Have Slim Floorstanding Speakers "Had Their Day?"

[MattHooper]

I've noticed that it takes extra time to adjust in other people's rooms. Even if they have the same or very similar speakers.

Interesting point. I suppose it makes sense. I'm wondering how that applies to my experience and not sure.

When I audition speakers I normally get fussy about the set up, where I often try to replicate a seating distance and speaker spread like I have at home (and I make sure the speakers are usually pulled well out from a back wall, as I like them at home). So I usually get a pretty good indication of the sound/imaging/soundstaging.

When I think of the many speakers I've listened to in my reviewer pal's home, I suppose there is some disconnect given the different acoustics, though the relative differences between speakers are there (for instance his Estalon speakers and some others disappear better than the Dalis in the same room).

There's another aspect in your comment about adjusting to other people's rooms...and systems. I think there's a tendency for us audiophiles to take much more note of differences in our system (e.g. getting a new speaker, or tweaks to set up, acoustics, DSP or whatever) where we go "wow." But they won't seem as big a deal to a visiting audiophile. Like sometimes when my friend is having a "wow" moment about a piece of gear and I visit it's there, but not striking me as such a big deal or obvious. So there's a question of perspective: in a sense he has more perspective in being so familiar with the sound and therefore noting all the sonic changes. In a sense my visiting occasionally perhaps allows me a broader perspective as to how much change there "really" seems to be in the bigger picture. We both do sanity checks sometimes in that regard. Check each other's impressions. Sometimes it's gratifying to have certain impressions somewhat confirmed, like when I'd done a bunch of work re-jiggig my current speakers, positioning, playing with acoustics, introducing a diffusor etc I hit a "holy cow, am I really hearing this?" state, and my pal dropped over and confirmed, being as shocked as I was. That's always nice.

 

[olegtern]

There's another aspect in your comment about adjusting to other people's rooms...and systems. I think there's a tendency for us audiophiles to take much more note of differences in our system (e.g. getting a new speaker, or tweaks to set up, acoustics, DSP or whatever) where we go "wow." But they won't seem as big a deal to a visiting audiophile.

"What you hear is not the air pressure variation in itself but what has drawn your attention in the streams of superimposed air pressure variations at your eardrums" - Siegfried Linkwitz

 

[sigbergaudio]

My impression is that the narrow baffle is keyto the disappearing trick. I prefer the scm40s but they can't cast an image like the Virgo hologram. And neither do other conventional speakers. Heard some Devores that did it well.

So I think - no experiments whatsoever to backup this up- is that the slim speaker is the reason they work.

I'm not sure we can attribute the disappearing trick to baffle width. Our Manta does this, and it has a 36cm wide baffle. Admittedly with baffle ports on each side of the midrange to fake a more narrow baffle, but the initial prototype was without those ports, and still worked well in this regard.

 

[Axo1989]

When I audition speakers I normally get fussy about the set up, where I often try to replicate a seating distance and speaker spread like I have at home (and I make sure the speakers are usually pulled well out from a back wall, as I like them at home). So I usually get a pretty good indication of the sound/imaging/soundstaging.

I didn't have the experience to do this when I first started listening to loudspeakers in shops. And sometimes with very large speakers moving them around isn't possible. But some have been positioned this way already, and more recently, when I could move them to suit I've done so.

I'm not sure we can attribute the disappearing trick to baffle width. Our Manta does this, and it has a 36cm wide baffle. Admittedly with baffle ports on each side of the midrange to fake a more narrow baffle, but the initial prototype was without those ports, and still worked well in this regard.

Your quite detailed descriptions of Manta soundstage (in relevant threads) were most interesting. Perhaps I'll hear them one day.