Bay window behind speakers... a what-if question...

[tomlinmgt]

My problem with those types of pop/rock recordings is that the room ambience is not consistent. Yes, the drums may have a room sound but it's not the same room sound as other instruments. The sound reminds me of a collage. It sounds to me like it's a bunch of different ambiances glued together with the seams showing.

You're right about that...unless it's a "live" recording in the studio/recording space (which is rare these days), most all the instruments have varying degrees of reverb, making each instrument/vocalist sound rather compartmentalized. Still, one can get a sense of image placement upon the sound stage grid with these recordings that demonstrates a system's ability to make the speakers disappear and deliver sonic information from a virtual sound stage, albeit artificial.