Toe in is crucial


I’m like the rest of us, obsessing about the smallest tweaks in power supplies, USB cables, cable risers, room acoustics, etc. But an underrated (or discussed) speaker tweak is toe in.

in my system (SF Amati, Mc components, Cardas, Weiss) adjusting speaker toe in by as little as ¼ inch has greater impact on SQ than many cable and other tweaks I’ve made at the tail end of refinement. The impact (and trade off) on sound stage, imaging, and treble presentation, by the smallest adjustments is profound.

I wasn’t quite satisfied with my system tonight—a little too forward; a narrower soundstage than I like. A ¼ inch toe in adjustment took me from hifi to the concert.

Not sure if others have experienced this, but thought I’d share.

w123ale

Correct - once you find that speaker position, a little change can bring the soundstage into focus.  Most people cannot find that position so they never her the change.

@xpsvwino. Do you place a piece of paper @ your listening position, mark the point and then move the laser to the other speaker? Was just thinking two of these units might make it easier (including setting points further behind listening position precisely)

Toe in is important, but too rarely do we talk about listening height. We are all of different stature and surely have different listening chairs. Standmount speakers are put on whatever stands with different footers, maybe backward slant etc. That is an important and difficult variable, the professional reviewers sometimes mention it, often not.

@fynnegan 

I raised my Joseph audio perspective speakers up several inches

on footers and a marble platform, and the result was a wonderful

Increase in height and overall soundstage scale.

I am well aware of the importance of toe-in in some speakers, but I have always preferred those speakers that work better with no toe-in at all, like my Totem Model 1 or Thiel CS.5.