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Weird Speaker Placement Configurations


My latest listening room has presented me with many challenges, because it is not only a listening room, but also a "music room", study and spare living room.

So fitting everything, including a piano, a big desk and two sofas, working around a glass pocket door and fireplace, while accomodating Magneplanar Tympanis has been no small feat.

In the end, my solution has me sitting with my back in the corner of the room behind the desk most of the time.

This has me wondering: could it be possible to successfully fire speakers diagonally across a room?

Obviously there has been lots of discussion of short vs long walls, distance from walls etc. but is it possible to create the classic triangle where the speakers vary in their distances from their respective boundaries in the room?

Or would this create obvious problems?

Of course I can also experiment, but experimentation can be a full day's work with Tympanis.

Has anyone stumbled into success with an unusual or unexpected placement of their speakers?

Thank you,
cwlondon
clio09
3,355 posts
 
This might help:

http://www.decware.com/paper14.htm

I've tried a couple of diagonal set-ups with both Spendor and Audiokinesis speakers. In most cases, you can get really good sound from this type of set-up.
drjoe
130 posts
 
A diagram of your room would help the Audiogon members who would like to help. Or at least room specs. How big is the piano?, etc.
Joe
blindjim
3,092 posts
 
My office setup isn't the best for listening... nor are it's dimensions... 9 x 12.

My desk is in one corner. One long wall is dedicated to gear resting on two racks. A closet and entry door are either side of the desk with racks of DVDs and visual aids and file cabinent to either side.

so my 'free standing' ear phones sit on opposing corners. Now and then I'll roll right a bit and lean back into the sweet spot... which is why I am seriously considering powered two ways to mount onto the walls to each side of the corner desk.

All my speakers though, are cones. Good luck with that.
cwlondon OP
1,210 posts
 
Very exciting news and thank you everyone.

I am overdue to update the photos on my system link. I will try to do this which might be an easier first step than describing the complexity of the room and everything in it.

PS

This thread also came to mind given the idea that a sloped (or irregular (?)) ceiling seemed to contribute to a good room.

So I suddenly wondered why I was so obsessed with perfect symmetry for all of my previous speaker installations.

Thanks again.
rcrerar
215 posts
 
Indeed the type of speaker positioning configuration your are proposing is, in almost all circumstances, more desirable and will achieve superior results to a symmetrical set-up. I am happy to see that there are some fellow 'goner's here who are familiar with this concept as you will rarely see this type of positioning,not just in peoples homes where it is understandable, considering the aesthetic concerns this type of speaker placement brings to a room, but even in high-end dealer showrooms where these types of considerations should have less bearing. In fact any type of pure symmetrical set-up placement where the speakers are equidistant from all room boundries will almost surely produce acoustical problems such as standing waves. There is an excellent Canadian high-end publication titled UHF that has touted this type of placement scheme with loudspeakers for years. So if you have an accommodating spouse or live on your own I urge all audiophiles to experiment with this type of placement configuration where the loudspeakers form a triangle with the corner of your listening room, I think you will be surprised by the improvement, in the overall performance of your audio system, that can be obtained by this method if performed properly.
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