Audiophile Stereo Imaging Test [See notes on how to loop.]
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- Опубліковано 17 жов 2024
- START PLAY, RIGHT CLICK THE IMAGE, AND SELECT LOOP for continuous, looping playback. Use this test to adjust your STEREO speakers' separation, L/R toe-in (aiming), height, and up/down tilt, all for optimal, precisely focused imaging and sound stage width. Generally speaking, start with the front stereo speakers aimed directly at the main listening position, tweeters at or near ear height from your seated position, and forming an equilateral triangle with that position. Dolby considers this 60 degree "field of view" the widest allowed and 44 degrees is considered the narrowest. Keep in mind optimal results for a single listener may not be what's best for a group of two or more.
I do not own the copyright to any of the material; it is a video graphics enhanced, version of re-sequenced material I've condensed from Chesky Records, JD37, prepared under the fair use doctrine for educational purposes only. I have not applied any audio processing other than trimming the test to a much more useful short sequence that can easily be looped. This makes it much easier to use for setting exact speaker placement than in its original, extended form.
This was originally designed for placing stereo speakers but people using a derived center ch. may also find it of use too. Dolby Pro Logic II will interestingly place much of the "off-stage" material in the surround (rear) speakers [because it is largely out of phase content] however I do NOT advise using this test for adjusting the placement nor level of the surround speakers. This test is meant ONLY for optimizing the front sound stage presentation.
This is how I was taught in a "Masters Class" by Sonus Faber and technicians from Sumiko (high end lines I carried). Listen to the following test video which shows three front speakers however it is actually a stereo test, which you can put into a perpetual loop by right clicking the video image and selecting "Loop". Get two people to help you and have each helper stand directly behind each speaker and based on your two hand gestures (they watch) they mimic you. Your two hands rotate as if you were screwing in invisible, ceiling light bulbs. The beauty of this is there is no talking to mess up your concentration and it seems to you as if you can magically aim the speakers by your hands! Cool.
If you rotate your left hand clockwise the left side helper rotates the aim of the left speaker by the same number of degrees, or at least as closely as they can. Same for the right.
is to get as focused a center image as possible by having the two helpers work in unison as if they are locked together, can't vary, and need to mirror each other. This is called toe-in. Either cross the sound "beams" to a point in front of you, directly at your MLP, or behind
LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
The short, incomplete song excerpts are posted for noncommercial, nonprofit, educational/research purposes of audio sound reproduction equipment accuracy assessment under the fair use doctrine of Title 17 U.S. Code § 107 - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include-
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;"
100K~0422
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/48PxwspDvrE/mqdefault.jpg)
![If you can't hear this then you're not an audiophile [See description for link to followup video]](/img/tr.png)
And now I am outside at the bar getting a drink.
🤣😛
😂😂😂
5 years and you're *_STILL_* at that crappy bar??
bwhahahaha
This 22 second vid is exactly what I needed, thanks!. Anyone with a new mb with seperate channels audio jack set up but you have a powered audio system that gets audio signal input from just one small head phone jack, just plug into your center channel on the mb and everything will work fine. {have old Altec Lansing pc audio system with a right and left stereo speaker and sub-woofer}
"Now, im under your bed"
Me: yeah, sounds good...OH WTF!!?
Used this video to confirm that my second pair of Hifiman Sundara's does indeed have a channel imbalance. Gonna keep my first pair. Thanks a ton for the video
With headphones another trick is listen to mono and wear them backwards: L ear in R cup and R ear in L cup. If the imbalance migrates to the other side you indeed have an imbalanced pair. If it stays on the same side its your hearing.
@@m.zillch3841 Yep tried that too and same results, it was the headphones.
@@m.zillch3841 Yes!!! Mono to ensure the source is balanced, switching to address hearing.
I find the more than most delineations of location excellent. As for off stage L and R, I found that was telling me something about my placement and room set up. It got better as I got placement and room reflections in better order. off stage tends to be more reflected sound anyway. It's off stage and the source is usually projecting across the stage. Just a thought. I use it with other demo tools but for LR find more useful than the more customary LCR.
I find the "off stage" sounds can be elusive. Sometimes if my head is turned a certain way I hear it clear as a bell but then rotating my head just a few degrees and it's gone! The effect only occurs on some recordings, using a specific mic configuration that's not at all common in all music genres, so I am not terribly worried about it.
The offstage come in very clearly in both ears, and there's even bleed at basic L & R.
There is bleed because this was made with a real stereo mic array rather than just by moving pan pots on a recording console.
This is the only test I can find that gives a centre position and not just left and right . My exact centre was actually off to the right by a good margin . I was able to move the speakers until the centre sound was accurate . Many thanks !!
Glad to be of help.
my go to video for testing my speakers after change of amps, dacs etc
After using my IEM for half an hour, I just realized I plugin the wrong side. Thanks
offstage sounds like it's behind me and halfway between rear and left/right. Is that where is supposed to come from?
Yes, sort of. It may be diffuse but it should seem to be somewhere beyond the L or R speaker, even up to your direct lateral sides. Not really behind you though.
For me the center comes slightly from the right. If i put it to mono it is fine though. Can anyone verify this?
I think so too because every time I listen to music adjusting this as the center everything is off to the left, when I adjust for everything else this is to the right
Yes I spent a bunch of time analyzing this and checked in Audition as well - the center demo is ever so slightly leaning to the right
omg. I thought I had channel imbalance on my new audio devices. Thanks a lot for confirming.
"Exact center position" is actually slightly panned to the right, for anyone going crazy over this. Compare a mono audio track to this and you'll see what I mean.
Out of curiosity, what device or program did you use to convert the passage "exact center position" into mono to apply said test?
@@m.zillch3841 foobar2000. Went into Options -> DSP and chose Downmix to mono.
Nope, dead center might want to check your gear
Nice video. my studio monitors have the independent volume so this is perfect for getting the center imaging with the speakers. only gripe I would have would be that it'd be nice if the left, center and right were longer on the video so I wouldn't have to keep rewinding the video each time but that's minor.
If you start playback and then right click the image (at least I know with most browsers using Windows) there's an option for "Looping" the video indefinitely. Works great.
Great video. Every time I calibrate the channels seperately with REW, I come here to check if the soundstage is still fine.
Good to hear. Also keep in mind that although a meter/app/program may show the levels are balanced, hence there should be good imaging, that doesn't take into consideration that our hearing isn't always perfectly balanced, even if we are "normal". Similarly if you ask people who wear eyeglasses if their prescription for their L and R eye are identical they often aren't. Also the pickup pattern of your Omni mic (or whatever mic it is) is fairly "omindirectional", our ears aren't: they favor certain directions and certain frequencies while discounting others. The final arbiter is your own perception.
Nice video to help level the LCR Speaker just right (also the surrounds) 👍
Thanks. Well, it may happen to provide signals for the surround speakers with its "off stage" L/R sounds, but officially it is just for 2ch stereo so I'm not sure you should trust it for setting the signal levels properly for the surround L and R.
The offstage right and left sound almost like they are out of faze
I think using the specific type of mic they used to make this in a sense, "yes", the L and R are out of phase. I know when you play this test in Dolby Pro Logic 2 that content is manifested in the rear surround channels even though this is just a 2ch stereo recording. DPL looks for the out of phase content in analog music and sends it to the surrounds (with a ~20ms delay added).
I was thinking there was something wrong with those positions. First I tried this test with my JBL Studio 530's, then confirmed the same effect with my new iLoud Micro Monitors.
Also, all the positional tests are way too short. This video is a great way to help people start tearing their hair out.
@@gramblor1 lol
Thank you for uploading, nice to see my system appears to be just fine.
Everything was perfect till off stage left, sounded like sound was also coming from the right. I have no acoustic treatments so may be due to heavy reflections. Tried to toe in a bit more, marginal improvement. Maybe left is out of phase. Will see this weekend. L r at 30° off stage for right sounds like it's at 60\70° which I think is impressive so the left being wierd is even more noticeable.
Offstage left sounds fanloid xydrick more with the opposite, than offstage right, i can hear the echo
offstage left sounds like its behind me
Ok, I chose not to bother with stands for my bookshelves but I just got a pair and I have to say, proper positioning does make quite a difference indeed. Though now I am experiencing some OCD about placing them in a perfect triangle lol.
Just testing my hi-fi system and this video is cool
I have only heard the offstage right once while I was standing at one particular position of my room, then I can never hear it again.
I wouldn't worry about that off stage content too much because, to the best of my knowledge, it only happens naturally from recordings made using a very specific two microphone array technique that is not used commonly in modern day recordings, including some classical and some very, very rare jazz. At least that is my understanding. Most modern day stuff places one mic at each instrument and then the engineers mix it together using electronics. That off stage stuff doesn't exist for those sorts of recordings unless they intentionally synthesize such content to be showy.
@@m.zillch3841 I think it is HASS effect,
Hello, Could anyone here help me? Center sound is almost completly muffled, but i'm using either headphones or a single speaker.
what ze hell, offset sounds right, but the centers (all of them) are biased right, no matter how much more left I place the left speaker
had to just move my monitor slighty instead
This told me what I needed to know.
recently fucked up my headphones, so this was a big help in checking to see if they were working right again. They are btw.
The directly out of the speaker position sounds more of stage than the off stage position on my setup. The Off stage sounds more like in between but i little out of phase. Why might that be?
When one's speakers are wired properly in relative phase/polarity the "off-stage" content sounds like the phase is greatly altered and very elusive to hear as solidly and precisely focused as the other five positions. [These results may flip if one's speakers are not properly wired in phase.] I'm not dead sure but I think this was made with a special design of stereo mic and importantly it does not reflect the way the vast majority of recordings are made today using multiple sets of mono mics, then mixed together at varying levels on the two channels, using a mixing console.
My headphones are on backwards.
oh my god they feel so much better when they are on the correct way
Thnx for uploading this very useful...
My center is to the right. Yet there is equal distance to the wall to the side and back of each speaker. How do I ensure center image?
I don't know what gear you have but they used to have a control to fix this common occurrence called "balance". Oddly many devices today omit it.
A slightly skewed center image can occur due to MANY reasons:
A. The source recording.
B. The source device.
C. An analog volume control knob with poor "channel tracking", so the imbalance (may) vary per volume level setting.
D. The room dimensions and surfaces.
E The asymmetrical room decor include rugs, drapes, and plush furniture which absorb sound and hard surfaces like wood, steel, and glass which reflect sound.
F. The speakers (or headphones).
G. The positioning/fit/seal of the headphones including their clamp pressure.
H. The listener's hearing.
Use an eq and make sure that your speakers sound as identical throughout the range as you can make them. I've learned in my experience that imaging doesn't just rely on position but that it is also frequency dependent. The analogy would be like light not focusing on the same plane on the retina. The same can happen for sound and making sure that your frequency bands sound identical is one step to proper imaging.
if you have an eq, use the test tone frequencies on UA-cam to make your speakers as identical sounding as possible. I suggest pulling up a video that matches every one of the slides on your eq. You want the sound level to match as closely as possible. It's tricky for the higher frequencies because there will be many more modes and nulls in the room. You may not hear some of them until you turn your head. You can only match to a certain level because the room itself will treat sound differently through the room, but this will get you in the ball park. Then tweak it with favorite recordings. Before you begin this, pick one speaker only and adjust the general sound to your liking with a favorite recording then proceed with the above. For example, set it to your left speaker. You will then only adjust the eq slides for your right speaker. Hope it helps. The more identical you can make the speakers through the spectrum, the better the imaging will be.
yep panning works, thank you kind sr.
I felt the offstage sounded perfected. Coming out of my Sterling m80x speakers, it sounded as it would if someone was truly offstage.
All positions seem spot-on except for "off-stage left" and "off-stage right, both of which sound like they are coming more from the center, ie. the OSL is coming in to the right of the left speaker and OSR is coming in to the left of the right speaker. Anyone know how to fix this?
Changing the front L and R spacing may help but the off stage images can be elusive even for the best speakers in the best rooms. Also, I have found instances where I hear it clear as a bell but then move my head just a half inch and it's gone!
I find when I turn my head 90 degrees towards the direction the "off-stage" location is being named, it actually sounds like it's coming from behind the speaker. When I'm facing forward, it sounds almost identical to the "left or right" voice.
the phasing of two high quality, matched speakers has to be spot on perfect, in an acoustically treated room for off stage sounds to feel completely correct. In a bedroom or living room environment just get as close as you can, you're chasing a unicorn, especially with large floor-standing setups.
Is it normal that the offstage sound sounds like it is coming from behind me?
The off stage stuff is elusive and I sometimes get it for one speaker but not the other. It depends on several factors including how precisely the L and R speakers match regarding in-room frequency response and the exact symmetry of the listening room itself including its decor placement and how that alters the sound reflections. I also find that my exact head position and rotation play a role. Sometimes I hear it but then rotate my head just a little and it's gone! Also I don't mean how precisely your head faces forwards, in fact I sometimes find the best way to hear the off stage L material is to face the R speaker, and vice versa. Keep in mind this off stage material isn't super important because only a small percentage of recordings even use the proper mic placement technique which will induce it in the recording in the first place. Mostly acoustic jazz with minimal mic'ing and some classical, but rarely rock/electronic.
bro i';ve been using this shit for years xD
damn my 16" Macbook is dealing perfect in this test. My bigger speakers on the other hand... needs work with their positioning :D
Offstage for me comes from center, what can this be?
My speakers were out of fase🤭 switched wires, soo much better!
works perfectly with HD660S2.
I was able to confirm that my Salnotes Zero IEMs developed a channel imbalance. I had to set the left channel to double that of the right in order to correct it
why is my stereo channel reversed? Left is coming from my right speaker
Is the wire meant to go to the L speaker errantly going to the R and vice versa? Or some other analog wire flip in the chain before it?
how does he move so quickly?
As the opening title mentions, this is a condensed test where I have edited out the transition time between the locations making it better suited for speaker placement/aiming experimentation. The original CD is called Chesky Records JD37 "Chesky Records Jazz Sampler & Audiophile Test Compact Disc: Volume 1".
The offstage left sounds like its coming from the right even when i have the speaker turned inward towards me. Other than that, every other sound is in its right place. Don't know if its this video...
probably is, same in my headphones
Now I am in your head and have taken control of your central nervous system. lets party, 🥳 I don't care if it's only Tuesday and you don't usually drink, where do you keep your keys.
0:10 hear the subtle pop on the right ear when he says midway?
Sublte? This audio is full of pops and cracks, but its ok since that is not the point of this
offstage left sounds like its behind ,me
now i am taking a nap upstairs
❤❤
👍👍
Center is +1db to the right vs left. Check it.
As I understand it, the much longer original Chesky CD track this video is condensed from is not an electrically manipulated recording done by the adjustments of pan pots on a mixing console from a singular mic, using an invariable test tone generator as the sound source, but rather a mortal human being, flawed in their ability to perfectly modulate their voice as they walk around in a room and face different exact directions while reading from a script, speaking into either a stereo mic or a pair of mono mics, likely uncalibrated. It is not uncommon for such situations, perhaps even the room acoustics too, to be slightly imbalanced L to R.
@@m.zillch3841 Fair enough. where can I find the full track?
Click @ time to repeat
off stage left @0:03
left @0:05
left-center @0:09
center @0:13
right-center @0:15
right @0:18
off stage right @0:20
Thanks. I intentionally made this video short and concise, only 22 seconds, so if you loop the video you'll be back to where you need to be, simply by waiting ~21 seconds. No keystrokes needed so you can stay planted in your comfy listening chair (sweet spot) with your head fixed. [To endlessly loop: right click the video image and select "Loop".]
@@m.zillch3841 I know, you did good. But I just need certain sound repeatedly and I can zoom out of webpage and see my comment and video same time so I can click at my time repeatedly to test specific sound location repeatedly as I tune the balance.
@@m.zillch3841 That's odd I thought I already replied. You did fine, I just needed a timestamp to click repeatedly to play specific position as I adjust my balance. On pc, if I zoom out of webpage I can see vid and my comment same time for me hold mouse and click a timestamp repeatedly.
everything was perfect except for offstage right, which sounds the same as right. I got work to do! Thanks
How did you fix this. I have the same problem.
Albert Loan not sure - now there’s the rabbit hole of “how accurate is this test recording” lol
@@albertloan396 move the speaker that doesnt sound "off stage" away from the wall/ closer to the other speaker then center the image moving it back and forth. Try toe in after you center everything.
@@danieljohansson3082 Appreciate the advice. Thanks.
Well my speakers are backwards
😲👍 My system is right
i think my in ear monitors are fucked since my offstage right is coming out of my left channel
The "off stage" parts are a mix of the named channel but also a fainter out of phase version in the opposing channel simultaneously, so it is not surprising that there is some content coming out of the alternate channel. At least that's my understanding.
Now I want to know how my AirPods pull off this trickery
Betting it's just positional volume adjustments
@@ewartsmith7490 Ya, thats the soundstage. With headphones is easy. You dont need to adjust nothing. This kind of videos are more for speakers. Stereo systems.
Sweeet!
And hence I discovered I had something wrong with my hearing
My headphones make things sound like they're behind me. It never passes in front of me.
headphones don't properly portray a stereo image/soundstage. Even high end reference grade planar driver phones don't seem to paint a soundstage anything like a mid-range set of hi-fi speakers or low end studio monitors.
@@thefloop2813 Oh yeah, you're completely right on the imaging part, but even my IEMs has surprisingly large soundstage.
Wtf why my right earphone sounds like my center...
useful. thanks
Mine is PEFECT!!!😁
offstage left sounded really good but offstage right did not, probably my window.
1643 Vada Parkway
528 Deven Cliff
Good but waaaay too short if you have to setup your system at the same time while listening to this.
Read the first line in the notes.
@@m.zillch3841 Oh ! My bad ! 👌
@@ArsenicShooter No problem.
@@m.zillch3841 I've put a thumb up anyway 😂
Sounds like Brent Spiner.
Hauck Hills
And now I'm very far off stage with your mom at her house.
029 Peyton Port
Please explain your post, person who joined Y T a week ago.
this was useful but far too short, give the listener some time to adjust and listen again
Read the first line of the notes: "Start play, RIGHT click the image, and select LOOP for continuous playback. "
3905 Hilll Alley
Edison Skyway
Hey, botty. (joined the tube days ago). What's the meaning or purpose of your post?
Tiara Pike
now i am in south africa-
0:13 👈. | Center sound bottom |
0:03 off stage left
0:16 Right side
0:20 offstage right
4642 Brandy Center
Yea I got hearing loss lol
5836 Anthony Prairie
0:13
1 db channel imbalance 😐
As I understand it, the original Chesky records recording (which I condensed down to just the key sections to make this quick video) is not produced electrically with pan pots: It used a stereophonic mic array with a guy moving around a stage recording his voice, so there is some expected channel bleed and imprecision.
oops
That’s bullshit. I use left and right only through tube stereo pre amp into tube stereo power amp into Altec Lansing 1974 speakers 10hz-20khz 107 db 1 watt at 1 meter. Close my eyes I hear great imaging of a sound stage orchestra. If I put on Metallica, it’s like being right on stage with them. But speakers are 150 lbs each.
0:13
0:13
0:13