You’re in the sweet spot. The vocalist is dead center. Then you lean to the left, and suddenly the singer jumps into the left speaker. Or you sit down with a friend and find that only one of you is hearing the full picture.
That’s a sign your imaging is too narrow, and that usually points to a couple of things.
First, check your toe-in. If your speakers are toed in too much, they’re aiming most of the energy straight at your head—and falling off fast to the sides. That creates a very sharp center, but it only works in a narrow slice of space. Move out of it, and the phantom image collapses to one side.
The fix? Try less toe-in. Point the speakers more forward—toward the back wall behind you instead of directly at your ears. But—and this is important—you can only do this if your speakers have flat off-axis response. If they don’t, you’ll lose top-end detail and the image will blur. If they do? You’ll get a bigger sweet spot and a more stable image.
The other thing to check is your speaker height and tilt. Some tweeters beam vertically. If you’re above or below their axis, you’re not getting the same frequency balance. Try tilting the speakers slightly or adjusting your seat height to get your ears level with the tweeters.
A stable image isn’t magic. It’s just good geometry—and well-behaved speakers.
