Another soundstage question


There are a couple of soundstage related threads running on the amp/preamp section and they reminded me of a question I’ve been meaning to ask without hijacking those threads. The speakers are Vandersteen 2Ci and the system along with their placement is giving me a real deep and relatively wide soundstage - but not much further to the sides, but I’d like the height of the soundstage be little higher. The speakers are on the sides of a bay window, about 10’ apart and with heavy drapes pulled on either side and about 2.5’ behind the speakers. Much lighter curtains cover the bay windows for privacy. In my seating position that is about 10’ away from each speaker the top of the soundstage is just about the top of the speakers, sort of like I’m sitting at the same level as the musicians. The depth is realistic but I think the height needs to higher to give a better feel for the height of the singer standing in the middle and the rest of the band scattered at different levels within the stage. So having said all this, is the soundstage height mostly a function of the electronics driving the speakers or its the size/shape of the speakers, e.g., speaker height, tilt, etc., the listening placement, or a combination of all of the above. Thanks.

128x128kalali
Oh my God! I'm marking this day on my calendar because Geoff made a post I completely agree with!

Also worthy of mentioning, my other pair of speakers are 1975 ESS AMT1's and they're short little speakers. 30 inches tall in fact. I shim the AMT's up a little to aim them higher. Their height doesn't seem to make much difference on the size of the soundstage. It's still plenty tall, deep, and wide. I don't think the height of a speaker should dramatically change how it images for the most part. 
my brother in law has 2ce they throw a very big and convincing sounstage
something in your setup not right...
distance from rear wall effects image depth most
i would check tilt first, then toe in and of course follow the vandersteen instructions.

The soundstage is big and convincing by most accounts but I want to squeeze as much as possible from what I have.  Most of my non- audiophile friends get glued to the listening chair and can't stop pointing out the subtleties they hear in familiar tracks. The resolution as well as the degree of background blackness has helped a lot already. One thing that concerns me in this chase is the degree in which I can compare the recording with the actual performance so I  don't have an accurate perception of what the soundstage height should actually be. My experience with the live events is either way the heck in the back on top rows or on the same level as the musicians in the smaller/club events.

Cables affect the soundstage too. And power cords , especially on the preamp but everywhere.
Lowrider is bang on! I have a pair of Tannoy Berkeley's that are very low speakers. I rake them back a bit and sitting about 6 feet away I can get a termendous Soundstage, height wise as well. Now obviously Tannoy's image and stage a little better than Vander Steen's but the same principles apply. I have to disagree with the cable comments, they make virtually no difference. Maybe cables that handle your very low level signals but don't waste your time with power cords at all because they make zero difference.