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New Room Long wall or short wall?

For the first time in my life I get to set up a system in a new completely empty room. I will treat and furnish it as required for the best sound. After 40 years of this, I know what I am doing, but, not sure where to start. You guys and gals who have been through this before can save me a whole lot of trouble and time by advising me on whether to try the speakers along the short wall or the long wall. I know, I know, I should try both ways and see which works best. But, I'm hoping to save some time here fooling around and cut to the chase and listen to others who may have a definitive opinion on my question. You'll probably go 50/50, but, oh well, lets give it a shot.
Room is 9.5 feet by 14.25 feet. Much smaller than I would like, but it is what it is. I will be using components I already have so please don't tell me to change this or that to work with the room. There will be vintage EL84 tube amplification and a heavy focus on analog. Speakers are Totem Forests or Triangle Comet's if the Forests prove to be too much in this small space. Feel free to discuss that aspect as well. Thank you all in advance for any comments or ideas. If you want to keep it short, just simply vote: Short, or Long.
hifiharv
gsm18439
895 posts
 
I think that the size of your room may be the deciding factor. If you use the long wall set-up and pull the speakers out from the back wall, you may not have enough distance for the sound to become integrated. I use a long-wall set-up, but my Zu Def 4s are within inches from the back wall; and my short wall is 15' long allowing sound integration.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,883 posts
 
I'm with Ivan on this one: try the long wall first. My room is close to the same size as yours and I use the long wall as well. My speakers are about 10.5' apart and 1.5' out from the front wall and I sit about 7' back with my head very close to the rear wall.

What Ivan says about the comb-filtering effect mirrors what I've read about it. It goes something like this: if the distance from the back wall to your head is less than the circumference of your head (typically 2') than your brain tends to ignore most reflections (if you're ever lost in a cave while spelunking, stand as close to a wall as possible making sound location easier).

I have great side to side soundstaging with great extension forward the speakers and just average depth behind the speakers (there's always a trade-off) depending on the recording.

If you don't like it, try it the other way before you nail everything down.

All the best,
Nonoise
unsound
7,329 posts
 
I'd suggest (and use) long wall, but as has previously been mentioned, absorptive treatment behind the listener is a must. The long wall will usually offer smoother bass (the most difficult room challenge), and because of greater space from the sidewalls, offer better coherence and imaging.
minorl
1,016 posts
 
Here is an interesting thought? What does the speaker manufacturer say about the room dimension and set up. Most decent manufacturers will give their opinion on this in detail. I would contact them and ask. However, typically, it is in the speaker's owner's manual. This is difficult because if you are going to pre-wire the room with additional outlets, you need to know where your equipment will be located to eliminate long cords. Before consulting the owner's manual and contacting the speaker manufacturer, I would say put speakers against the short wall and take advantage of the long room for more depth.
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