First, the link to the Video:
http://live.audiogon.com/events/the2008/vids/Sanders_room.html
This is a great Video. Roger is sure worth listening to when speaking about ESLs.
His comments about dispersion have merit, but I’m not 100% sold that a flat front panel is ideal.
While a curvilinear panel will spread more sound out into the room and engage more surfaces, it does provide the benefit of giving first-arrival sounds to those within its field of dispersion.
Managing the room, as we’ve been discussing lately, is very, very important. Regardless of speaker technology, if the first reflections, rear wave cancellations, and general room bass modes are not dealt with, then any speaker will not sound good.
On general imaging, he mentions the fact that all speakers have a sweet spot (true) as there is one location which will have more direct, phase coherent sound than any other (with room sounds buried in the primary arrival signal). The problem is, a flat planar will give you that for sure, but will absolutely not do it for the seat three fee away. Whereas a curvilinear speaker does provide direct sounds to seats outside the sweet spot.
The challenge is, that speakers with wider dispersion will indeed engage the room more. This is why an ideal ML (Curved panels) room will have substantial sidewall treatments to help manage not only first reflections, but other reflection points that destroy imaging. (at the expense of what some call ‘soundstage’).
Stay tuned for an upcoming update to the room treatments thread where I complete the side walls.
Rogers speakers I’m sure are pretty awesome sounding, I’m not questioning that, it’s more a difference of philosophy based on my assumption that a slightly broader horizontal dispersion is a good thing if your room is well proportioned and treated.
If you are building a 2ch only, single seat listening room, then his viewpoint and speaker design is absolutely correct, as fewer room reflections = better sound at the sweet spot.
But if that’s where you’re going, then you might want to consider a pair of Stax ear-speakers.
My take is a good sound system these days should handle surround, allow for six or so listeners and provide a wide, neutral soundstage for the recordings.
