Speaker placement Quandary
Where to begin here? My question is that in my experience with speaker placement I "think" that it is best to have your speakers well out into the room to achieve the best in soundstage width and especially depth? For example my Legacy Focus XD's are 6.5 feet into the room from front baffle to front wall. I messed with them quite a bit but never went closer to the front wall than that in fear of losing that well spaced out soundstage or emphasizing bass.. Imagery seems rather good as well. The "sound" comes from deep into the front wall not near the speaker plane. I see many listening rooms (in forum members setups, you tube, etc) that seem to follow this thinking and I also see some rather sophisticated expensive high end systems (in dedicated rooms so no WAF effect) that have their speakers just 1-2 feet off the front wall between the rear of the speaker. Is this an element of a different preference in listening? Wouldn't the soundstage become flatter? Is there some tonal advantages to this? I realize some speakers are designed to be closer such as some Wilsons and it seems many the the B&W's end up like this. I understand that locating speakers is room dependant and a huge variable too.
My speakers weigh 140 pounds each and I have them sitting on Via Blue decouplers so I cannot move them by myself and replace them on the footers, so I have not tried to move them closer to the front wall. Additionally they are rear ported and as I understand it's best to keep them away from the wall.
As many of you have probably experimented with speaker placements, what have you found that gives you that nice expansive soundstage and imagery in your rooms?
Also is it more an issue with room modes too?
My room is 14w X 18L x 7H My speakers are 6.5" out, 39" off side walls and 8 feet apart measured from center of front baffle.. My listening position is 9.5 feet (Of the side triangle measurements) from the front baffles and I sit about 4 feet off the rear wall. I have side wall treatments, rear wall diffusion, front wall diffusion and bass absorption.
I am not really looking for placement suggestions unless you see a real flaw here. I just wonder how so many different configurations work so well regarding less distance between speakers and the front wall? Thoughts?
Technically, no. :) You are describing having a dead end and most speakers don't do well that way, not just for frequency response but also for sound stage dimensions. This is why diffusion behind and to the sides of the speakers can so often help improve imaging vs. pure aborbers. So, while it's really good to give your speakers breathing room, having them too far away from the side walls may be detrimental. This varies a lot with the speakers and their dispersion patterns. |
When I first setup my 133 pound speakers ( on Isoacoustics Gaia 1’s), I put them on furniture sliders until I got close. And since I have a carpeted floor, I got some pieces of granite from a place that makes and sells countertops and put the speakers on the granite and the sliders under the granite until I had the speakers exactly where I wanted them. All the best. |
Re diffusion....I ran into these awhile ago, thought that whenever I've a space that I can set up in a more 'semi-permanent fashion' I'd give 'em a go... There's other patterns & textures available...not all that heavy, either. One could velcro to the wall to play about. These apparently sized to be hung from a suspended ceiling framing... One could perhaps apply over rockwool insulation for damping?
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