Tbooze, With box speakers used in a stereo configuration there are two types of sound you will hear when seated in the sweet spot (especially). The first will be the sound which is phase correct, the 'stereo' sound and that will appear exactly withing the confines of the space between your speakers on the same plane as your speakers (in phase stereo sounds can appear to come from outside your speakers but this sound will be behind your speakers, not on the same place, and if you drew a straigt line from your head thru the speaker to the wall behide it it would still be on the inside of the line.
Then there is out of phase information. That is sound which occurs outside of the inner boundies of your speakers. It is most often caused by reflections off walls, ceilings, floors, etc. These out of phase signals can sound pleasant and seem to give you a wider soundstage, but on close analysis they detract from the sharpness of the focus of the stereo sound between the speakers.
In an unbalanced set up, one speaker near a wall and one speaker near an open space the reflections off the wall can not only diffuse the 'stereo' image between the speakers, but it can also cause image shift where in the center image, say from a centered voice, will shift toward the side with the wall.
JFYI, recordings often contain both in phase and out of phase signals. These too will effect the sense of width of your sound stage - but thats a different issue, they should.
For set up purposes there are test disc's which can help you locate problems caused by room reflections. For example, using one I once discovered a set up where when they played an out of phase voice the voice in a very diffused sound appeared on the left wall immediately in front of the left speaker which was close to the wall. The voice should have been, optimally, heard as "coming from all about your room" but as a minimum having no focus. I was able to eliminate that out of phase sounds'location on that wall by using substantial toe in.
If not having sharp center focus (on a sharp center focused signal) which is IMHO essential to getting the best soundstage depth obtainable because you need absolute clarity in the signal to get this effect, then its no problem. Lots and lots of folks love the sense of width they get and are happy with the compromised depth of image, and are really not concerned with getting the best sharpest'stereo' soundstaging available.
FWIW, since some folks forget what 'stereo' sound is all about, in its simplist application you have two microphones placed in front of a group of performers. One on the left side and one on the right side. A performer on the left sides signal will be picked up by both mic's but for the one on the left side the signal will be much stronger and on the right side much weaker. In a well set up system you will be able to exactly locate the position of the performer. A performer standing in the middle will be heard equally by both mic's and as a result you'll get equal signals from your speakers which will cause them to be heard as one speaker exactly in the center. There are no provision in the 'stereo' concept for 'stereo' signals to be heard outside the boundries of the speakers - out of phase, yes, but not 'stereo'.
Hope that helps to answer your question.........
Then there is out of phase information. That is sound which occurs outside of the inner boundies of your speakers. It is most often caused by reflections off walls, ceilings, floors, etc. These out of phase signals can sound pleasant and seem to give you a wider soundstage, but on close analysis they detract from the sharpness of the focus of the stereo sound between the speakers.
In an unbalanced set up, one speaker near a wall and one speaker near an open space the reflections off the wall can not only diffuse the 'stereo' image between the speakers, but it can also cause image shift where in the center image, say from a centered voice, will shift toward the side with the wall.
JFYI, recordings often contain both in phase and out of phase signals. These too will effect the sense of width of your sound stage - but thats a different issue, they should.
For set up purposes there are test disc's which can help you locate problems caused by room reflections. For example, using one I once discovered a set up where when they played an out of phase voice the voice in a very diffused sound appeared on the left wall immediately in front of the left speaker which was close to the wall. The voice should have been, optimally, heard as "coming from all about your room" but as a minimum having no focus. I was able to eliminate that out of phase sounds'location on that wall by using substantial toe in.
If not having sharp center focus (on a sharp center focused signal) which is IMHO essential to getting the best soundstage depth obtainable because you need absolute clarity in the signal to get this effect, then its no problem. Lots and lots of folks love the sense of width they get and are happy with the compromised depth of image, and are really not concerned with getting the best sharpest'stereo' soundstaging available.
FWIW, since some folks forget what 'stereo' sound is all about, in its simplist application you have two microphones placed in front of a group of performers. One on the left side and one on the right side. A performer on the left sides signal will be picked up by both mic's but for the one on the left side the signal will be much stronger and on the right side much weaker. In a well set up system you will be able to exactly locate the position of the performer. A performer standing in the middle will be heard equally by both mic's and as a result you'll get equal signals from your speakers which will cause them to be heard as one speaker exactly in the center. There are no provision in the 'stereo' concept for 'stereo' signals to be heard outside the boundries of the speakers - out of phase, yes, but not 'stereo'.
Hope that helps to answer your question.........