How do I expand the sweet spot seating position

[davlee]

I have just taken delivery of Focal Electra 1028Be speakers which are driven by my Musical Fidelity A5 amp and CD player.
The better my equipment gets, the more I find that much better sound is heard by sitting in a very small optimum area at the right height.

When my wife joins me in the listening experience it isn't possible for either of us to be exactly in the optimum listening position. Is there anything that can be done to improve things for both listeners please?

Thanks,
Dave from down under in Oz.

 

[MikeToll]

Try experimenting with the amount of the speakers toe in.

 

[Gyp]

Buy a wider sofa?

 

[shafesk]

Hi, in my experience there are two ways to do this....without moving the speakers you could toe out the speakers a bit, this will result in a wider sweet spot. The other way is to move the speakers further apart and toe them in so that the tweeter cross in front of your and your wife's sitting position. As always these are general guidelines and a bit of patience and experimentation are requirement for your room.

 

[drummerman]

I have just taken delivery of Focal Electra 1028Be speakers which are driven by my Musical Fidelity A5 amp and CD player. The better my equipment gets, the more I find that much better sound is heard by sitting in a very small optimum area at the right height. When my wife joins me in the listening experience it isn't possible for either of us to be exactly in the optimum listening position. Is there anything that can be done to improve things for both listeners please? Thanks, Dave from down under in Oz.

As you move up the ranges, improved focus, more delicacy etc is the result as was clearly demonstrated when using rega electronics. Unfortunately that doesn't always translate into more 'musical' but thats subjective.

Dual concentrics and the likes often have a wider 'sweet spot' than more conventional speakers and if joint listening pleasure is important then that is probably something I'd explore or you can simply explore the afromentioned shuffling around of speakers. Otherwise buy a couple of pairs of good headphones!

regards

 

[chebby]

Try experimenting with the amount of the speakers toe in.

Yep. If room allows, try 'toeing in' the speakers a lot. (So that imaginary straight lines through the centre axis of each speaker cross at a point a foot or two in front of your head.

This is best if you sit at least 8 - 9 feet way.

Then try with those lines 'crossing' about a foot or two behind you.

 

[the record spot]

Drummerman's comment about dual concentric speakers is very true - I find the Tannoys throw out a very wide soundstage, and are very flexible with it, as in you can toe them in for a more focused sound or leave them a little wider out. Works well for movies soundtracks that are more varied and sounds appear from where you don't normally expect with a stereo setup!

 

[CnoEvil]

Drummerman's comment about dual concentric speakers is very true - I find the Tannoys throw out a very wide soundstage, and are very flexible with it, as in you can toe them in for a more focused sound or leave them a little wider out. Works well for movies soundtracks that are more varied and sounds appear from where you don't normally expect with a stereo setup!

I also agree, as an owner of Kef (Uni-Q).....so the design of the speaker will certainly effect this, as some are more "beamy" than others.

As others have said, it's always worth experimenting within the limits of your room (seat height / distance from speakers; .speaker width / toe in / distance from walls & corners).

 

[davlee]

Thanks to everyone for their great ideas. I can see this forum will be one of my favourites. I hadn't thought that further toe in could make such a difference. I have a lot of experimenting to do and already notice the huge difference this can make. If not doing a dedicated sit down listen, I have even noticed that toe out can make a difference to background listening from another room.
My speakers can only be a maximum of 7ft apart. Does this inhibit what I can acheive.

 

[hoopsontoast]

What you are hearing is a mis-match of the dispersion between the tweeter and mid-bass, KEF Uni-Q and Tannoy Dual Concentrics, like a lot of coaxially arranged speakers have great off axis performace (even roll-off) as the tweeter and mid-bass have very similar dispersion characteristics, much the same for speakers using a large waveguide on the tweeter, like the Acousitc Energy DXT Lens (Seas/Vifa) tweeter.

The only way to improve it using the same speaker is to play around with the toe in as others have mentioned, I currently have my speakers placed very far apart and the image crosses about a foot infront of the listening position.

You could also try some room correction, I have just started playing around with some, and even some corner bass traps noticably improve the soundstage definition.

 

[BigH]

Thanks to everyone for their great ideas. I can see this forum will be one of my favourites. I hadn't thought that further toe in could make such a difference. I have a lot of experimenting to do and already notice the huge difference this can make. If not doing a dedicated sit down listen, I have even noticed that toe out can make a difference to background listening from another room. My speakers can only be a maximum of 7ft apart. Does this inhibit what I can acheive.

7 ft apart is fine. Some recommend you sit 1.5 x that distance away which is about 10 foot for you. Some speakers are more directional than others so it plays to play around with positioning, its not only the sweet spot but soundstaging as well.

 

[GMK]

I currently have my speakers placed very far apart and the image crosses about a foot infront of the listening position.

I've never thought to try having the speakers crossing in front of me. Interesting

 

[hoopsontoast]

I currently have my speakers placed very far apart and the image crosses about a foot infront of the listening position.

I've never thought to try having the speakers crossing in front of me. Interesting

Best of all, its a free tweak

 

[GMK]

I've tweaked til I can tweak no more, so why the hell not

(liking the lighthearted username btw)

 

[hoopsontoast]

I've tweaked til I can tweak no more, so why the hell not

(liking the lighthearted username btw)

Cheers, came about 6 odd years back when I was a student! :rofl:

 

[GMK]

A student buying branded spaghetti?! Rich kid eh :rofl:

 

[hoopsontoast]

A student buying branded spaghetti?! Rich kid eh :rofl:

I had standards :rofl:

 

[GMK]

I have to admit a guilty pleasure, hoops and hotdogs in barbecue sauce, heated through with grated cheese on toast

Sorry for the slight deviation OP 😉

 

[hoopsontoast]

I have to admit a guilty pleasure, hoops and hotdogs in barbecue sauce, heated through with grated cheese on toast

Sorry for the slight deviation OP 😉

Interesting combo, will have to give that a go!

 

[GMK]

I need to raise my floorstanders about 10cm to clear some furniture. Perhaps I should use 4 tins of hoops under each speaker. Why didn't I think of this before :rofl:

 

[hoopsontoast]

I need to raise my floorstanders about 10cm to clear some furniture. Perhaps I should use 4 tins of hoops under each speaker. Why didn't I think of this before :rofl:

Thats what I am using on my DIY TT, tins of Asda value beans as they wont be eaten, dont want to sacrifice the Heinz tins in the cupboard :rofl:

 

[GMK]

Makes sense. More money for hifi :twisted:

 

[steve_1979]

When my wife joins me in the listening experience it isn't possible for either of us to be exactly in the optimum listening position. Is there anything that can be done to improve things for both listeners please?

You could get your wife to sit on your knee whenever you both want to listen to music together.

(Sorry I couldn't it :roll: )