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Question on Speaker Placement

Based on the shape and content of my listening room, I have one speaker with a back wall directly behind it ( roughly 2') while the other speaker is backed by the open entrance into another room. What are the sonic implications of this arrangement? I'm limited in my ability to test alternative positions, although by widening the distance between the speaker by about 2', I can back the 2nd speaker with a wall. This would be about a 13 ' distance between the speakers. The speakers are PSB Imagine X2T. Hope this makes sense and thanks.

mysterioso1
acman3
4,250 posts
 

I recently listened to a person's system that looks like it would sound terrible.  One speaker close against a glass side wall and the other sidewall open to the room as you describe.  It sounded glorious.

So sometimes the rules are not as written in stone, although I agree there was luck involved with excellent system building. 

Just got to try it.

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rayray7488
11 posts
 

I had the same issue. I installed a barn door in that doorway with a nice 9 panel glass door. Looks great and takes care of the speaker placement issue.

 

ohlala
1,236 posts
 

My experience for monopoles is the distance to the back wall in conjunction with listening distance most affects approximately the 40-400Hz range. I use inexpensive acoustic measurement setup to more efficiently figure out placement, especially with the two variables. 

I start with the Jim Smith .83 ratio for speaker width to listening distance and experiment with that by ear before adjusting toe in. I totally agree with marking each placement as you go. Speaker placement is cheap but can take hours and hours of work, especially in the beginning. People learn as they experiment. 

avanti1960
1,480 posts
 

@mysterioso1 

If you measured the frequency response of each speaker independently at your listening position they would show huge differences, mainly in the bass to midrange regions.  It may sound ok, but each speaker is broadcasting a very different tonal balance.  Listen to one at a time to hear the difference.

The good news is that a wider spread can sound great, in fact that is what I prefer.  Based on the recommendation of a local dealer who sells speakers that like to be near the corners I tried a wide spread and now cannot live without it, kind of like an IMAX sound stage.

My ratio is 1.18 to one, meaning if your speakers are 13 feet apart, make sure your ears are about 11 feet from left ear to left speaker, right to right etc.  

To make sure you don't have any holes in the center stage image, play a mono recording and adjust the toe angle of each speaker so that the center image vocals sound full and even with a well defined image.  

Enjoy! 

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