[Hentai11]

For me, soundstage is merely how well a set of phones can mimic a performing space. With good soundstage, you close your eyes and feel like you're sitting in a hall or studio. With bad soundstage, you close your eyes and feel like you have speakers in your ears.

I tend to test this with John Coletrane's "Body and Soul" from the Coletrane's Sound album, because the recording very strongly positions the instruments: piano, far right; string bass, forward left; drums, far left; tenor sax, center right. Phones with poor soundstange will make the piece sound like it comes from a point in front or inside your head. Phones with good soundstage will tempt you to turn and face the instruments in turn.

If you have a performance where you're familiar with where the performers are positioned, run it past each of your phones, asking yourself not so much how it sounds, but rather whether the sound coming from the right place. You'll learn to judge soundstage soon enough.

 

[mvw2]

The earphones that are capable of a more mentally believable sound stage are typically the more linear earphones.

By linear, I mean linear in many references.

1. Frequency response
2. Dynamic range
3. Energy
4. Impact

The ones that seem to pull it off better are the ones that are more balanced overall.

The Etymotic ER4 is great in terms of sound stage and one glaring aspect that one perceives from them is how well balanced and even/natural the presentation of sound is presented. The Triple.Fi 10 is also a very well balanced earphone and creates a great sense of space. The UM3X has a very broad range of dynamics and energy and uses it very linearly, clearly distinguishing subtlety from gusto. It creates a very exact sense of depth. Yuin's OK1 bud offers a lot of balance and linearity and too has a great stage presence.

The concept of sound stage is one thing I've thought about a lot and too have wondered what makes it work. For the earphones that pull it off better, it always seems to be balance. The better balanced in every aspect, the more linear and realistically defined the stage presence becomes.

If you run an EQ, you can change frequency response and change the shape of the sound stage. If you change tips, you change the shape of the sound stage. If you run off low power versus high power, you change the shape of the sound stage. You're still bound by what the earphone can actually do, but you can fix or change some of the aspects and get something a little bit different.

 

[ruXx]

Holy **** Bilavideo.

I hope someone stickies your posts cause they are freaking GOLD.

Thanks a lot for the deep knowledge, I learned a tremendous amount of useful information there.

 

[Zanth]

Awesome posts. I've printed them out for reference

 

[kwang411]

Thanks Bilavideo! I learned so much from your posts!!

While I was reading, I was listening to my ES3X at the same time. ES3Xs are fairly neutral IEMs, the only one I own where no EQ is required. It's got fast and non overpowering bass, which opens up the soundstage, a slight bump in mids for the richness and details, and extended highs for extra airiness. I feel like I'm on stage with the performers.

My CK100s on the other hand are more prominent in the HF, so I get a concert hall experience when I listen to them. It feels like I'm sitting the middle of the concert hall, getting a big picture of everything, not focused particularly on any specific instrument.

I always knew that too much bass will kill the soundstage, but I never thought about frequency response as carefully as the way you analyzed it. Again, thanks for these very educational posts!!

 

[Bilavideo]

Thanks, everybody. I appreciate the good word. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[jkleejk]

my experience on IEM in term of soundstage,

IE8: its bass ripple effect really helps to making soundstage larger
UM MAge: bringing all the hidden sounds even from far by having good treble / mid, this way also able enlarge the soundstage.

 

[KramitDfrog]

I was going to post a question regarding what in an IEM or headphone actually creates the impression of soundstage, but I have found all of my answers resoundingly answered here by Bilavideo.

Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge, I think everyone here should read these posts because they give such detailed information regarding what we need to look for to satisfy our individual cravings when listening to music.

I like a wider soundstage, now I know what I should look for and how I can accentuate that impression. Thankyou!