This thread is done for me.
Speaker positioning and center image depth
I’ve been in so many conversations with people who boast of the depth of the soundstage from a particular pair of speakers to fall well behind said speakers, and others who claim the sound is very much more forward for some speakers. For me, I’ve found that most times, it just depends on how the speakers are positioned in the room.
I find a combination of just slightly too much toe in and just not enough distance between speakers in relation to the listener create a more powerful and forward center image and potentially a narrower soundstage as the speakers end up not taking advantage of the side walls. On the other hand, having the speakers toed out too little at a larger distance from each other results in a more distant center image and at times loses clarity.
Distance from the walls also makes a huge difference here, as well as how well the room is treated. And there are many variables that will change the way a speaker projects the sound.
Of course, many speakers do a better job of imaging a particular way over others, but I’m not convinced of generalizations made about these projections (how forward vs deep a speaker sounds) in reviews or forum threads. For me, it usually has much to do with how it’s set up in the room.
That said, I do believe some speakers play incredibly large, and others small such that the thresholds (toe in, distances, etc) are all variable, which help a speaker work in some rooms better than others. And of course every speaker imparts it’s own sonic character, some more open and transparent and others more recessed and warm, etc.
I’m curious as to other peoples’ reactions and experiences with regards to speaker depth/forwardness, and if they agree with what I’m finding or if they believe the speaker has a much larger role than the room the way I am describing. I’m always looking to learn more.
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If you have not got it look for the Roger waters cd amused to death first song if I remember correctly called too much rope. It was recorded in Q sound a room done right you are in for a sound stage treat. In my old house with my active bi amped Maggie's and the help of an old friend with a pitch perfect ear the sound stage depended on the recording but with the right recording the stage was wider than the side walls and as deep as across the street and so good that you could hear or feel if the performer was moving there head while singing. This was on a normal recording not the Q sound I talked about above. It is interesting how much is available in sound quality when you think in the terms of my speaker is a 32 second of an inch out. That brings resolution out and focus out as well. It is much easier to hear with the nore resolution your system has and the little changes done correctly are stunning. I personally like diffusion better than absorption I like the alive sound. That being said absorption or at least some is very important. In my new room I have a decent basic setup but I know it needs the two years of tuning a tiny bit here and a ting bit there. Each little change a person needs to listen to for a few days. One thing that I have found works well on the wall behind the speakers I'd a sheer curtain it should be close to floor to ceiling the amount of fold in the curtain and where they are changes the stage. More treatments are need o n that wall but your system will not sound as muddy after a person does that. Funny how a person doesn't think it sounds muddy until you take some of it away. I actually love the free improvements to one's system it just takes time and listening to accomplish. There's a bee gees live cd with sound number seven that they dedicate the song to Andy the crowd is stunning on that diec. And that sound in particular. A livingstone Taylor discovered where he whistles that is also a stunning disc and the sense that he is right in front of you and you can go up and shake his hand is wonderful. I believe that is a chesky recording. A friend pf mine I had over and he listened to my main system and he brought over a disc for the Mormon tabernacle choir recorded in the temple at Salt Lake that is an absolutely huge sound stage and I am not perfectly setup yet. Quite interesting I went to another Mormon friends son's funeral that was sad young fellow with three little kids anyhow first time I had been in a Mormon stake it was very interesting to look at the inside from an audio file stand point the walls were all treated with mainly diffusion when I talked to my friends afterwards the mother told me that everytime they build a new church there is an acoustic engineer involved. If you ever get a chance worth your while to look at what they have done acousticly. Interesting I went to support my friends and help them grieve and by keeping my eyes open I was able to use some of what I saw for my hobby. You fellows who live in cities with world class performance venues have a great resource both in hearing the music live and looking at how they are accomplishing there sound quality. A very nice bonus of living in a big city.
Regards |
@retiredfarmer Lots of great thoughts here, thanks for sharing. I love the Roger Waters Amused to Death album - I was only introduced to it in the last two years. Done properly, the first track "The Ballad of Bill Hubbard" has a full 180-degree wide soundstage. It's very trippy. "Funny how a person doesn't think it sounds muddy until you take some of it away." - Love this, as it all comes down to one's perceptual baseline and what they believe is truth. Making these types of improvements reveal new truths, which are often obscured even when you see music live. I think many audiophiles will agree that their systems often if not always sound better than live shows!
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@hifibliss that's correct I have the wrong song name. It's been awhile the horse goes around the room and comes through the center of the sound stage from across the street. Lol I had an audio file boxer bull dog cross. Lol he would sit deD center and setup and listen. Lol when I played this dice he would bark at the horses as they went around the room. That was a great dog. He would tap his foot in time with the music it was highly entertaining and very fun to watch. Lol I had a cat that loved Ann Murray the cat at the farm and an old basic setup would get up when the Ann Murray cd was over and push the play button so the cat could hear it again both of thos animals I found strange but entertaining. |
I obsessed for years over speaker placement, room interactions, treatments, this with both open baffle and box/ported speakers. And yes, this obsession paid off handsomely.
And then a few years ago, some Klipschorns fell into my hands, expecting the worst, corner placement required, huge wide baffles. And what do you know, wonderful sound staging and imaging right off the bat, nearly as good as my extremely carefully placed Merlin VSM-MM, a sound stage, imaging champ. Guess this points out meticulous attention required for some speakers, much less so for others. |
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