Another Zu Thread

how far apart are your speakers? Isn't how far back you sit dependent on how far apart your speakers are? I don't know: 13 feet?

My tweeter center is about 8 ft apart. so average would be 10.5 to 12 feet back, but I could do 13 and it sounds really good too with bigger sounding music…. Just can't permanently set up this way cause there is a Landing that goes up about 8" behind my chairs that are butted up against it right now leading into a hallway.

I suppose it's my preference, but playing around with distnace from speakers, usually leaves me (the further away I am)feeling less involved with the music. I rather feel like I'm in the music rather than the music being before me. My Definitios, too, are 8 feet apart, but 10 feet I find to be optimum. In fact, I'd move up a foot rather than back another foot if I had to make a choice. It's what works in my crib. Isn't that always they deal, anyway? Sweet looking rig, Undertow. Enjoy...peace, warren :)

I do have some room treatment, and quite literally this is very room dependent as well, but I get just an intimate sound with the right spacing and sitting from 8 ft, or 14 feet... But again I guess it depends on the way your room will carry frequency response. My room is FAR too small for Definitions no doubt, its only 12.5 feet wide so the further you get away the more powerfull everything sounds. I would consider a 15 ft X about 28 ft room more optimal, I use to have them in a 14 ft X 29 ft room and could easily sit 14 feet away with full spectrum results.

Undertow,

Thanks...you have probably already tried this but you may find hanging an ornamental rug or acoustic foam on the wall between and behind your speakers will help to add more depth to the sound stage. I was actually attempting to resolve some refections coming out of my fireplace (which is between/behind the speakers) by placing some thick foam in the opening, not only did I deaden the refections, I also I improved the depth. Now when I listen to John Rutter's Requiem the soprano sounds 40 feet away not 12...

Another interesting thing I forgot to mention is that in some cases I have unexpectedly found the best sound (flattest low freq. from 300 down) is in the very back of the room, it could be anywhere from 4 to 12 inches from the back wall. I was helping a friend set up a pair of Druids this weekend, we were using the long wall in a...let's say 16'X 13' room. When we initially set up the room, the listening position was approximately 2.5 feet from the back wall. I had the speakers about 101 inches apart center to center and 116 inches for tweeter to listening position and the the Druids were maybe 1.5 ft from the back wall. I was having problems with the frequency response being all over the place with readings showing +/- 9 db and shallow sound stage. I started moving the rta mic forward and backward to find the best spot (lack of room spikes and peaks) and sure enough we were able to move the chair back about 1.5 feet and bring the Druids out the same, bingo we had it...flat from 28Hz to 12,000Hz +/- 3 db and an improved sound stage. However to do this we had to have a friend bring over some acoustic treatment to put on the back wall.

Rule of thumb: Never forget the room is part of the speaker system too!

Again...just wanting to be helpful! This is only an opinion.

Ron