Thiel Owners

Beetlemaina,

Sounds like you are edging toward how I listen. I’ve always preferred closer listening, away from room boundaries, which inevitably makes for smother more immersive sound, and better apprehension of subtle detail. Those more subtle details go missing from further away, and get lost in room bounce “hash.” I hear more of the individual tonality of instruments captured in the recording as well as more details of the acoustics/reverb of the recording.

The only thing that starts to fall away a bit more with closer listening is the sense of liveliness so I always look to maintain a balance.

Fortunately I have a really good room that is well damped (not too damped) and low in such factors so I can still use a further listening distance and still hear great detail in the recording.  But for soundstaing immersion I still like a fairly close seat.

I agree with Prof.  i too like more near field listening with my 2.7's.   i started doing this after reading some info on the Mapleshade site about listening position.  Pierre thinks most people sit too high and too far away.
i use a really nice and comfy Lafuma zero gravity chair to recline back so my ears are definitely below the coax.  i think sitting on a heavily padded couch might not be a good idea as i used to do that . my ears are about 7'10" from the coaxes and i get a very enveloping (depending on the recording) sound stage.  

my ears are about 7'10" from the coaxes

My ears were just a hair closer than 8' when I was on the lower chair. Previously I tried the couch closer, also with my ears about 8' away from the coaxes, but this was the first time I really experimented with a *lower* position. Next, I will try removing the couch cushion and try various pillows to lower my ears. This would have my ears about 9' away. That might not be the answer tho' as I *did* try a couple of songs with risers under the front spikes to tilt them up (this is how Vandersteen does it for differing listening distances albeit with changing screw settings rather than adding risers).

Interesting to me as I've mostly experimented with speaker position rather than listening position. I know Jim Smith recommends starting with listening position before starting on speaker positioning.

i point my speakers almost straight with maybe 2 degrees toe in.  they are about 9' apart as measured from the center of the coaxes.  ears are about 7'8" to the coax and are below the coax about 6".  please read what Pierre has to say about listening position.   it is general for sure but some good info here.  just avoid heavily padded chairs or couches right behind your ears (which is why i use the Lafuma cloth covered recliner).  http://www.mapleshadestore.com/freeupgrades.php

Most speakers tend to sound a bit more rich and full, emphasizing the midrange over high frequencies, when you lower your listening position. That is true of the 3.7s though for some reason less so of the 2.7s which seem to maintain a very even tonality over a wider vertical area. The 2.7s might have the most consistent tone over a wide axis of any speaker I’ve owned excepting the MBL omis.

I sit on a very large sofa that I had custom designed for deep seats and somewhat high backs to facilitate comfot and support for watching movies and long listening sessions. I specifically made sure the back supports my shoulders but ends before my neck/head so as not to interfere with direct sound from the speakers.

However I can recline further, feet up
on the ottoman, resting my head into the pillows. At that point the sound changes a bit from the reflections from the pillow around my ears, similar to when I introduce some more room reflection by moving my curtains off the side walls near the speakers. The sound brightens a bit, gets a bit more lively and present, a bit more expansive though less image focus. It can be enjoyable too.

But tonality becomes a bit more whitened and homogenized so mostly I listen with me back supported, ears clear of the back cushions.