All these brand related suggestions are meaningless.
Each speaker (sometimes within a common brand) has a unique dispersion angle in the horizontal plane. This is what you are addressing with toe in. You need to know what that is, both by reading (owners manuals) and by listening. This is when tape measure and string can help you map out this dispersion pattern within a space. Keep in mind this pattern is truly only in play near and around crossover, not the entire bandwidth so the further you get from the crossover points the less the spec is true. The spec defines the smallest dispersion angles not the widest. The purpose is to let you know it will never be less than the stated angle .
Once you get the horizontal angles (direct sound) mapped out, then it’s time to address the first reflections (called indirect sound, or the bounce). Using the string to determine (visually) the dispersion angle of your speaker in your room, you can see how much energy is hitting the walls vs your listening location. if its half the dispersion, you are in trouble. If it’s a tiny corner, its normal. Sometimes toe in is used to reduce this first reflection energy by lessening how much dispersion hits the walls. [You can actually hear this bounce by placing your ear an inch away from the wall. Have your ear face the wall to reduce sound that is not from the wall itself, only the bounce]. The degree of toe in will be less with a very smooth dispersion angle speaker (usually using direct radiators ie cones and domes) than a narrow horizontal dispersion speaker (horns). The spec for a speaker might say 110 horizontal but the real heart of the response may sound good to you across 90 or even 60. This is why listening is important, validating how good the spec is, how well they measured it, how honest they are, if they even know what the horizontal spec is. If it's not stated, assume it's so bad they don't want to print it OR they don't know how to measure it properly. Sometimes using pink noise is an easier way to hear bandwidth changes than music. Small differences in dispersion are easy to identify with pink noise.
Once the horizontal dispersion area is mapped out, you can develop a plan to deal with first reflections via absorption panels. Where a bunch of energy hits the side walls, this will mess up image big time. [This is why we say to get the speakers away from side walls]
Once that is sorted (not a trivial step) you can look at vertical dispersion. If you are out of the sweet spot due to vertical angle, it will the same effect audibly as being out the dispersion pattern in horizontal- Mid and HF will be reduced and you’ll hear less details, less image. With Vertical, the experiment is with different heights of stands or heights of seating position. Most times well engineered speakers are optimized with a down angle in HF vertical dispersion, so you are better off sitting below the vertical center axis, versus above it [this is why I never get people at high fi shows standing in front of speakers- they will NEVER hear it properly]. THis is also why we never want people to flip speakers upside down, the dispersion is now optimized to hit your ceiling. So vertical dispersion is more listening, educated experimenting, testing. Every speaker is different, just plan on that.
SO what you see in pictures of other speakers and toe in may have ZERO to do with your situation and your room. I’ve had the same exact speaker toed in severely in some rooms with bad first reflection problems and no absorption, The same speaker in a larger, good sounding room might have no toe in.
Brad
