Speaker positioning

[kmlav]

Just wanted to share some thoughts on my experience on the effects speaker positioning can have.

Originally my speakers were a bit close to the wall and very slightly toed in.

I was reading some stuff about speaker positioning , from pmc , that talked about trying create a triangle between the speakers and the listening position with the peak being behind the listing position. For my room it was not possible for me to get all sides of the triangle equal but I got fairly close. Once all the angles were set I experimented moving the speakers away from the wall , close = more base and further away = less base, until I found the right spot.

Once I had finished getting it right the speakers were much further into the room and angled in much more than you would expect. There seem to be two main sonic benefits. Firstly the bass is a lot tighter and less clumsy , especially a higher volumes, secondly the sound stage is massively improved making the overall presentation much more cohesive and all the instruments and vocals gaining a greater sense of place.

im sure there are many on here that have already got their speakers set up properly but for those who don't its really worth the effort

 

[matthewpiano]

Good post and always worth sharing these experiences. Speaker positioning is make or break so I'm sure your post will help a lot of people. :cheers:

 

[MakkaPakka]

now get all the duvets and cushions and pillows you own and put them behind and around you speakers, listen move them around and repeat.

Most people dont have the first clue about rooms and speakers and will never hear what their system can do and instead just box swap

 

[DocG]

There's a lot you can gain in getting this right indeed! I would add the correct height, with tweeters at ear height (which of course largely depends on what chair/sofa/... you sit in to listen) pays dividends too. Harder to do with floor standers, obviously.

Now I wonder: how far did you pull your speakers into the room to get the best sound? And is it compatible with daily life?

 

[kmlav]

There's a lot you can gain in getting this right indeed! I would add the correct height, with tweeters at ear height (which of course largely depends on what chair/sofa/... you sit in to listen) pays dividends too. Harder to do with floor standers, obviously.

Now I wonder: how far did you pull your speakers into the room to get the best sound? And is it compatible with daily life?

they were about 8 inches away from the wall and I had to bring them in another 12 inches. They are further into the room than I really wanted but its ok.

Talking about box swapping I was just about to start looking at replacing the speakers so a bit of care with set up saved me a few grand.

 

[jonathanRD]

There's a lot you can gain in getting this right indeed! I would add the correct height, with tweeters at ear height (which of course largely depends on what chair/sofa/... you sit in to listen) pays dividends too. Harder to do with floor standers, obviously.

Now I wonder: how far did you pull your speakers into the room to get the best sound? And is it compatible with daily life?

they were about 8 inches away from the wall and I had to bring them in another 12 inches. They are further into the room than I really wanted but its ok.

Talking about box swapping I was just about to start looking at replacing the speakers so a bit of care with set up saved me a few grand.

I moved my speakers in with 70cm clearance behind and to the side of them. I also put them on slate slabs which allowed me to make small positional adjustments without having to worry about the spikes (the slate just slides on a laminate floor - albiet with some effort). This took away the boom and improved the soundstage.

My wife was not too happy at first but she has got used to it

 

[bigfish786]

having just replaced a pair of Mission m35i which were rear ported with a pair of focal 826v which are front and downward ported, i have pushed my speakers back to around 8 inch from the rear wall. they're still running in, but sound fantastic and didn't take long to find the sweet spot at all. i messed around with the missions for hour upon hour, bungs in, bungs out, moving in and out from rear wall. took bloody ages to get them right.

the room acoustics is something i was aware of, but not prepared for how much difference it can and does make. having moved house, i opted for fully carpeting the room, and it took a long time to "like" the sound. having gone from hardwood floors, it sounded a little lifeless in comparison.

once you get used to the "warmer" sound, it is a definite improvement.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Thanks..Often tweaking but reminded by yr post - a few centimeters back and sounding good. Limited movement due to closeness of units and bass traps behind the speakers but sometimes it only needs a few cms. :cheers:

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Thanks..Often tweaking but reminded by yr post - a few centimeters back and sounding good. Limited movement due to closeness of units and bass traps behind the speakers but sometimes it only needs a few cms. :cheers:

 

[manicm]

This depends heavily on the speaker - some rear-ported ones can even tolerate close proximities to walls, whereas some front-ported ones can't. Some speakers like to be toed in, some don't.

It's a good mix of trial and error, and common sense really.

 

[DocG]

Then once you have the speaker position sorted, you can start moving your listening seat back and forth, and score further improvement! :cheers:

 

[bigfish786]

but you can't beat that feeling when you get everything just right, you play a couple of your favourite cd's (or whatever your source is) then, its not long after that you start to look at WHF for ideas of what to change next! cos, if you've done it once, you can do it again, and make it one better!

 

[jonathanRD]

but you can't beat that feeling when you get everything just right, you play a couple of your favourite cd's (or whatever your source is) then, its not long after that you start to look at WHF for ideas of what to change next! cos, if you've done it once, you can do it again, and make it one better!

Yes - but I draw the line at experimenting with speaker stand fillings and the level of filling :? - as one eminent formite suggested the other day

 

[lpv]

I followed this www.cardas.com/room_setup_calculators.php advice and it works with my Zensors