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How important is the speaker/room interface?

In my years in this hobby, I've come to believe the speaker/room interface is one of the most important elements we face in building a satisfying audio system. And while it seems there is a growing realization of this point (emphasis on speaker placement and room design), I don't believe it yet receives the attention it deserves. For example, some folks who have never addressed the sonics of their listening rooms may spend weeks and significant money trying out different wires when a different speaker system and/or room treatments could provide far greater sonic improvements.

I have three friends who have the same make/model speaker as I own. I've listened to each of them with the same or similar amps, yet the sonic results are significantly different. The primary difference is the rooms -- volume, shape, construction, decoration, etc. So while I've made adjustments in my own speaker/room to improve it to a reasonable extent, I know my speakers could sound better in a more optimized room based on this experience. No change of sources, electronics, wires, tweaks, etc. could effect as much difference.

I'm thinking about this now since I just read the HFN history in "Sound Bites" by Kessler and Harris. In a 1994 interview by Ken Kessler with Peter Walker, Walker is ask what he believes still needs to be addressed in audio. His first response is the relationship of the speaker and room.

So, any thoughts as to why the speaker/room interface is not more universally considered the top priority in building a system?
pryso
undertow
1,033 posts
 
The reasons are obvious as to this trend along with actual Power delivery from the wall being last on the list.. First off you can't just get online and get the immediate satisfaction of owning something new and pretty, or that is Highly reviewed and shipped out to youÂ…

Secondly rooms are the most expensive if you break it down and need to do it right.. Not to mention this is not an end user's capability to measure, and or construct and tune such devices in a room..

Any of us can pull out the credit card and drop the thousands on cables that we know how to plug in, the components that are suppose to be the next best thing, and the Re-mastered music software we feel will correct much of the missing pieces in the system.. Bottom line in the end, we all finally learn "I wish I just dropped 10 k on the room vs. the speakers in the first place!" But in many peoples cases this is not feasable, via the WAF rule, or simply other environment restrictions.. Yes we all need and deserve dedicated rooms :-)

So yes rooms can make or break any system in my opinion, and the real issue is about it that unless its done right some may never realize they can get the same or just as enjoyable sound out of their 5000 dollar gear as they could when they were forced to go up the chain chasing the trail of smoke and reason getting into 50,000 dollar systemsÂ…
guidocorona
4,298 posts
 
I can only echo what Dave said. . . I also got my Mahler speakers professionally placed according to the Sumiko MasterSet by Rod Tomson at Soundings. . . not only the setup made a world of sonic difference, but wife comments positively about the music more frequently than before. . . besides, she likes the new placement a lot better visually as well.
You guys of course know that Vienna Mahlers may sound boomy when not placed correctly. . . well, there is no boominess, nor sense of fuzz anywhere. . . sound is simply full, tuneful, detailed, crisp, and clean. . . and yes, my room is somewhat irregular, with a 6ft lonv 45 degrees cutout just to the left of the left speakers. . . and the left wall having very different absorption characteristics from the right wall. . . the trick is simply that speaker placement is not made by looking at their visual simmetry, but by LISTENING with your EARS and moving them very minutely -- according to simple rules -- until they sound correct/optimized.
undertow
1,033 posts
 
What is a Sumiko MasterSet? I looked this up once and never found anything on it....
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,408 posts
 
Yes, the room is perhaps the biggest factor, along with your ears/hearing (which biases your listening experience but you have no real control over this part) and relative listening position. If you take the room and relative listening position into consideration before going full hog on buying the best or most expensive equipment, you will zero in on highly satisfying results without having to break the bank. Then, you can tweak to your hearts content with the equipment that floats your boat from there.

Take a rock group, jazz ensemble, chamber orchestra symphony orchestra or soloist and put them in three separate concert hall venues and each will sound different. Or, sit in three different locations during the same performance within the finest venue and each location will sound different.

Why would anyone expect this to be any different with a home sound system?
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,408 posts
 
I forgot to mention speaker placement within a room as another key factor for optimizing sound in any particular room.

I tend to like point source speakers in moderate sized to somewhat larger rooms several feet away from rear or side walls best. I feel that something resembling this configuration is most commonly the most cost effective way to achieve outstanding results.

Line source designs or those closer to line source than point source can work well but these tend to be more expensive and also typically require larger rooms for good results.
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