Which HiFi components most affect soundstage? 

The solution is simple. Buy two copies of Paul’s book and place one book under each speaker.

Get the speakers at the right distance from the wall, so that the mid-bass is as flat as you can get it. That will remove as much muddiness, which will clean up the sound stage. There's a start. But that's just my suggestion, of course.

1. Room acoustics 2. Speaker placement 3. Speakers

1) room acoustics 2) setup: so true! ( 3: the recordings ) ( 4: listening position: ear vs speaker ) -> AS FOR THE COMPONENTS: 1) good preamplification ! 2) a well thought-out / oversized power supply especially in sources and power amps 3) quality in speakers 4) cables, clean power...

This is exactly what I've been telling folks for years. Paul is 100% correct here, most people just don't know how to "tune" their systems. I still tweak my systems all the time because sometimes my source is not always the best, however given a very good source, I don't have to make any adjustments and my system resolves very, very well for fairly inexpensive equipment.

So true. In addition to setup, think of which room you set up in, as well as how you treat your room, before buying any components. A good room (dimensions matter), with good treatment and the right placement of speakers and listening position with budget gear will sound way better than expensive gear setup poorly, in a non-treated, poorly dimensioned room.

I knew that Paul’s answer would be speakers, but really setup. It just makes so much sense! Component synergy is what’s left after you have good speakers and set up know how, as far as I’m aware.

So true! Make the most of what you got, stay with it for some time and then start to think about upgrades if you need it. Good one Paul!

The room has the most affect on any setup 🙃 thnx for another great video

The person asking this question should also make sure to test with a recording that *has* depth in it. There's so many poorly engineered tracks that give just a "flat wall" presentation. With those, no matter what set up one tries, they always will be just that. Flat!

He's right, but with one modification. One must have a room that can be adjusted, or all the setting up of the speakers is not going to help much. I never had my speakers set correctly until I built a dedicated listening room, and created diffraction and absorption treatment, which I haven't done perfectly but just applied some general principals. Then I worked on setting up the speakers with proper toe in and rake, and then the image came alive, really amazing.

I wish it was this simple .... setup is very straightforward once you have the right listening room ... room volume, and relative physical dimensions plus SHAPE play the biggest part of all in achieving the ultimate soundstage

I can't find the book nor the SACD on the PS Audio site. Help!

agreed. People often forget about the set up and the room. These two things can impact the sound significantly.

Hello Paul. I looked on Amazon, PSAudio and Google without finding a way to buy your book and the associated CD. Can you please publish the correct URL where I could find The Audiophiles Guide? Thanks Roberto Pensotti

Your videos used to be great but since you started mentioning the audiophile's guide earlier this year you stop even providing a very simple basic answer and rumble the whole video about buying your product. I am sure it's worth the money, but making a 5min+ video without even the most basic answer must feel extremely disappointing for most people watching this video. So for those who were eagerly waiting for at least a basic answer but could not find it in this video here it is (I am confident that Paul will provide a way more detailed and thorough many pages long detailed description of all variants but for someone desperately looking for an answer at least one common one should be provided): The whole setup matters (room acoustics, matching components, etc ...) but Paul only referred to the correct placement of the speakers within the room. A few different but great working speaker placements work wonderfully, the best one you can do is the rule of thirds (one third speakers placed from back wall, one third of the room length behind you ... you may sit exactly at this spot or slightly forward). From the sides (room width) both should be equal distance to the side wall and you should sit straight in the middle. If you sit slightly to one side but still within that triangle it will still have a great soundstage, it will only be slightly worse. However do not move outside of this triangle side-wise. The distance to the side walls is calculated by placing them somewhat close together on one line and start listening. Then slowly and carefully push them sideways more and more. The bigger the distance between both speakers gets the wider and more concert like the setup will sound. The sound will stand more in the room and disconnect more from the speakers. At some point you will push them even further apart and they will start to not sound coherent any more. Sounds which should sound like coming from one source will clearly just come from one speaker. The setup will sound like it has been disconnected and there is empty space in between. Pull them back again and you have maximised the soundstage of your room. There are a couple of other setups and many will not have the luxury to put the speakers in a third of the room's length. A very common good sounding (not quite as nice of a soundstage but producing very pleasing results) would be the rule of fifth.

I totally agree, but so often the listening room is an L-shaped room with badly placed doors and windows. Oh how I wish I could build a dedicated room for both audio and home theatre.

Hi Paul. Thanks for answering my question. I do have your book now. Although constrained by various limitations in set up as suggested by you, a slight increase in toe-in and moving the listening position a foot closer to the speakers has resulted in improving sound quality - certainly cleaner bass and an increase in the vertical dimension of the soundstage. PS 😉 (couldn't resist) didn't find the reference cd online

Love u 💋 Paul! Hahahaha Started watching u 3 years ago and have watched everyday. Don't always agree and will never be able to afford your gear cause have my wife with cancer as it's a battle for the 2nd time but it's all good. I always enjoy your videos and try to learn. Hope u and your family have a good Christmas and New year's. Thanks.

For me it was the amplifier, I have focal aria 926, I moved them in out, left right, had them straight, toed in to various different angles and i could not get the soundstage right, basically no matter the song or source (vinyl, cd, stream) i could not get the 3d image that the vocals were in the center and the sound stage was always narrow. Went from an anthem mrx 1120 to a hegel h390 without moving speakers from my previous setup soundstage was night and day, I finally got that 3d image where i could close my eyes and see the lead singer dead center! then I re-adjusted the toe in so the speakers instead of pointing at the listening position are more flat than toed in and it improved the width of the sound stage. The differences were astounding. Naturally the hegel also improved every other aspect of the sound as well but its not fair to compare the 2 devices sonically.

I had recently moved and everything was still packed up except a pair of 12 dollar self powered computer speakers and a portable CD player (I think it was a Kenwood). I was really craving music so I set a pillow on the floor, I laid down facing forward and listened to those cheesy self powered speakers with the CD player. I closed my eyes and moved the speakers back and forth with my hands, increased and decreased their width and I was absolutely blown away how good I was able to make them sound in that near field scenario. Obviously the sound was only as good as the limitation of the speakers and CD player, but what I did get was amazing. Speaker positioning is EVERYTHING. The number one and most important component of any audio system, is the room. How you place speakers in that space will determine if the system sounds good or bad. Everything else is down stream.

Can't find the book. Post a link, please.

great pitch for the book !

Paul runs a monoblock into that little white speaker on his desk. It's in the book! 😁

Ideally a dedicated soundproof room would be the cherry on top, Unfortunately not everyone can afford such a luxury! Exterior noises have a devastating effect on the the listening environment ! Also I prefer listening in the dark thereby eliminating any visual distractions, and focusing only on your auditory senses !

Yes speaker placement is most important. I just experimented a little at time for a week and now I need to work on the room!

Great video Paul, could be the best of the year! Can’t wait for the book and CD... ✌️🌹🇦🇺

proper acoustics (measured absorbers and diffusion) + DSP room correction. Assuming having quality listening system with correct stereo picture, through speaker placement and decoupling. de-coloring changes everything.

It would be helpful to add links to the book and downloadable music files below the video. I spent 30 min looking for them, no luck.

What book? 🧐

What is the deal with the word “Bought” on the track Temporary Circumstances streaming on Qobuz, it sounds like there has been a bad edit performed to remove something?

We had a 98 Dodge Caravan LE that had an infinity stereo in it, which came with a demo/setup cassett to optimize your sound in the cabin. I am excited to get this guide/cd combo, looking forward to running my setup through its paces.!

Where is this book? Is it available for purchase?

Thank you so much for your videos Paul at PS audio I really enjoy watching your videos probably for the last few years. God bless and have a safe 2021.

Sound advice, Paul! Thanks for sharing!

In my experience, it would be Speakers/ Speaker Placement, then Pre-amp, then Interconnect cables, then amplifiers affects sound stage the most.

You should put links to book and disk in your post

hi Paul, I have a very modest cd system, 3 way Tannoy floorstanders, and pair of REL subs.....my music lacks pace, Rhythm and timimg....which one component should I chamge ?

Back in the early 2000s I worked for Magnolia Audio Video. We we're lucky enough to get to train a Sumiko in Berkeley,(Vienna Acoustics, Sanus Faber, Rel, Pro-ject). We worked for 4 days solely on speaker setup in all different types of rooms and speakers. I took what I learned and set many pairs of my clients speakers in some truly funky rooms. I would guess that Paul's book and and SACD touch on what I learned. If it does, it will be well worth the money.

"It" is radiation pattern, including direct to reflected ratio, speaker positioning, and the reflective qualities of the surfaces near the speakers, including the size of the room.

Does the book take into consideration ,Windows ,alcoves, my speakers are about 2ft away from a window , one is not the same distance away from the wall which has to fire into an alcove , or is the book for perfect situations in hi fi set up

There is a point where relentless and repetitive pushing of a product becomes counter-productive.

I may get this book, I think it could be worth the effort. Also if Paul is right it will be one of the cheapest HiFi upgrades you can buy.

I can't play SACDs for the guide and cd

Another big factor is the recording. Only 3D sounding recordings will sound 3D. However, 2D sounding recordings will always sound 2D, no matter what system or setup you have.

Two things influence soundstage to the largest degree: 1) how omnidirectional are drivers above 1000 Hz up to 50 kHz, 2) how much cabinets vibrate. Best is no cabinet or tubus shaped. That is why the king of SS are: MBL , Bayz Audio, Zeta Zero orbitals, German Physiks, Duevel, Kyron

And by "set up" you mean placement of speakers? Or is it matching components so that together they sound good? Or what does it exactly mean? Thx to anyone who can answer my question.

Thanks Paul .... and looking forward to when your book hits Amazon. Being from Oklahoma I have a pair of Norman Laboratories Model 9 speakers I really want to get sounding their best! Norman Labs is long gone, but these are in great shape and I'm hoping to see if I can get them setup the right way.

What about a headphone system? Is any dac or amp make a difference?

Can’t find the book on Amazon Mexico, neither on the US Amazon website

Very well done.

hi paul. i totally agree with what youre telling us to do.i get that.but what happens when we have very limited movment of our speaks.i dont have the option of been able to move my speakers to the left or the righ.just back and forth about 1.5 feet max and i can angle or toe the speaks.thats it. is it still worth purchasing the book? thanks

Cant wait to see Paul do the Jimmy Fallon show to plug that book when its released! Hell make a great guest : D

I need an opinion: My room is 13x40, monitors are about 16” from corners and listening position is a perfect triangle. I’m running the Emotiva auto EQ to correct the Stealth 8 monitors. Where would you start in improving acoustics with wall treatments? Or would you trust the auto EQ and call it good? My monitor placement options are limited because of furniture/TV. It sounds wonderful, but the bass is sometimes extra-resonant.

The guide sounds very good. I like the idea of having a specific set of tracks and a guide to what you should hear and how to achieve it. It is a shame that you started promoting it so far in advance of it actually being available. You have described the basics of how to set up so often it might make sense to hold off questions where the best answer is read the book until there actually is a book.

When will your book be out?

I just spent 10 minutes searching and researching for this book, only to find that's it not available til January. You really should take this video down until then.

Absolute room/loudspeaker L-R symmetry, similarly, symmetry with adjacent boundaries up at the front of the room. That wavelaunch needs uniformity relative to boundary distances from speakers. All the usual suspects as well, ie., setup, etc. Hand matched tweeters HF response helps.

Don't forget THE most important piece of equipment in the setup, the room.

As soon as they tell me to place my speaker or sub on my listening position I'm done, I can't do it with my Duntech Crown Prince and Rel sub.! So please tell me you have another approach before I buy I useless tool?

Merry Christmas and Great Helpfull Videos

I parked my cd player in the garage 10 years ago. Is i possible to get this audio material in digital format (file /steaming)

I can't find the book either.

I was going to say off ear 6dof spatially dynamic audio but that tech hasn't come to traditional audiophiles yet. Its used all the time in other places though.

Simple and straightforward it would appear. Reminds one of that old adage "It's the economy stupid." Though the variables in our listening rooms are anything but simple, those spaces are still the "sound" place to begin to seek improvement. The god awful sliding glass door and flat screen TV panel in my room are the sound equivalent of a bouncy castle. Maybe $399 cables will be the fix?

Hi Paul, I'm following your videos with great interest. The issue of your today's video is exactly why I do this. Unfortunately here in Germany I can't buy your book .... Can you help me out somehow? Maybe kind of download? Same applies to the reference cd. Best regards Reinhold

The very first component, the source, affects the sound stage.

Hi Paul, I am unable to find on Amazon...

It's amazing what you can do if you do set the stereo up properly even one of those cheap little box sets from the discount store play with the speakers play with the speakers play with the speakers...

Hi Paul, first of all I want to thank you for the knowledge and experience you pass on to us, also for dedication and pasion which I see in every answer because that is the real true gold. If I will ever have the opportunity to reach US I will gladly visit PS Audio. My question is what is happening with the freq response when connecting speakers in series, because every loudspeaker may become a filter for others and also speakers already have filters integrated (theoretically assuming that the speakers are two-way or three-way and identical)? A common example would be the case where we connect two 4 ohm speakers in series to an 8 ohm amp, which are the most affected frequencies and how much?

I'll be ordering Hey Joe Opus/Red Meat hybrid CD/SACD from PS Audio to add to my CD/SACD collection 🎶

My desktop class D/dayton bookshelf setup blows away a few high end den setups ive had the displeasure of listening to. Thats before we even get to my den area that was arranged around a properly setup, custom designed system, placed in the room after diffusion treatment, then the den space organized around the system. However some people have wives and kids and shit, or a general lack of space and proper setup is just plain impossible. One friend of mine with a $4-5000 onkyo/klipsche 7.1.1 setup from drooling over my den setup that barely cost me over a grand to put together every single time he's over here. But he has kids and a wife that prevent him from setting it up properly. (he bought the system while was still just a GF, not wide and kids lolol) He actually stops by to have a smoke and listen to my system almost every single day on his way home from work actually. Although even with proper setup, i still think my custom 2.1 system would blow that 7.1.1 system of his away as far as shear fidelity and quality of soundstage goes anyway. I already know my crossover networks if pulled out would make those klipsch tower crossovers just look sad. I think im about $1600 into my setup. My speakers are 2 cuft 3 way enclosures repurposed from old AR series 660 studio monitors. Drivers picked very specifically for the cuft of the enclosure, crossover network tuned to perfectly match the impedance curves of the drivers, and i used GRS ribbon tweets to make filtering for the tweeter effortless as well. And im basically dead flat from 35hz-40khz. With my dayton reference sub on its more like flat from 22hz to 40k. Was using a yamaha s801, then a PS audio sprout in there, but the new fosi ZA3 actually sounds better, outputs more power then either one, and has balanced inputs. It can also be bridged to run as a mono block and i plan on grabbing second one soon. It actually sounds better then the s801, or my buddys onky AVR (although thats not hard to do) So yea with the value of the yamaha or sprout deducted, im at like $1000 or so, and easily performing on par with truly high end manufacturer equipment, if not out performing. Room and setup is ABSOLUTELY more important then the equipment, but once setup properly its a totally irrelevant variable and means nothing honestly. Once your speakers are up to snuff, they also become a meaningless variable and are completely taken out of the equation. Focus on your amplifier, then source after, once you nail those they become irrelevant variables as well. Once you nail all that start playing with cables, because then youll have a resolving enough setup to actually notice that even cables affect the soundstaging of a system. Once you nail all that, go back to the very beginning of this order. And start over following the exact same order, seeing what additional improvements can be made. There is always room for improvement as there is no such thing as a perfect technology, nor a perfect room. Doing it in this particular order is critically important if you want to consistently improve your result, as well as to completely grasp first-hand what it is you are affecting when making changes. If you dont follow this order of operations, you may very well make a change thats positive now, but hinders a future change that would have had a more beneficial result then whatever you're changing currently, the end conclusion of that poorly ordered process being you will NEVER actually hear what your system is totally capable of no matter what you do. These are mistakes made constantly by most music lovers and audiophiles honestly. Hope this made sense!

All loudspeakers should sit on a base that allows you to set it properly. And if the base could be remotely controlled, it would make setting a dream.

Room, speaker position and speakers

I would like to buy your Audiophile Guide but can not find it at Amazon. I found 99% true. Could you please publish link for ordering?

OK I'm thumbs upping this video, but where is this book already? all i can find on amazon uk right now is 99% True. Which gets impressive reviews, so i might buy that instead. But Paul... my breath's been bated for so long I'm turning blue... my family is concerned for my well being...

placing both speakers will make alot different

If you don’t have a CD player that can play SACD’s, maybe a download would be the way to go?

Now here is a funny thing . In pre covid days used to attend a lot of live classical music concerts and opera performances . Not once during those concerts or performances was i ever listening to the "soundstage " or even concerned about "imaging " or " accuracy " . I simply enjoyed and appreciated the music as it reached my brain via my ears . I listen to the illusion of live music via my Hi Fi system in the same manner . All this audiophile psycho-babble jargon is a disease that appears to be a cause of discontent and anxiety amongst some listeners that does not seem to concern, stress or affect me at all .

Speakers can end up being like binoculars with one side out of focus with the other.. or, actually getting both in focus to see the picture with clarity and depth. That requires devising a means to get both speaker angels the same within very close tolerance... And, getting the height just right. Sad to say... Without adjustable stands all ends up being a compromise.

Would love to get book & CD, but I can't find them for sale anywhere. You sure they're still in print?

What about headphone soundstage

Its not available yet, Pablo.

Sound material for the room

First and foremost, the recording is what influences soundstage. After that, the limits of what a system can do are set by the loudspeakers and their setup/interaction with the room. The speakers are the component that sets what we hear. Full stop.

1 the studio engineer 2 speaker placement 3 the speakers themselves

Does anyone have any music they recommend with a great soundstage?

The speakers hands down...

1. Speakers 1.a. Room Acoustics Everything else is a distant second or third

The guide you speak of is not on Amazon. Is it available anywhere?

you should add those links

Paul sadly I cannot find The Audiophiles Guide on Amazon, nor the SACD/download you refer to, on the PS Audio website. Links might be helpful. Maybe referring to these, pre production is somewhat premature, certainly frustrating. Likewise I hope they will be available to you golbal audience, not just limited to CONUS.

Always a salesman first 🥴

What's a book ?

How i ask my doubts

Whats make a good Speaker out ?

Speaker placement conflicts with practicality in an everyday living space. Need a dedicated listening room.

What about us with all streaming hifi rigs? I can't play cds I have an optimized streaming high end system

Soundstage is all about using the best cables. Seriously. But you have to believe otherwise it doesn't work.

The answer is your room.