You’ve likely landed in that sweet spot. The system appears to be humming along—tonally balanced, harmonically rich. Bass may feel grounded. Treble could be extended without glare. Still, the image seems to stay stuck between the speakers. The soundstage possibly stretches wide, but not quite deep. There’s weight—but not depth. You’re looking into the space where the musicians might be—and something suggests they’re not quite stepping forward.
Sometimes, it’s not your ears. It’s your eyes.
What to Do
Dim the lights. Better yet, extinguish any direct-view LEDs, glowing logos, meters, or screens in your visual field. If a DAC display or streamer interface can’t be turned off, cover it. Use black gaffer tape. Try cardboard, velvet cloth, or an unused grille sock. A drape of black acoustic fabric between and behind the speakers—especially if your rack is centered—might be all it takes. Some go so far as to turn the gear sideways. You might not need that. But you’ll hear the difference.
And keep the room still. No spinning fans, LED strips, or visual distractions near the speaker plane. Motion—even subtle—pulls focus.
Here’s Why That Works
Our eyes and ears don’t operate in isolation. Spatial perception is multisensory—tied together in the brainstem and mapped in the cortex. When the eye spots light or movement, even in your peripheral vision, your attention may shift from the ambient to the specific. Bright status indicators can tether the soundstage to the equipment. Worse, they can flatten cues of depth and width. The system sounds like a system again.
But once your visual field goes dark, the illusion sharpens. The voice steps forward. The reverberant field around it expands. Imaging doesn’t just hold—it deepens. You’re no longer staring at the gear. You’re stepping into the room where the music was made.
And that’s when the speakers disappear—not because you moved anything, but because you stopped looking at them.
