Earle wrote:

Hey All,... I figured I'd contribute to this one since it was incidentally on my mind recently.

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I feel like stereo definitely has its place and will always be relevant. However, the second part is how well the source was mixed. If you recall the stereo versions of some Beatles tracks that were originally in mono, they were remixed into stereo in a horrible way (from an audiophile's POV). I will admit, the strong separation led to quite a successful novelty that still give smiles to anyone that listens. 

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My total unprofessional opinion is to have stereo, but maybe not have the L and R speakers quite so far apart,... so the A9 might be the best solution to achieve this. with headphones, you're quite restricted. Your source might have decided to place drums 100% in your left ear, which would never happen in real life.

An interesting experiment would be to butt up all your L and R speakers right next to each other and maybe just angle the out so slightly.

I'll have to wait for someone else to try this,... I have too many wires to deal with to give this one a go! 

Anyway, hope I've added somewhat... I hate staying quite for this long.

:-) What you express is much as I have come to think also.

For me stereo definitely has a place, but I have also come to the conclusion that while I love sitting down in the sweet spot and listen to music much of the time I listen without being in that sweet spot. This is why I have come to the place of even considering the A9, simply put if it plays all the music and creates a sound stage that is more that what a traditional single speaker does I imagine it will work well for the more unfocused listening. And it should also be a good deal better than my current way of bringing music to my bedroom, as that is simply playing music in the living room and letting it flow through the door - it is still music but...

Another experiment to the one you suggest which should be somewhat easier to do, simply try and aim your speakers more directly towards your listening spot. The precise effect will of course be dependent on how "pointy" you're speakers are, what reflections from your room does and all that but still it may give some sort idea on just how much or how little even small changes make. One can spend hours experimenting like that, fair warning once you get started you may find yourself moving around furniture to rey and change the reflections from the room also!

Going back to the original question which started this thread, that of a single speaker used for stereo reproduction...

Some single speakers, like those made by Sonos, can be used in a pair for “true” stereo.

Is there such an option with the A9? Can one use TWO A9s, each connected to one channel of a stereo system? To start with, I do not know at this moment whether the A9 has an “input jack” to allow combining the two channels or whether any of its wireless connections can (Sonos’s do) but I am also curious whether the “stereo” set-up of its drivers would result in some weird effects?

Some “single speaker stereo” devices manipulate phase relationships between the two channels to simulate a broader stereo image. I wondered if the A9 does any such processing.

To me the Beoplay A9 is not a single speaker.

There are speakers on the left and speakers on the right. To me that’s stereo.

As opposed to the A1 that is just one speaker.

Aussie Michael wrote:

To me the Beoplay A9 is not a single speaker.

 

 

There are speakers on the left and speakers on the right. To me that’s stereo.

 

 

As opposed to the A1 that is just one speaker.

I'd say so too. One might argue the left and right channel are too close to one another for the full stereo experience, but technically it's stereo. But some might judge otherwise: I remember when the A9 came out reading some comments it was way too expensive for a mono speaker...

toptip wrote:

Some single speakers, like those made by Sonos, can be used in a pair for “true” stereo.

Is there such an option with the A9? Can one use TWO A9s, each connected to one channel of a stereo system?

I don’t think this build-in option exists for the A9, thought it’s always possible to imagine feeding two A9 with left/right sources...

However, this option exist in the B&O app, but is only available to some speakers, not all !?!

For example, one can pair two A1 or M5, but not two M3.

Weird...

CB wrote:

I don’t think this build-in option exists for the A9, thought it’s always possible to imagine feeding two A9 with left/right sources...

I think that if you did this you would only use half the power of each A9. You would isolate the left channel drivers of one and the right channel of the other. Thus you would get “better” separation but not much else.

Hi,

For me, hi-fi is stereo, period.

The experience of “being there” is just impossible in mono.

I want to feel the 3-D atmosphere of the venue the recording was made at.

Our hearing is binaural and I see no point listening in mono.

I will never understand why those Bluetooth mono contraptions sell at all, just not real hi-fi to me (I listen to electrostatics mainly).

I’ve just found a nice Beogram 1500 and it does have two speaker sockets 😎

I'm not fully with you on this, Jacques... (or only partially with you if you prefer 😕 )

If you're listening to a single singer/speaker or musician, it's mono.

If you're listening to a distant audio source, it's mono (like being in the back of a concert hall for example)

If you want to be "there" (i.e. close to a multiple spreaded audio source, then it's a 2D/3D scene, and stereo a way to achieve this.

The BS Shape should be (is it really ?) a better solution than stereo as I imagine it.

Happy sweet-spotting 😉

MM

Millemissen wrote:

Happy sweet-spotting 😉

MM

Indeed, but when I listen to music I do nothing else.