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
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I could be mistaken, but the IRS-V’s midrange/tweeter panel was also baffle’less, no?

Yes line array, but that sure looks like a baffle to me, even though it curves away. 
http://www.infinity-classics.de/models/IRS-series+Beta+Gamma-Delta-Sigma-Epsilon-1988-95-98/IRS/IRS8...

Cheers George
I'm definitely calling that a baffle too. Without a baffle dipole speakers suffer from all kinds of destructive interference as the wave fronts wrap around the drivers. 
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Ok so I got my terminology wrong.
Yes you can have a big baffle still with no box, as the IRS V has, but the Beta is truly baffle’less, as are the Plasma’s as are most ESL’s. The moment you ad "wings", you make a baffle and it re-enforces the sound but will also screw up the image compared to no baffle. That’s why very narrow speakers such as the Audio Physics image like there’s no tomorrow.
https://www.google.com.au/search?q=audio+physic+speakers&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&v...

The Infinity Prelude also had a good rep for imaging well.
https://www.stereophile.com/content/infinity-composition-prelude-p-fr-loudspeaker
" I could hear precisely where each instrument or voice was in the soundstage, and images were highly focused, tight, and compact, making the presentation sound like a collection of individual instruments in three-dimensional space. There was also a remarkable stability and tangibility to the images, further heightening the impression of instruments before me."


Cheers George