I just purchased a Musical Fidelity CDP and noticed that my soundstage got narrower as compared to the DVDP I was previously using to play CDs.

My question is, will adjusting (decreasing) the toe-in of my speakers help me to regain the wider soundstage that I had before or is this a by-product of my new CDP?

I have not heard this particular CD player, but have great admiration for their amplifiers. If these pieces are any indication of the quality of the CD player, I suspect you are hearing your CD with greater clarity and resolution than your combination player. The sound of the CD player is probably much different.

You can adjust speaker placement to see if it helps. I am not entirely convinced it would, but it may.

Hi Anonymous,
Well, here goes. I replied to you the other night but couldn't post it because our message boards were down.

Yes, eliminating the toe-in of your speakers will increase the mix of secondary reflected sounds from adjacent walls and surfaces vs direct sounds from the speakers. If the speakers have inherently good lateral dispersion, then it will widen the apparent soundstage from your listening position.

You might try borrowing a duplicate CD and connect both your combo player and your new CD player, switching between both players instantaneously to see if the soundstage is truly narrower with the new player.

I'm deeply suspicious of some British design when it comes to the analog electronics; I've measured several brands from England that don't begin to meet their specifications of output power and distortion (mainly amplifiers and NOT Musical Fidelity). It's a remote possibility that the new CD player might have so-so separation figures because of eccentric design in the analog output section.

Try the experiment above first.

Regards,