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Speaker Help Required

I have a 12'x14' living room with a cathedral ceiling.

My 2-channel audio system is along the 12' back wall. I have a 6.5' audio / video rack which houses all my audio gear (mostly Linn) with a bookshelf speaker (Linn Katan) at each side of this rack (roughly 7.5' apart) sitting on stands (Linn Katan stands). The left speaker is about 3' from the side wall and 2' from the back wall with a powered subwoofer (Linn Sizmik 10.25) between the left speaker and the side wall in the corner. The right speaker is also 2' from the back wall but no side wall since it is an opening to my hallway.

Because of this setup, I’m hearing more of the left speaker than the right speaker. I tried different amounts of toe-in, which seems to help a little but I’m still not 100% satisfied. Some people have suggested that since the Katan are very small speakers, the subwoofer is not only providing the added bass but may be participating in some midrange too which is why I’m hearing more of the left channel.

Since I cannot move things around in my living room nor add a door to the hallway opening, I’m looking for a pair of “full range” floorstanding speakers to replace my bookshelves / subwoofer combo in hopes of rectifying this problem. Also, my wife is totally opposed to any “room insulation / sound proofing” idea since we use this room for entertaining friends and family and the décor is her territory.

What floorstanding speakers would you recommend for a $2000-$2500 budget that will help with my issue?
agiaccio
newbee
4,767 posts
 
Hey guys - I think Agiaccio's problem is obvious, even though he is complaining more of balance than anything else.

What does a woofer in a corner do? It booms! In fact I'm ammazed that his complaint was not about boom, or excessive energy anyway below 100 hz. IMHO it is the worst place for a music oriented audiophile who wants/needs a sub. HT is a different thing - those folks like boom. :-).

What he notices is the sub woofers contribution to the left speakers upper bass/lower mid range which creates an imbalance toward the left side. Move the sub woofer out of the corner and the problem will probably disappear and restore balance.

If he can put the woofer on the long wall somewhere, or in the center between the speakers somewhere, or behind the speakers somewhere, I'd bet the bass tightens up and the imbalance goes away. That is a guess based on probabilities, but if I'm right he doesn't have to spend a lot of money on bass traps etc. And if he can't move the sub woofer, I think he is right in his inclination to just put the sub in the garage and get floor standers.

I should have been more specific in my first response. Sorry 'bout that Agiaccio
eee3
214 posts
 
I have a similar situation, my room is 15'x 13' with catheral ceiling and opening on the right side. I have my equipment setup similarly. The only difference I think is I have about a foot(12in)of wall on the right side before the opening occurs. I'm using floorstanders with excellent results. Is there any portion of wall on the right side?
If not, I'm not sure if floorstanders would help or not. Probably would be a little better but still not ideal.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,318 posts
 
I have a similar setup but no similar problem, my sun room is 12'x 12' with catheral ceiling and opening on the right side. I have my equipment setup similarly, but no sub. I currently use Dynaudio Contour 1.3mkII monitors on stands there (see picture in my system) and have used Ohm Walsh 2 and 100 floor standers there as well.

I'm thinking just move the subwoofer to balance out the sound better as someone above suggested and see what happens.
blindjim
3,092 posts
 
Good thoughts Newbie...

Do go lookl at the rives website however too. the info there on what to not do or where problems can occur will be mighty helpful.

how about some really nice heavy drapes on a custom rod with hold backs to overcome that opening. They can add some flair and be pulled back when not listening.... just a thought... and less invasive way to help overcome the suck out that vacant wll is providing.
agiaccio OP
147 posts
 
All, thanks for all the great feedback / suggestions!

I did some quick tests last night, based on some of your recommendations, and below are my findings.

When playing music as is, the image seems to be coming from the left side of the room. That is, I hear more of the left speaker than the right. So as a quick test, I disconnected my subwoofer (which is in the left corner of the room) and as soon as I did the imaging was dead center. Therefore, it does look like the subwoofer is contributing to some of the midrange, which causes the image to shift to the left. Unfortunately, the sound seems a little “thin” without the subwoofer.

So now my project for the weekend will be to first experiment with subwoofer settings. If that does not work, I will see if I can move the subwoofer to a different location (maybe next to the right speaker). If I cannot find a suitable location for the subwoofer to get the imaging right, I may go back to my original idea of trading my bookshelves / subwoofer combo to a pair of floorstanding (full range) loudspeakers.

If I do decide to go with the floorstanding speakers, what would you recommend in the $2000 - $2500 price range?
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