Ever feel like you're inside a sonic flashlight?
That’s beaming—a focused, narrow dispersion of sound that locks you in like a tractor beam. Large panel speakers, ribbons, electrostatics—they’re often guilty. Sit in the beam and everything is sublime. Soundstage, detail, imaging—it’s like the band set up just for you.
But shift an inch or two and the magic vanishes. The vocals slide sideways, the balance shifts.
Hold your head in a vice, and life's good.
Over the years, I have tried and tried to revel in the unmatched sonic details afforded to owners of beaming systems like electrostats, but it's too much.
Beaming isn’t a flaw. It’s a choice.
