Speakers should be heard not seen. But, of course, that's next to impossible since they stand as monoliths in our room, hard to avoid with open eyes. Yet, the best setups I have heard produce sound without acknowledging the source. Our room at the Newport Show is a good example. We have the Legacy Focus SE loudspeakers driven by a pair of BHK Monoblocks, DirectStream DAC and my Bill Ernst modified Mac Mini. No sound comes from the speakers themselves when you're seated in the listening chair. Instead, it comes from behind the Legacy's and wall to wall, as it might if musicians were playing live.
Other rooms I visit achieve this as well, but many haven't this same sense of space and detachment from the speakers. I want to say something but I bite my tongue.
How are your speakers doing? Does the sound come from the speakers or float in space behind them? Close your eyes when listening and you should not be able to point to the source of sound.
Perhaps tomorrow we'll take a gentle look at how to achieve this in our homes.
