Is toeing speakers a bad idea?
I was toeing in my speakers and that seemed like a good thing to do. But then I decided to de-toe the speakers. I was hoping that the speakers dispersed things well enough and maybe they don't need to be focused so much to create a so-called sweet spot.
I found the imaging in the room was a lot better and sound improved. The room is a rectangular room and the speakers are placed at one end of the room about 3 feet from the wall. Room sizes 17 x 23 with a 7 ceiling. Maybe someone can share some rationale for this. I feel the sound waves may spread out better and not be so disturbed when they collide in a so called sweet spot near my skull.
My current OB speakers like about 5 degrees toe-in but as others have said it's really about adjusting not only the toe-in but the width of the speakers with respect to the listening distance. My other speakers, KEF LS50 Metas liked no toe-in for best soundstage as well as making vocals sound very well balanced without losing the detail. Overall, part of the fun of audio is playing around with speaker placement. |
Toe varies by room and system. Try no-toe, slight toe-in, even trying radical crossing of toe up to 10" crossing in front of the listener - - would have never believed it until my local 53-year-in business dealer showed me with a few AudioNote systems. The differences and results can be quite amazing. Try all positions. The generic methods and formulas do not account for your room, just try it all, listen, take notes for each position. My setup has barely any toe-in, and sounds best like this, for my room and system. You do need to learn to trust your own ears in good time. Take your time, try each position, listen carefully. |
1000%, its amazing how many times we can test something, thinking we’ll remember the results each time, then comparing to 5-10 other test scenarios, moves, and end up repeating the same tests over again IF we don’t have any notes record of prior tests and results.. For me, its a complete waste of time, and potential for do-overs, if you simply can’t take notes to record results, thoughts, and findings of each test case scenario. A few years back, I was testing 30 different pairs of vintage small signal and drive tubes in some different amps. Weeks later I’d go back and re-read the results from each test, almost in disbelief how things can be similar and so different some times. I also do this in case our mood and hearing changes too, trying not to leave another separate day of testing in the dark when comparing back to prior days. |
