Now that we have been through two rounds of speaker evaluations at Sonnie's, much of my very old experience with stereo speakers and systems is coming back to me. While the products have improved dramatically over the past couple of decades, several things still remain true. First and foremost is that to achieve that "magic" of many exceptional high end systems, precise imaging in a large three dimensional soundstage, the basics remain the same. Most important is the placement of the speakers and listening position in the room. This is more important with some speakers than others, mostly so with large surface planar speakers and dipoles. One constant is that if you want a really nice soundstage, you won't get it with the speakers close to the rear wall. There has to be enough delay of the reflections off of the rear wall relative to direct sound to achieve depth. Another constant is a room that is too small will be harder to work with.
As we produce more reviews, one must always keep in mind that placement and room characteristics are impossible to duplicate and we work with what we have. That is true for each of us in our homes as well as for reviewers. The best we can do is to try to minimize the room effects and give each speaker its best placement, then listen through the room limitations for what it does well. This is not a trivial task, but I have to say that the group that Sonnie has assembled to do it is quite complimentary in experience and taste, and each is constantly trying to find what is best about each product while not pulling any punches.
As we produce more reviews, one must always keep in mind that placement and room characteristics are impossible to duplicate and we work with what we have. That is true for each of us in our homes as well as for reviewers. The best we can do is to try to minimize the room effects and give each speaker its best placement, then listen through the room limitations for what it does well. This is not a trivial task, but I have to say that the group that Sonnie has assembled to do it is quite complimentary in experience and taste, and each is constantly trying to find what is best about each product while not pulling any punches.