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Another speaker placement question. HELP

I have my system in a 10foot by 10 foot room which could sound horrible but the front and back walls are half walls so the room is actually a lot larger than 10'x10'. I had the speakers about 2 feet from the front wall and 1 foot from the side walls which was OK but we had our floors all redone so when I put back the system I put the speakers about 4 feet from the front wall and a foot and a half from the side walls. This worked but I found I had a lack of focus in the middle. I towed in the speakers which seems to have solved the hole in the middle effect but I thought I would ask advice on what others would do with this type of room. I am 6 feet from the speakers which are 7 1/2 feet apart but are towed so the tweeter frequencies would join somewhere behind my head. I think it sounds good but any advice would be appreciated. I'm running Hales T5's with Pass amp and pre .I have the front corners treated with foam as well as the foam on the side walls to absorb reflections. I have a good soundstage and it works but what would you do with a room like mine? Please do not say you would move the system to another room. My music space is my only option. Thanks.
mitchb
newbee
4,824 posts
 
Go to your hardware store and get some 'furniture movers', for lack of a better term, which are plastic faced rubber discs which you place under the corners of the speakers base. Then you can just slide them around to your hearts content. Mark or chart the locations which can work as you go. Mark the final location, remove the discs and you are ready to go.

Go to Radio Shack or the Internet and buy a SPL (sound pressure level) meter. Get a test disc, such as sold by Stereophile, which has test tones so you can measure the FR as heard at your listening position. This will really speed up finding the best location for bass response. BTW, don't forget that the location of the listening position is important for the bass (and rest) of the FR.

It takes a long time to find the best location for speakers - so don't think you are going to pin it down the first few times. I've usually set mine up to give the best bass response by moving the speakers and listening seat and then fine tuned the mid/upper frequencies by just moving the speakers. BTW inches count. It doesn't have to be feet.

Setting up speakers ain't magic, it's just hard work, done methodically and documented, to get it right! :-)
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Your speaker is too big for your listening area.

cerrot's avatar
cerrot
1,700 posts
 
Yep-speakers are way to big. You may be able to "cheat" the room by putting the speakers on the half wall. The gear between the speakers doesn't help, either. How about investing in a Behringer Digital EQ (if you're on Long Island, NY, I will lend you mine) and spray the room with some noise and see what the curve looks like and compensate with the EQ? If it works, I will probably donate it to you.
mitchb's avatar
mitchb OP
339 posts
 
I am in Canada but thanks for the offer. My system is way to big for that space but it does sound quite nice. To sell my Hales would be a huge loss but the sound is good regardless. I had a friend come by who gave me some advice and I basically pushed the speakers back 3 feet from the front wall and 2 feet from the side wall. I measure from
the front wall to the mid of the woofer and I measure the side walls to the midline of the speakers. I am getting better centre focus but the bass is less tight. It's a compramise I suppose.
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