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Speaker Height / Tilt

What are the benefits / drawbacks of putting speakers on shorter stands and tilting the speaker up?  Do you run into phase and time alignment issues when tilting speakers?  
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erik_squires
16,183 posts
 
In case anyone is wondering, here is my reply:

If you mean dome tweeters, nope, they are directional, eventually. Worse, some suffer from resonance on axis which is dealt with nicely off-axis.

Now, the issue next is lobing. That is, how the tweeter's response adds or subtracts from the next driver down (in frequency).

With traditional multi-way speakers with a tweeter on top, a mid or mid-woofer below it, the sound is pretty good to the sides and below, but not so good on top.

Take a look at figure five in this review. Notice that at 4 kHz or so there's a significant dip at 15 degrees above axis. It's a little hard to see, but the reviewer put the cross hairs right on it.

Now, compare that to the chart above it, figure 4. To the left and right the drop off is equal and smooth. Further, note how much the top octave drops off axis. This is normal, off center response for this type of tweeter.


mikey8811
259 posts
 
@erik_squires so if the treble is currently excessive, which way do I tilt the speaker - away from my ears ie. up or towards my ears ie. down
spinaker01
491 posts
 
On the vertical access, you would most likely toe them in toward the center to minimize the side wall reflections that toe out would give you...
b_limo's avatar
b_limo OP
2,277 posts
 
I’m not understanding how a dome tweeter is directional... I have a d’appolito designed speaker.  How does that change things.  

But seriously, how does a dome tweeter radiate sound below its axis vs above its axis?  Am I misunderstanding you?  I would think that a dome tweeter radiates sound uniformly top to bottom, side to side...

And if its okay to sit below the tweeter and not above, can you fix that by turning the speaker upside down?  

Last, if its not good to sit above the tweeters axis, why are manufacturers making shorter floor standing speakers with tweeters below a listeners ear level?
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,318 posts
 

Measurable output decreases off-axis.  Just look at any of the Atkinson measurements of speakers in Stereophile.  Because of numerous variables, each model will differ in how a tweeter output decreases.

Also, some speakers are actually designed to be listened to off-axis (e.g. pointed straight ahead, rather than toed in).  Stand height and rake are other variables.  Just look at the instructions for setting up Vandersteens correctly.

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