WOW Factor

The surprise returns

The WOW factor is not limited to a first demonstration. Even after designing and tuning the system, I still notice it when I switch it on after a long break. I know what to expect, yet the scale, separation and clarity can still catch me by surprise. That recurring pleasure is what I mean by the WOW factor.

Sound without visible boxes

The strongest cue is often the central stereo image, where vocals are usually placed. With the crosstalk filter active, a centred voice can detach from the two loudspeakers and appear clearly between them. The eyes see two physical objects, but the ears locate the voice in empty space — sometimes with the impression that the front wall itself is playing.

At low frequencies, the dipole presentation can make changes in pitch, texture and level easier to follow. The result is the impression that individual bass notes and small modulations within familiar recordings are easier to distinguish.

Enhanced reality, not literal reality

Most stereo recordings are constructed rather than captured from one natural listening position. An instrument may be recorded with a microphone extremely close to it — sometimes attached to it — while other sounds are recorded from different distances, then panned, processed and mixed into the final two channels.

Reproducing that recording clearly can place the listener virtually closer to an instrument than any audience member would be in real life, with far more direct sound and less room sound. It is not a literal reconstruction of a live event, but it can be exceptionally vivid: a kind of enhanced reality.

That artificial perspective is not necessarily a defect. It is part of the recording and part of the artistic result. The WOW factor appears when the loudspeakers stop drawing attention to themselves and the recording's own perspective — natural or deliberately created — becomes convincing.

Happy listening!

Sometimes the simplest explanation is the best: it sounds as though the performers are already inside.