'You Are There'-ness of Ascends

Music on the Ascends, in this case 340 classics, seems to sound very close to the actual vocalist and instrument performing. I would liken this to the difference between a video of some exotic location and actually being there. I've been used to my music all sounding 'flat' and 2D since the beginning. And I've come to accept that's what music sounds like. Whenever I play my old music on the 340s, it sounds like a completely different recording. So my question is, what's the term used to describe this aesthetic quality?

I'd call that Neutrality. And it's a very good thing.:D
Some might also use Transparency.

Cheers!

shane

Some folks just call it: "Quality." ;)

Actually I would say that a set of speakers' ability to give you the feeling you're describing would be attributed to a combination of several factors, which really do all come down to the quality of the product. Imaging is a critical part of it; the ability of the speakers to project a 3D "image" of the performance in your space and essentially "disappear" into the room (audibly I mean of course, not visually... THAT would be a trick huh?) and allow you to hear the spatial positioning of the various sounds spread out in the apparent space in front of you, rather than sounding like a speaker on the left and a speaker on the right. With speakers that don't image well, you can close your eyes and still point to the exact location of the left speaker and the right speaker because you can hear them both playing. With great speakers, you can't locate the speakers with your eyes closed. You only hear the sounds on the recording, spread out in front of you as the engineer and producer intended. Ever read a comment where someone says they have to keep checking their center channel speaker or their receiver settings to make sure they're really listening in stereo and not multichannel, and the center's not actually playing, because it sounds like it is? That's good imaging. Ascends, from my experience with the 170SEs, image beautifully. (Proper speaker positioning and the acoustics of your room play into good imaging too; poor positioning or bad acoustics can make the stereo image collapse.)

Transparency is another factor, one that's closely related to imaging because if your speakers don't have a transparent sound, they won't produce proper imaging. Transparency is again tied directly to quality, especially in the mids and highs. It basically means that you don't hear speakers, you hear MUSIC (or whatever your listening material is). Reverbs really sound like reflections in a room rather than a flat, processed, artificial sound. There's no mess or noise to hide the details, so you get a very open and natural sound. Incidentally, transparency is a facet not just of your speakers but also of the source recording. A poor recording won't show off a speaker's transparency because the mess on the CD will cover it up. You'll really notice transparency on a great recording, especially with jazz, classical, acoustic music, etc. that has space in it and isn't a wall of sound. Again, the Ascends are VERY transparent, due in large part to the extreme quality, smoothness and detail of the new Seas tweeters in the SE models (though I'm quite sure the classics don't suck either. :) )

Soundstage is another factor involved. The word is often mistaken to mean the same thing as imaging, but to my understanding it's related but not the same. Soundstage is more the size of the acoustical image presented by the speakers rather than the positioning. In other words, a great set of speakers will produce a large or wide soundstage, giving you the impression of bigness and realism, as if the music extends out beyond the edges of the speakers themselves and fills the room, not just with volume but with depth. So far this is my only minor complaint about the 170SE, even with a sub; they're very transparent and image wonderfully and they sound awesome, but I could wish for a somewhat bigger soundstage. I'm quite sure the 340s would satisfy me nicely there, and in the small room where I'm currently using them the 170s are just fine.

I'm sure Dave F. and others could give you more factors involved but I think that covers the big ones. :)

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Originally Posted by shane55

I'd call that Neutrality. And it's a very good thing.:D
Some might also use Transparency.

Cheers!

shane

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Great minds think alike. I just think too much. LOL. :D

Heh heh... True 'nuff. ;)

It was late, I was tired and couldn't get into a long description of the words. Thanks for yours!

By Neutrality I'm referring to the speaker's ability to reproduce the sound faithfully and accurately, without colouration. In the audio chain, from platter or CD to ear, there are many factors and stages at which the sound can be coloured. The phono stylus/pickup, tone arm, pre-amp, amp-even the cables (according to some) can have an effect on the sound (let's ignore the room's characteristics for now).

Assuming absoulte nutrality from the source to the speakers (not likely), the last thing I'd want is for the speakers to impart their own colour or tone to the reproduced sound (bright, harsh, warm, cool, boom, etc.). There should be a purity and accuracy to the sound produced. Now, of course this assumes that the recording was done properly and that the LP or CD actually has encoded on it a true and natural sound. We have all noticed differences from one recording to another.

Sometimes neutrality or accuracy can be represented graphically. I think the Ascends do that in their FR charts. They seem to represent the actual auditory experience fairly well. In this case 'flat' can be a good thing too.:D

cheers!

shane

Woah, what comprehensive answers. Thank you very much both of you :)