2. speakers
  3. 137738-1464

narrow and wide baffles and imaging

According to all the "professional" audio reviews that I've read over the last several years, narrow baffles are crucial to creating that so-desired pin-point imaging.

However, over the last few weeks, I've had the opportunity to audition Harbeth 40.2, Spendor Classic 100, Audio Note AN-E, and Devore O/93.  None of these had deficient imaging; indeed I would go so far as to say that it was good to very good.

So, what gives?  I'm forced to conclude that modern designs, 95% of which espouse the narrow baffle, are driven by aesthetic/cosmetic considerations, rather than acoustical ones, and the baffle~imaging canard is just an ex post facto justification.

I can understand the desire to build speakers that fit into small rooms, are relatively unobtrusive, and might pass the SAF test, but it seems a bit much to add on the idea that they're essentially the only ones that will do imaging correctly.



128x128twoleftears
prof
1,741 posts
 

In the wider baffle speakers I'm familiar with, a consistent impression has been a bigger, more full sound especially in the midrange, vs the typical narrow profile speaker.   That's certainly a big aspect of what attracts me to the Harbeth and Devore speakers.

(Though, at least in my case, when I bought the Harbeth Super HL5 plus speakers to try at home,  I couldn't get them to image with the believable depth that I'm generally accustomed to).
Post removed 
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears OP
1,457 posts
 

So what about the SF Elipsa series, which if memory serves is a good deal wider than any other SF models?  Did SF ever provide a rationale for why they did the Elipsa's that way?

@prof  Exactly!  That's precisely what struck me--and impressed me--auditioning the 40.2s and Classic 100's.  The "sound launch", for want of a better term, seemed more substantial, had more body, than just about anything else I've heard.  Besides narrow/wide baffles, made me wonder too about woofers located on the sides or back of the box, rather than on the front.

georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
4,966 posts
 
the Stradivari presented a more weighty, unusually solid picture that seemed to be a three-dimensional curtain wrapped behind the baffles and extending well back into virtual space.
A friend had the SF Amati’s which were really nice and had a great believable image/depth presentation, then his dealer persuaded him to trade up to the SF Stradivari same system same everything, ask me around to have a listen a to give my opinion as he wasn’t happy.

As soon as he put on a Diana Krall cd that I’d heard on the Amati’s just a week before, I turned as said to him "my god, why has she's suddenly got a 10ft wide mouth" he said "exactly" no amount of re-positioning fixed it, next day he had his Amati’s back.

Cheers George
kosst_amojan
2,095 posts
 
Looking down this thread I kind of wonder if everybody is defining "imaging" the same way. 
More to discover