you can only get a sense of two channels if your nose is up against the speaker. At 1 meter away, you’re listening in mono again, unless the small loudspeaker has some kind of side firing loudspeakers that allow them to behave like many soundbars do in regards to the left and right channel. In a regular concert hall, it’s very easy to get a similar effect, unless you’re closer to the stage. 🙂 Yes, reflections rarely sound “mono”, but if you can’t separate the instruments on the right from the left, it means that you can’t localize then audibly left to right, which is… …mono! Most vocal recordings have some sort of stereo reverb or delay on them in order to keep them wider in the mix/soundstage. But as long as there’s only one vocalist and no overdubs, the vocal is always mono. The effect might be in stereo, not the vocal (which is tracked with only one mono microphone on more than 90% of rock, pop, jazz, etc.

An easy way to test speaker interaction with the room is walking around clapping your hands listening for the changes which can be significant. One manufacturer I recall put out a CD with a Clap Track on it so as not to spank the hand that feeds you.

By the way, totally love your videos, have learned so much

As I listen to mono, the small image that Steve describes is initially present. In a short time the image broadens as my brain processes the sound. I find that solo pianos often have a more realistic image in mono. I suspect other folks experience the same broadening. From Steve's description, it appears this does not happen for him.

When you go to a concert and don't have assigned seats sit near the guy mixing in the middle.

Another great vid. In my 11x13 living room I have Klipsch Fortes and a 15" passive subwoofer on one side, Klipsch Heresys on the other side, and my 17" high '70's Sony bookshelf speakers in between (my desktop, where I mostly sit). Let me tell you, it produces a ginormous 'mono' sound that fills the room at low volume levels. But within that mono there's still a tremendous amount of stereo going on. Is it just a big car stereo inside a living room? Who knows? But it sounds good to me. I like being surrounded by the sound and experiencing the stereo experience in a not-strictly right/left way. I like feeling like I'm on stage trading licks with Keith Richard, rather than being in the audience listening to him trade licks with someone else. I like being able to simply step across the room and sit in a different chair and suddenly Bonham is playing drums behind me, Plant is singing in front of me, John Paul is all around me and I'm right in the middle playing the part of Jimmy Page

Most of my listening is on JBL 305P monitors, sitting at a desk. I have a mono button on the monitor controller. Hitting it always amazes me. The music moves to the center of desk. Moving the speakers small amounts, fractions of an inch, moves this center, which is tightly focused.

I have 30-38cm(12-15inch) thick rockwool absobtion that covers all front side walls and ceiling to get all first reflections and it really helping to get that super focused Phantom center sound and like you said the regular stereo is also spoton. Problem now is were ever I go and listen to other stereos the never have that stereo image i am justed to.

Good insights as usual! In my case, the challenge is finding the optimal position yet keeping my leaving room livable... ;-)

Nicely explained. The listening room itself has the biggest effect on sound. What with standing waves, room nodes and furnishings. It can be challenging finding best speaker locations for that "just right" sound experience. There's an old adage; how do you get to Carnegie Hall?? Practice, practice, practice. It's the same with audio placement. Experiment, experiment, experiment. Really is the cheapest way to improve your hifi's sound.

My understanding of this is, we have two ears, each one of them capable of identifying different sounds and their origin/location therefore, we put ourselves in a disadvantage when we listen to mono. Those who insist on mono recordings and/or equipment are more than likely interested just in the music itself (the actual notes, noise, whatever..) rather than re creating a live event with all its ambiance and holographic presentation. Let alone, they seem to stick their finger up the latest technology available for sound and/or event reproduction. It takes many kinds...

Live music becoming a "mush": yes I could not agree more. Most of the sound in a large venue isn't really 3D, it's just a mush of sounds reflecting in all directions at once. And that is why I think stereo is okay, even though I am always trying to tell people that stereo isn't ever really 3D sound. Stereo can do that mush pretty well. I can get a good tight stereo image, but it falls apart the minute you move around. I can get a wider soundstage too, and that is less susceptible to breaking up with movement, but then it's less precise too. I enjoy stereo because it "fills the room" better in my opinion. I like to listen to mono music once in a while, but stereo is much more interesting to me, even though I don't think it's really much more lifelike.

I bought a Mercury Living Presence (f:35) Xavier Cougat MONO LP because I was interested in the recording technology (35mm film). It sounds unbelievable!! The image is huge, with depth & spectacular dynamics, and NO tape hiss! I cannot believe it's mono, but it is. While it's not my usual genre of music to listen to, I have grown to like it very much! I recently purchased another f:35 pressing, and the sound is nothing special.... so I think I got lucky with the Cougat LP..... maybe it's a first pressing?

After taking your advice and then trash talking a low cost speaker for tubby bass, I took your OTHER advice to change location and also to decouple them from the stands. Huge improvement. So I apologize, Steve, for jumping to a conclusion before experimenting with what the speakers “needed.”

If we as community would obsess over our listening spaces as we do our gear we would be much healthier and productive.

i very very well recorded mono the phase and recorded reflections can not only convey height and depth, but also sideways distance from center. thats of course identical left and right, but still gives a feeling of width to mono. elvix presleys jailhouse rock mono recording does that pretty well. a deliberate differential eq on the stereo speakers (one is tuned to represent more trebble, one more bass)(electronic, so it can be deactivated) can then create anm artificial stereo instrument seperation, with piano& drums moving to one side, vocals staying in the middle, and guitar & bass moving to the other.

Annnd, another must-have shirt!

I thought everyone did it this way. I've been using FM in mono to place the image since I was a kid.

@steve: maybe you can share your take on sounstage between bookshelves projecting big soundstage (like LS50) vs big speakers with low rating (rated ~50w per box with12" woofer).

Three-channel: left, right, center with the center amp adjusted depending on the type of music.

Nice, Steve...

Really good one. :)

I've never understood why people state that real-life sessions gives spot imaging, the best of reference, like. You sit in a church and you listen to a concert. You can be happy enough if you can point out the trumpet. The whole sound picture booms towards you from the whole volume above the altar. That's your aural hearing, that's life mate. In hifi you listen, in the best of worlds - to sound given by the mics. It's so simple, why do people miss that. Your hifi set gives you the mics version, AB stereo, panned or whatever, and we truly love it; how difficult can it get?

Steve - in your place it appears the walls really do have ears (well at least the one to your left) 👂

Not sure about your assessment of Mono recordings Steve. I recently picked up a 1959 Mono Recording by Columbia of The Dave Brubeck Quartet ‘ Gone With The Wind’ CL1347. It sounds absolutely fantastic, the depth and sound stage is unbelievable. Anytime friends are over I play it for them to demonstrate how good a 60 year old in Mono can sound. They are always in disbelief. Maybe I lucked on this copy but if I ever see another I’ll jump on it as well. Thanks

My sweet spot at a concert was middle balcony first row. Seen Kansas twice, but I took my gal to the second one, asked for second row center, I was really mad when they took me to second row middle of the left side. But the singer loved that side right in front of us the whole time. Felt bad for the rest. Very strange. Ever notice that the echo in the bathroom at a concert had a nice effect?

Hey Steve, could you please recommend some tracks that show depth really well?

Steve love the dynaudio confidence c4 in the video cover. I just picked up the confidence c1 and a hegel h360 for a really good price. I am really happy with them. Have you listened to the confidence series before?

Hey Steve, you should do a video on being accused of being an audio snob. My family thinks I am crazy when I complain about built-in TV speakers and when I tell them how much I spent on my audio gear. And I certainly do not have an expensive audio system in comparison to what is available.

I have never had this problem always have placed my speakers where I want and it sounds great I must be the only one because I did not know this was an issue.

Yesterday, Paul at PS Audio did a video of why is hifi a male dominated hobby. If anyone wants to know--this video is why. Women could care less about this---they just want to hear the music. Guys like to talk about and listen to this kind of tech talk (like cables, etc). Its a fun video but I couldn't help but think about that video while listening to this. I love this stuff---as an audiophile newbie, I have learned so much from Steve's videos and his followers. I just found this quite amusing. Thanks!

Great shirt ! I want one

Love the shirt.

Hey Steve! Understanding sound travels and is reflective, I’ve been thinking does it reflect off each other?

Such a simple bit of advice - get your mono sorted. If the bass isn't all in the middle, then it's just not going to work. No Peter Belt product will put that right for you!

how about mono from 2 speakers ? mono from 1 vs 2 speakers sounds very different to me.

I don't care if it's mono or stereo as long as it's well recorded it will sound Good being either .

As far as getting closer to the speakers,depends on the speakers. Some you need space for proper integration of drivers,eg Theil CS 9s

What is holographic sound like vs what you described here? Do i really need equipment that costs more?

Hi Steve...on a related topic....we all wonder how we can improve the sound our our speakers and systems. For what it’s worth, the best way to do this is to listen to well recorded music. I am ever so aware of this as 90% of the music / artists I listen to are in shuffle mode, which clearly exposes the vast variability in recording engineer styles and quality. One one track, the system sounds tremendous, the next it sounds acceptable, one track sounds loud, the next needs volume and so on. Try it sometime...make a playlist of various music favorites across genre’s and recording ages and the answer will be quite clear. It’s all about recording quality at the end of the day. A great recording can make less than optimal kit sound much better and a bad recording will humble any state of the art speaker / system.

Just had a thought, would curtains be an inexpensive way to reduce reflections?

2:21. Some direct sound and a lot of reflected sound,,,Bose 901! Ha!

Hey Steve, Great shirt! Where can they be purchased? Thanks BTW, I don't think I ever had Mono. Lol

Where can i get that T-Shirt? .Gotta wear one of those next time i attend an audio show!

I want that shirt!

Still hoping for a review of the Klipsch RP600M with subwoofer. Possible? 🙃

If we put science into it, isn’t really imaging depending from room conditions as well? I think about how sometimes you have certain frequency ranges popping out of the waveform depending on the room shape and surfaces..., could not be that corresponding to these frequencies are certain instruments/portions of the orchestra, and then you get those frequency slightly off, but just right? Or is it all created in our brains? If it is so, then i imagine any two speakers should provide the same stereo imaging... but that’s not always the case so science doesn’t agree with the brains being the sole responsible for imaging imho

What about a mono recording on a stereo system? I still hear seperation. Am I crazy?

An example of the ultimate in diffusion, Blackbird Studio C: www.blackbirdstudio.com/studio-c/ @Steve - Yes GIK Acoustics makes some nice products. I have a pair of GIK 48" x 12" corner bass traps, very effective. I have four GIK 6" bass traps with thin wooden "scatter plates" cut in a fancy pattern and glued to the front of the boxes to prevent complete absorption of high frequencies. I also have a pair of GIK skyline diffusors, Gotham N23, which are well-made and seem effective. I only have one pair of the 1ft x 1ft N23 diffusors. I also have some "diffusors" from another company which are more like scattering devices but they seem to work well. It is very difficult to do A/B testing with acoustic treatment. 🤣

On my system, forward firing PLUS rear reflecting, mono is a huge point of sound. Depending on the source, at times, a barely perceptible difference.

Never heard a live venue that can even approach my system! Live music generally sux! Attending MANY concerts formed this opinion. The recording engineer IS your best friend!

The shirt rules.

Hard to believe Brian Wilson was deaf in one ear and mixed some of the great stereo recordings

I took the easy way out I use 5.1 surround with a bigger room would go 7.2 (two subs)

I hang my speakers from my ceiling (facing the floor) and I lay on my back on the ground to listen.

Where can I get that shirt?!?!?

I agree with you - stereo adds more life to performance like moving of artists, sounds, instruments . But I've already lost hope that exact unusual sound may be sold all together with the gear. I rather share opinion that making satisfactory sound with gear is not much repeatable state of art

I think mono can sound really good if the recording is a good one. The presence of instruments on a couple of Classic Records reissues of Blue Note records that I own in Mono is very very good.

I think mono sometimes sounds better than stereo for example I have the original mono UK help . Jimi Hendrix bold as axis love mono Canadian original and doors Strange day u.s. mono pressing and they sound better than the stereo versions

Measuring Guy again ;-)

Many of us listen with in wrong phase without any idea

Two eyes for 3D and two speakers for stereo.

Steve Hoffman gave some advice on optimizing speaker position using a mono recording and out-of-phase speakers: forums.stevehoffman.tv/goto/post?id=5909024#post-5909024

Take a low priced pair ( approx $100/pr ) set of bookshelf speakers, get some speaker pedestals of at least a couple feet in height and walk that into your back yard. A sufficiently large empty back yard grass on the ground. Use even cheap electronics and source mp3 files from a smartphone. Listen to your speakers on a quiet evening, don’t disturb the neighbors. You’d be astounded at the image field.

Great video! Where do I get that shirt!?

Most audiophiles' speakers are either too far apart, not exactly equidistant from the rear wall and too close to the side walls. Or all of the above.

Comment about mono doesn’t make sense unless your also blocking one ear. The sound from one speaker is also received in reflections just as a live performance. All this pedantic stereo positioning ends up in a ridiculous focused sweet spot and what Herb Reichert describes as $100k systems sounding like a radio from another room.

I like shirt nice.

a rock band's pa is mono

Get closer and ESL speakers would minimize reflected sounds

I want to buy the shirt

Can't say with any speakers/headphones I've heard depth front to back. Left/right? Yes

Stereo wasn't created for music at all. It was created for movies to make the sound follow the action on the screen. Mono would be MUCH more realistic to reproduce a single person playing an instrument, or even a person playing an instrument while singing. Stereo can only do, at best, 180 degrees of image. You can simulate 3D sound digitally by changing the frequency balance because things that are behind you have reduced treble, and similarly with things above or below you the frequency balance is different and your brain can recognize that and tell you where things are coming from even though you only have two ears that should only be able to distinguish between things on a line - left and right only. Also, you unknowningly move your head when you listen and your brain uses the slight changes in timing and frequency response to confirm and refine your sense of sound direction. None of that is aided by two channel reproduction. 3 channel reproduction isn't perfect either, but I feel that even simulated 3 channel audio would be a massive improvement for imaging in most people's homes. Clearly 5, 6, 7 and 9 channel audio makes a very lifelike 3D audio image, but to do so with really good equipment would be amazingly expensive, not to mention there aren't many really well recorded 9 channel music sources.

Interestingly, stereo imaging shouldn't/doesn't really sound like being there. Live sound is almost always mono. The FOH engineer tries not to feed one thing to the people in front of the left speakers and another to those on the right. And yes, the room blends all the sound together anyway. What stereo does is recreate the what we see - the guitar player is on the left, the keyboards on the right. That isn't what you're usually hearing coming from a stage. It's a phenomenon caused by confusion of two senses - sight and sound.

No, no, no, The best Mono lps that I love much better than their stereo counter part are from Capitol. The older ones that have the dark gray solid color labels, like Nat King Cole, fantastic sound and almost a stereo imaging is there. Colunbia, 6-eye Mono are second best.

Clicked on the video with the C4 dynaudio in the thumbnail. Kinda click baity.

when u said audiophiles have a thing for mono recordings i was like - what? -- seriously though dude u gotta talk to mixing engineers and mastering engineers (those are the real audiofiles); they certainly use mono, but it's not nearly as fun to listen to

You take way to long to get to the point. Had to shut the video off part way into it, completely lost interest