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Putting speakers next to other speakers

I have two systems, The main one at home which has B&W 800d3s, and the "less expensive" in my office (smallish) basement has Proac d100's. I am pretty sure my favourite speakers are the Proacs, but they are 200 miles away and will take some hefty lifting to bring home. My aim would be to put them both side by side at home and just swap speaker cables from time to time to test and then decide which set up to persevere with.
Yes I know it is frowned upon ... cross vibration etc etc ... in theory .. but IN PRACTICE can this work? The Proacs are big and are very close to my basement wall but sound great. From a layman's point of view what is difference between a wall and close speaker? I reckon in practice all will be ok - but it is an experiment that will take significant lugging around and swearing! Not something lightly undertaken.
I am not looking for technical reasons why I am doomed to failure .. I can read enough of that already. I am looking for the real world good news ACTUAL experiences which defy gloomy theorists. Both speakers are built as heavy as sin .. so should just be normal "room obstacles" that we have to cope with in a living room.
tatyana69
verdantaudio's avatar
verdantaudio
1,499 posts
 
Go to any audio show to see (and listen) to speakers placed next to each other.  Staggering is key and the speaker on the inside will be at a disadvantage.  You will hate moving the speakers around and making fine tweaks in the dozens.  It takes me at least an hour to get placement just right in a show room.  

It will never be perfect but it can be done and sound good.  Just don’t expect perfection.  
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
I am looking for the real world good news ACTUAL experiences which defy gloomy theorists.


Replace "gloomy theorists" with "experienced factualists" and you begin to get a feel for the answer. 

If you have two speakers that sound very different then you should have a good enough idea to not need to go to the effort. You'll just go with the better sounding pair. 

But if they are close enough you're willing to do the work, then do the work. What you seem to be saying is you're willing to do 90% of the work, getting them into the same room, but not the last 10% that will make the other 90% worth the effort.

Mull that one over. Your answer is in there. Trust me.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Okay technically you can put speakers next to speakers just fine. What you can't do is put cables next to anti-cables. They will annihilate each other.

Sorry, but I'm eager to see the postometer roll over 3000 and the quality is suffering.
erik_squires
16,041 posts
 
This discussion is academic, without a decent solution. What is your alternative? Are you going to build two rooms? Are you going to put them all on wheels, listen to one pair, then swap them?

I'm pretty sure the answer to all of this is no, so set them up side by side, alternating speakers from L to R so neither pair is entirely inside the other.

You will listen and pick the better of the two, or you'll keep both.

Also, of course, this being a basement, before you do this testing, treat your room.

Best,

E
simonmoon's avatar
simonmoon
515 posts
 
From experience, I know it is a compromise for both sets of speakers.

Bass not be as tight on both sets, imaging and soundstage will not be as good.

But if you do it, make sure you stagger them, so each pair has an inside and an outside speaker. Chances are, that the optimum position for both sets of speakers in the same room, will be very close. If you put one pair inside the other pair, one pair will be more compromised than the other. At least if you stagger them, their distance away from each other will be the same.  
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