Location of compoments.
Hello,
I'm reading Jim Smith's book "Get Better Sound". He notes that, if possible, do not locate your audio rack between the speakers, better off to one side. I would guess over 50% of audiophiles have their equipment exactly where he says it should not be placed. Needless to say, I would need 20' long speaker cables to reach the farthest speaker. Not very cost-effective or practical.
Any thoughts? Do most have their electronics between the speakers?
My TT is between, a bit behind my sealed box speakers, with no discernible detriment. Driver Dispertion, Horn Mouth Design, Toe-In, and Slanted Back aimed inward and upward effects dispertion of vibrations, I posted some comments and photos in this about TT Dust Covers https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/some-thoughts-on-dust-covers
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So, to better answer the OPs question, I much prefer having the system to the side, and not between the speakers. In my youth, I had a rather grand system (Accuphase, bi-amped into big Infinity speakers) and it was to the side. I was able to "see" the soundstage between the speakers, looking into the front wall with wood diffusers. In my present house that layout cannot be achieved. Thus, building a dedicated sound room I can achieve what I believe to be best, and that is for having the system to the side of me and the speakers with the amp between them. The front wall will have high quality diffusers in the middle. A much nicer view of nicely done wood diffusers as opposed to a rack of electronics, in my opinion. |
@lovehifi22 I haven't read the whole thread so maybe someone else suggested this but i too read Smith's book and relocated my equipment to the side in a bass null, but i kept the amp between the speakers on a very low amp stand to avoid long speaker cables--so speaker cables are 4' long and balanced interconnects are 15' |
Leaving the amp in between is actually a reasonable compromise. It is better to have nothing… no amp at center. Typically that would be mean running dual mono amps behind or adjacent behind the speakers. So, if you can’t afford monoblocks, then a centered stereo amp is preferred, because it is better to do the long interconnect run between preamp and amp than to have long speaker cables. Systems tend to be more favorable sounding with short speaker cables with a centered amp than with long speaker cables. But overall… this is a pretty minor sonic difference in most folks systems. I have not done it in my current system. If I upgrade again, I will. |
