Glossary
Soundstage
The perceived spatial size and depth of a stereo recording when played through headphones or speakers. Wide soundstage spreads instruments left/right and front/back; narrow soundstage sounds compressed inside the head.
Soundstage is a perceived quality, not a directly-measured one. It's influenced by driver placement, ear-cup geometry, frequency response, and crosstalk between channels.
Open-back vs closed-back
- Open-back — perforated cups, sound passes through. Wider, airier soundstage; leaks sound; useless in noisy environments.
- Closed-back — sealed cups. Tighter imaging, smaller stage; better for travel and shared spaces.
What helps
Slight ear-tilt drivers (HD 800, ATH-ADX5000), large open ear cups, and a frequency response with a treble dip around 4 kHz (which the brain associates with distance). What doesn't help: bass boost.
For genuinely wide stage on a budget, open-back headphones beat closed-back at the same price point.
Where this matters
Categories that use soundstage
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