I'm sorry, you really have no idea what you're talking about. Many amplifiers are quite linear, and do NOT change distortion with frequency or level, until the approach clipping. Others, sure, they might be less linear. But to say an amp "can't help but alter the recorded signal dynamically" just proves you've never actually researched this first hand. NO, they do not do this, and if a particular amp does, it is broken or really badly designed.
The real question is how audible their distortion is, and that's a complex function of the resulting spectrum of the distortion, its specific level relative to the fundamental, and what other signals cover those products below the masking curve. Alteration of the noise floor is absolutely NOT a function of IMD at all. Noise modulation may be possible, but would be extremely rare, probably confined to badly designed power supplies in tube amps.
There is no analytical consideration going on there, just reampant parroting of mythology by people who have never spent any time inside an amp digging for the real cause of distortion. That's a life-long task, and does not involve proliferating mythology.
Well done Dave, that was the right chart once again then...phew...what a relief!
I think it should be clear by now...the OP's room is too small to make a big soundstage. And he also wants to do it with classical music, which makes things worse
I would like to hear from classicalfan. I think it is possible to do it right in different sized rooms, you just need to do it differently.
I am hoping he experiments with positioning, both the speakers and the listening seat. The results of the experiment could possibly point the way forward. If increasing the ratio of direct sound to reflected sound (by sitting closer) makes the three-dimensional aspects better, than that would suggest that a tighter directivity might help.
No, it can be done. I have three rooms with thre systems and one is in a room half the size of Classicalfan's room. All three systems have almost equaly very good soundstage, they only differ in 'scale' and dynamics. As a student I lived in a room of almost exactly the same size as Classicalfan's and I did have good soundstage, it is nonsense to say it can't be done, it only takes some measures. Many recording studio's and especially mobile studio's have smaller control rooms and that are the places where the soundstage of all your non-acoustic records are created.
Anyways, none of the last ten to twenty posts or so is going to be of any help to the original question at all. The question is how he can improve his soundstage by either bying new speakers or a new amp. Simple question, terribly complicated answers that can only scare him away and in the end result in... Nothing, Chances are he will be leaving to another forum. Once the OP of a topic is not being seen for a while it should be an alarm to the contributors that they are drifting too far off-topic. All the knowledge show-off most certainly isn't going to answer the original question so it is of absolutely no use to keep 'challenging' the knowledge or experience (if that's the right expression) of other contributors, it only creates noise
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OK, simple question, simple answer: A new amp won't do anything to the soundstage. New speakers might very slightly improve or degrade, but without knowing more, should be assumed to also not solve the problem.
The problem is acoustic. That's it, plain and simple. It has to be addressed by positioning and acoustic treatment.
Well, he will probably start another thread after few months, this must have been at least third or so, for the same subject or at least remember classicalfan talkin about the same subject on many occasion... Anyway, it is interesting topic and I recommend checking out the Griesinger stuff linked earlier, studying his work now and it all makes sense so far. Perhaps classicalfan is also there on his site, lots of stuff to read. Or perhaps he is busy adjusting the room and speaker positioning, or checking out the speakers, room and ears response and that it matches left and right above 1kHz. It is all about fooling the hearing system.
or at least remember classicalfan talkin about the same subject on many occasion... Anyway, it is interesting topic and I recommend checking out the Griesinger stuff linked earlier, studying his work now and it all makes sense so far. Perhaps classicalfan is also there on his site, lots of stuff to read. Or perhaps he is busy adjusting the room and speaker positioning, or checking out the speakers, room and ears response and that it matches left and right above 1kHz. It is all about fooling the hearing system.