How important is it for you to attain a holographic image?


I’m wondering how many A’goners consider a holographic image a must for them to enjoy their systems?  Also, how many achieve this effect on a majority of recordings?
Is good soundstaging enough, or must a three dimensional image be attained in all cases.  Indeed, is it possible to always achieve it?

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A group of blind men heard that a strange animal, called an elephant, had been brought to the town, but none of them were aware of its shape and form. Out of curiosity, they said: "We must inspect and know it by touch, of which we are capable". So, they sought it out, and when they found it they groped about it. In the case of the first person, whose hand landed on the trunk, said "This being is like a thick snake". For another one whose hand reached its ear, it seemed like a kind of fan. As for another person, whose hand was upon its leg, said, the elephant is a pillar like a tree-trunk. The blind man who placed his hand upon its side said, "elephant is a wall". Another who felt its tail, described it as a rope. The last felt its tusk, stating the elephant is that which is hard, smooth and like a spear.

Since none of us can see sound waves bouncing around our listening room, we are all blind. If we all had the same identical equipment, including interconnects, we would all hear differently as a result of our different listening rooms.

"Holography" is not a trick pony, it is the "result" of correcting room anomalies by first recognizing, and then treating them. Once this is done, you will note a marked improvement in tone and timbre of acoustic instruments.

When people go as far as they can in regard to topflight components, and are still not satisfied, that's when they discover the room is at fault; after they correct this problem, that's when they retreat to audio Nirvana.

I think I've stated everything I know of importance in regard to holography. If anyone wants to advance the audio in their listening room on the cheap, I suggest they go to this thread; DIY acoustic panels?

Just a brief comment to mention that room acoustics is only one part of the problem in achieving holographic soundstage. There are a great many other areas of the system that must be attended to in order to achieve the very best holographic soundstage. Examples: vibration isolation, electrical contact housekeeping, good cabling housekeeping, speaker placement and CD or LP treatments, not to mention getting rid of extraneous junk lying around, e.g., old newspapers, books you don’t need any more. Reduce entropy! 
How exactly do you get a soundstage without imaging? Separating the two is like separating going fast and having speed. THEY'RE THE SAME THING. 

Personally, I don't look twice at a system that presents a flat wall of sound, or, in other words, has no ability to image. It tells me something about the resolving power of the system. If a system cannot resolve spacial information, then it's failing to be hi-fi in a major way. Getting a grip on room issues is very important, too, and I question how serious somebody is about listening if their room isn't sorted out to some degree. Serious listeners don't have 65" TV's between their speakers.