Holographic depth soundstage and 3d impression 2025

[audiofooled]

The Hughes AK-100 and AK-50 SRS Retriever units (I still have the AK-50) created an impressive soundstage that extended well beyond the speakers, and did so without sounding overly processed.

QSound technology used on Roger Water's Amused to Death CD (and others) was also impressively effective adding depth and width to the soundstage.

I'm sure that additional processing can bring it up a notch, (I myself heard some QSound stuff) but here we are discussing systems that can do without it. So 3d sound with perceived qualities such as exceptional clarity, transient response, depth and width way beyond what would normally be setup or physical boundaries.

 

[Cogito]

I'm sure that additional processing can bring it up a notch, (I myself heard some QSound stuff) but here we are discussing systems that can do without it. So 3d sound with perceived qualities such as exceptional clarity, transient response, depth and width way beyond what would normally be setup or physical boundaries.

Depth and soundstage are dependant on the recording method more so than any other factor. Everything from mic proximity/placement to electronic post-processing (QSound/SRS like processes, reverb, delays, phase, etc.) of the recordings makes a difference on ANY speaker they are played on. On the speaker side of things, directivity of the drivers, room placement/room acoustics play an important, but secondary role.

 

[audiofooled]

Depth and soundstage are dependant on the recording method more so than any other factor. Everything from mic proximity/placement to electronic post-processing (QSound/SRS like processes, reverb, delays, phase, etc.) of the recordings makes a difference on ANY speaker they are played on. On the speaker side of things, directivity of the drivers, room placement/room acoustics play an important, but secondary role.

I agree upon the production side of things, but IMO it's the reproduction side that will strongly influence the perception. Again Geoff Martin sums most of the reproduction problems in this presentation:

 

[audiofooled]

Some good points from Erin in a recent video:

 

[Lekha]

We attended a concert today and sat in the sixth row, right in the middle. I was trying to see if I could hear the guitarist on my right side, but the guitar sound didn't come from that direction; instead, it emanated from the speakers above, placing the sound somewhat in the centre. Next, I focused on the singer on the left, but her vocals also seemed to come from the centre, occasionally shifting to the right. The sound from the drummer, positioned at the centre on stage right in front of me, was equally distributed from both sides. After the concert, I spoke with the sound engineer at the back about this. He confirmed that he was managing all the sound himself, positioning the instruments as he desired. Therefore, if any speaker manufacturer claims to offer a "holographic" sound stage, they are simply misleading consumers. The sound placement is achieved by the sound engineers on-site, and if any recordings are to be sold, it is done in the studio.

 

[MattHooper]

We attended a concert today and sat in the sixth row, right in the middle. I was trying to see if I could hear the guitarist on my right side, but the guitar sound didn't come from that direction; instead, it emanated from the speakers above, placing the sound somewhat in the centre. Next, I focused on the singer on the left, but her vocals also seemed to come from the centre, occasionally shifting to the right. The sound from the drummer, positioned at the centre on stage right in front of me, was equally distributed from both sides. After the concert, I spoke with the sound engineer at the back about this. He confirmed that he was managing all the sound himself, positioning the instruments as he desired. Therefore, if any speaker manufacturer claims to offer a "holographic" sound stage, they are simply misleading consumers. The sound placement is achieved by the sound engineers on-site, and if any recordings are to be sold, it is done in the studio.

I think that depends what we are talking about.

I don’t think anybody pretends that any speaker creates its own imaging placement. That’s obviously in the recording.

But some speakers can manage to image with more precision, and more spaciousness, than some other speakers, which can create a more 3-D or holographic effect.

I’ve gotten rid of the occasional loudspeaker that has not been able to produce that impression as well as other speakers that I’m used to. And the omnidirectional speakers I owned produced the most holographic and 3-D sound I’ve heard.

 

[Lekha]

I think that depends what we are talking about.

I don’t think anybody pretends that any speaker creates its own imaging placement. That’s obviously in the recording.

One becomes accustomed to their speaker system, and you listen to music coming from it on an emotional level. Otherwise, you simply don't engage with the music.

 

[audiofooled]

For people who are interested, a couple of videos where the topic of loudspeaker directivity is further discussed, as well as time-intensity trading which works ONLY with particular loudspeaker designs:

This second video is more in depth about time-intensity trading:

@Duke may appreciate the concept

 

[Duke]

For people who are interested, a couple of videos where the topic of loudspeaker directivity is further discussed, as well as time-intensity trading which works ONLY with particular loudspeaker designs:

This second video is more in depth about time-intensity trading:

@Duke may appreciate the concept

Thanks! I've seen the first video but not the second... not yet, anyway!