Hi Scotty. Happy holiday's.
I certainly understand the "spirit" and validity of your post.
I'd like to preface the remainder of my reply here by reminding folks that I've previously gone on record elsewhere (another thread in this forum) to state that the number one criteria in voiceing a system is *ones own* hearing acuity AND preference (which Jason Stoddard so eloquently refers to as distortion profile).
Having stated that, in my particular case and system setup, (a) I have better than normal hearing acuity, as measured by my last audiologist visit, albeit about 2 years ago now, (b) my room set up which was professionally designed and installed by an acoustic engineering professional and treated with components manufactured by a company that purportedly develops products for an intended purpose of absorption/diffusion, and (c) I have an inborn natural affinity to sound in general, able to recognize audible frequency and sound pressure level upon just hearing it right on the spot, within a relatively fair degree of accuracy.
Of course, a mono vs stereo vs multichannel (which I do not subscribe to as far as audio playback) greatly affects the perception, as does the location of specific speaker drivers, most notably the tweeter.
However, even in the case of the tweeter, it typically has a relatively wide vertical and horizontal dispersal pattern. I'll define that even further. Usually in the high range (above 1khz) horizontal and vertical dispersal patterns can be near or exceed 45 degrees.
Hence, easy to walk blindfolded to a speaker that's firing.
Best
Hal
Hal, try the same test with a mono signal playing and see what results you have. At one point in the 90s
I had an ear infection that poked a 6db deep hole centered at 500Hz in the frequency response my right ear. Verified by an audiologist at the time. The soundstage collapsed into the left channel. I thought something was desperately wrong with the stereo until I stood in the middle of the loudspeakers
with my back to them. The stereo image collapsed into the right speaker thus showing that I was the one with the problem and not the stereo. This is what prompted the trip to the audiologist.
If the system is really working well a mono signal composed of pink or white noise
well it should show a strong central image with a height component that should extend clear to the ceiling.
It is undesirable for image to be essentially at the same height as the tweeters location on
face of speaker cabinets.
Scotty