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Seating height and bass

So my myriad of other threads seem to have me believing I have a null which explains the lack of low bass at my sitting position.

tonight I pushed the couch out of the room and used a chair instead. Bass was much improved but I realized that with the chair my ears are at tweeter height. Sitting in the couch they are several inches below the tweeter.

i stacked some books to mimic my height when sitting on the now displaced couch and started moving them closer to the speakers. I tried 6 positions starting at where I normally sit (relative to the front wall/back wall) and there were differences. However I moved that chair to the same positions and better bass in each spot (some more than others but all better than the books/couch). 
Anyone else run into this? Bass better when stating vs sitting? I wish I could borrow any pair of stand mount speakers and try this again to see if, what I believe to be poor engineering/stands for aesthetics not performance, is indeed the case. My speakers are on 24” stands but are front ported with a big 4” port at the bottom front raising the drivers up 4”+.
gochurchgo
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Everybody has this problem, because every room has this problem, because sound waves interact with each other and with the room to reinforce or cancel and this happens in all three dimensions not only the two everyone talks about.

The most efficient/productive approach is to try a lot of different speaker/listener locations. Listen for the best balance of imaging and smooth frequency response. But do not put too much emphasis on really low bass, because this is as you are beginning to realize a problem that cannot be solved. Not with just two speakers, anyway.

So you get the ballpark locations first. Then dial it in with absolute precise symmetry for the best imaging.

Finally, add four subs. These can be just about anything. They can go just about anywhere. The key is four, and in different locations, as the only solution to the room mode problem is lots of different sources.

Do a search for Swarm or distributed bass array.
erik_squires
16,201 posts
 
It's hard to tell if you are actually hearing a bass issue, of if you are just discovering that your speaker's output is uneven.


Try tilting the speaker back. :)


Best,

E
gochurchgo OP
923 posts
 
@erik_squires  tilt them back so they fire upwards? What should I be listening for? I think at one time I had them aimed slightly downward  thinking that would/could simulate being above tweeter height. 
I super serious as to what I sjould
expect with them pointed up.
jzzmusician
156 posts
 
If I remember correctly, most speakers want the tweeter to be positioned at ear height.  That would be step number one. 

The old leather couch in my listening room is 32 1/2 years old.  We bought it when we got married.  When I bought new speakers 2 years ago I spent a lot of time finding the "right" spot.  The problem was I had to sit on a couple of pillows to get my head at the right height.  I clearly made a world of difference, not only in the bass, but everything. 

I bought some sofa risers on Amazon for 20 bucks or so that raised that old couch 4 inches.  I figure I saved at least $1500 or more by not having to buy a new sofa.
Try that first.  And good luck!
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