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Raising standmount speakers

My main system is in the media room and consists of Harbeth SHL5+ resting on stands that are 18 inches high (as recommended by Harbeth). When we were building the house this room was meant to be a proper media room. So we had the builder make a platform in the back 1/4th portion of the room to get the stadium seating effect. The platform is about 8 inches higher than the rest of the floor area. My listening chair (actually couch) is placed atop the platform. The problem is that in this listening position my ears are a little above the tweeter level.

I'm looking for suggestions on how to raise the speaker stands by 4-6 inches without breaking the bank or the aesthetics of the room. The room is fully carpeted by the way.

P.S. - please don't suggest removing the platform. We still plan to put a theater setup in there some day ... although, I'm running out of excuses to postpone the decision. I would much rather keep it as a dedicated 2-channel listening room, but the rest of the family is not too thrilled. The thought of just getting rid of the family has certainly crossed my mind though ...
128x128arafiq
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dekay's avatar
dekay
5,552 posts
 
Tilt the fronts of the speakers up a tiny tad.

If the footers on your stands are adjustable just raise the front, or lower the back (footers).

DeKay
reubent
6,978 posts
 
Couldn't you just try a pair of 24" speakers stands? Many available in that height.

Also, the suggestion of a bit of tilt should tell you if you are on the right track. You could do the math to determine how much tilt. Or you could use something like a drywall square to do it by sight. Place the top of the "T" against the front (or back edge) of the speaker with the leg at tweeter height. Look where the "leg" is pointing. Should point to about ear level at your seating position when you have the tilt right.
tom6897's avatar
tom6897
1,484 posts
 
Stand in back of the speaker with a small flash light or a laser pointer and hold it at the tweeter and see where it hits at your listening position. I have done this in my dimly lit audio room and it works great for level and direction. Some of the laser pointers even tell the distance which is great for us audiophiles.
arafiq's avatar
arafiq OP
1,662 posts
 
Thanks for the suggestions. When I said 'without breaking the bank', I meant no more than $200-300. So this rules out buying a new pair of taller stands unfortunately.

I like the suggestion of creating a tilt, but I don't need to tilt just to find out if it makes a difference. I can slump on the couch a bit to get my ears a few inches lower than the proper sitting height. So the truth is that there's not a huge difference when I'm sitting upright or slump down a few inches. The main difference is that the music gets a tiny bit more immersive and the soundstage gets a bit taller when I lower my head. But I don't know if I can justify spending more than a few hundred dollars to get marginal improvements.

I do have the ability to raise or lower the footers, so that's something I'm going to try first. My only concern is stability. 

@yogiboy -- thanks for the IcoAcoustics suggestion. I didn't think of that before, but this might be a reasonable solution if the tilt doesn't fix the issue. 

What do you guys think of using thick butcher blocks underneath the speakers? I don't know how they impact the sound though. Probably a bad idea but who knows.
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