what speakers do the best "disappearing act"??

My tops are avalon eidolons and audio physics (virgo, avanti, spark and tempo ). The virgo is in a class all it's own for the 2500-2800 range.
A Tube preamp/amp will generally increase a sense of presence as well. Moving the speakers out into the room, and clearing away /covering reflective items helps too.

I agree with a LOT of the above comments but would also add this to the conversation:

Electronics / cabling have more to do with "spaciousness" and the "disappearing act" than you might think.

I have a set of large 4 way / 5 driver towers that have always come across as being exactly what they are: LARGE boxes. I swapped components and cables in this system MANY times and always ended up with a very specific left / right image. Like most others, i simply attributed it to the large baffle area and overall size of the speaker cabinet.

Out of curiousity and a bit of necessity, i swapped a preamp into that system that i had never tried there before. WHAM !!! I had air, spaciousness, detail, warmth, body, projection of imagery WELL out into the room, etc... ALL of the "musical terms" that you read about and hope to achieve some day. Needless to say, i was ecstatic and it taught me a WHOLE bunch about "system synergy"!!! I knew that i really had something when my brother, who was standing next to me some 25+ feet directly off to the side of the speakers as i was listening to Diana Krall's "Love Scenes" said "man, it literally sounds like we are at a live performance and she's out there in the middle of the room. Listen to that stand-up bass". I don't think that my smile could have fit in any "wide angle" lens if someone was taking pictures : ) Sean
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I agree with those who talk about speaker placement being the key to the disappearing act that you are looking for. With that being said no speaker disappeared in my listening room the way that the Audio Physic Virgos did. I believe that their narrow baffle design and quality drivers are the reason behind their amazing ability to throw a wide soundstage.
They did not last very long in my listening room. I found them a little bright and a little thin for my taste. There are many others who find what I call bright and thin to be lively and realistic. I now have a pair of B&W 803's and find them to be more to my liking. They do not throw as wide a soundstage as the virgos did. They do seem to present more depth and are easier to listen to. Good luck.

Drew

Quite a few do the job nicely... Rockport Merak / Sheritans, Rockport Antares, Pipedreams, Piegas, Maggies, Soundlabs, and quite a few others. The statement above about the importance of the room placement is extremely valid and should not be taken lightly.

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