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Room placement for Vandersteen Treo CT

I  am considering Vandersteen Treo CT's for purchase. In doing some research on them I read they are very sensitive to room placement in order to achieve their best performance.  I've some limitations on where I could place them in my listening room. My listening room is approximately 13'x22' with a cathedral ceiling roughly 16' high from the floor in the center of the room. eight foot high where it meets the front and rear walls.. The speakers will be located on the front long wall equally spaced from the center of that wall. There are a fair amount of furnishings in the room, furniture, built in bookshelves, a library table etc. 

My first questions is, what is the closest I could place the Treo's from the wall, I think "Johnny from AudioConnections" said, you might be able to place them as close as "seven to fourteen inches" from the wall, but I can't find the reference. Somebody else said wall placement was okay as it would reinforce the bass output, which the Treo would benefit from. I thought you were supposed to not put ported speakers near a wall, but these being bottom ported  maybe it doesn't matter.

The second question is, what would you guess to be the minimum distance they need to be from one another?  I have a four foot wide flat screen television centered on the front wall. I would love to be able to place the Treo's on either side of the flat screen, with the outside edges of the Treo's being seven feet apart, but am afraid this might be too close together.  I could place them another two feet or so apart, but the speaker on the right side would then partially block the view of a built-in in 120 gallon aquarium which would not be ideal, but doable.

What do you think?  I would appreciate your experience and guidance here. Thanks

Michael

skyscraper
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,870 posts
 
@skyscraper.....Richard and I share a couple of interests..airplanes and audio and he happened to be in the neighborhood- so why not make him work !!!!
lucky but the view makes the beach boys sound better! surfing usa!
skyscraper OP
827 posts
 
Well, Tomic601, if you and Richard have airplanes, and I do choose Vandersteens, you two might as well fly on out to Roanoke and help set up my speakers.

By the way, and nothing to do with anything, the Beach Boys "Surfin USA" was the first album I ever owned. My mother had won a $35.00 gift certificate at a local record store. My sister got "Meet the Beatles" the same day.. Our first stereo was a piece of luggage that had the turntable in the bottom half when you opened it, and stereo speakers in the top half. It was low, as opposed to hi-fidelity, but completely enjoyable at age twelve and started me down this path. Take it easy and enjoy the surf.

Mike
tomic601's avatar
tomic601
12,870 posts
 
...but seriously....

i built airplanes and other high tech stuff for a living..
Richard built and then modified a composite airplane that he flies..
this led him down a path of trying to get balsa end grain cores to bond to carbon fiber skins....which he eventually did - this is the magic behind his model 7 drivers and some similar things at work in the carbon fiber tweeter in the Treo CT which i think you should hear! 

enjoyed your lo-fi story ! Pet Sounds....spin that one next

ya never now... Roanoke setup trip, why not !
skyscraper OP
827 posts
 
Tomic601, I will definitely be auditioning the Vandersteen Treo CT, hopefully next week, at a showroom I've located in northern Virginia.

Sounds like you have had an interesting occupation building planes and hi-tech equipment. Richard sounds pretty interesting too, from your description and his applying aircraft technology to speakers. I appreciate people who know how to do things. 

I do have Pet Sounds and am listening to it right now at your suggestion. ("Wouldn't It Be Nice" at the moment)  Great album. Got their follow-up to Pet Sounds, the reconstructed Smile album, not long ago. 

Mike
ctsooner
2,480 posts
 
Sky, I sold my beloved Treo's to GNB.  I wanted him to come up to pick them up so he could hear them.  Sold on the spot! They were very close to the wall too.  Less than a foot.  They worked GREAT.  Johnny R set them up and he did a wonderful job.  I now have the Quatro's and they too are close to the wall (very close) and right up against the side walls too.  

I work with wood also.  I was going to do a really neat veneer (I had about 5 different ones I was thinking about), but ended up paying a spec more to get them painted in Audio Havana Black (the darkest brown you can find. It's a highly metallic black with a lot of copper metal fleck).  Stunning.  Everyone notices them, lol.  I had the cherry Treo's and as Bob will tell you, they are beautiful.  Tomic's are spectacular also.  What finish are you looking to do?
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