I see a people talking about imaging and sound stage but is there a way to these capabilities of an audio setup without actually testing them? Maybe something similar to a frequency response graph?
I am bot that knowledgeable about audio but isnt imaging/sound stage a function of audio resolution? As in the lowest frequency difference required to produce 2 signals without overlap? Can a measurement of peak width for outputs at single frequencies be an indication of resolving power?
impulse or step response measurement will reveal some aspects of clarity.
THD and box resonance measurements are also useful.
there are other graphs that can be made that show what sort of lat and vert frequency behaviour the speakers have which will indicate some in-room behaviour but are hard to interpret (they’re space-dependent).
honestly a lot depends on what you want and what space you have. do you want 360’ stadium sound? or laser pinpoint surgical precision? there are graphs that will indicate what gear will tend towards.