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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
prof
3,471 posts
 

@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.

audiofilo123
77 posts
 

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.

daveteauk's avatar
daveteauk
52 posts
 

As @ghdprentice says - "Proper toe-in is definitely one of the critical basics of speaker placement", which I am in complete agreement. But one thing which no-one has mentioned; and that's to look at what YOUR speaker maker recommends, and start there. I use Mag 1.7i's and they reco that the tweeter should be closer to you (when tweets placed on inner edge) = toe in. Each speaker type has massively different vertical and polar response plots, so one cannot say that toe in/out for speakers is good/bad/right/wrong. It depends entirely on the speaker and the room. My old Apogee Stage used very little toe in, but these Mags require quite a lot. And TINY changes make a large and noticeable difference, and staying with panels, the tilt of the speaker; Apogee even supply a plumb line to get this right. And panel distance to listener MUST be the same - I use a laser measure, and just moving one speaker 10mm (3/8" to you guys) forward/back makes a BIG difference to the focus of the sound stage.

And, @ortodox - that is completely wrong. Horns require toe in/out/none adjustment too, as acman3 also says - I KNOW, from personal experience.

As for @incorrigable - What a load of balony (I couldn't think of anything less insultng to say, rather than what I wanted to say!) - BO**OCKS. Which can also be applied to your 2nd paragraph, more so in fact! WtF has Power got to do with anything here? NOTHING! And; "If toe makes you post here make your next speakers something that radiate nice and wide" - what ARE you on about?? Stop taking whatever you're on!

limomangus's avatar
limomangus
1,424 posts
 

Toe in Definitely but a 1/8 of inch to 1/2 inch , can make a Big Difference Really. Whatever....is it me ?

fredapplegate
101 posts
 

Great post. Absolutely true. I moved my speakers every week for over a year until my wife was certain I was quite mad, but at this point it does remind me of listening to music, which is all I ask.

Courage! Experiment! Play! Enjoy! If I can do it with my 165lbs speakers, you can too.

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