Positioning and Listening distance

Hiflyer,

How did you treat the wall behind your speakers? Sounds like we have similar issues.

By the way, you might consider auditioning a BBC speaker like the Spendor or Harbeths. They were designed for nearfield listening, and they are very good in the vocal range. I own Harbeths, so I'm biased. But I love accoustical music and female vocalists. And, both the Harbeths and Spendors are very "sexy" in the nearfield with this type of music.

That said, I do need to tame my back and side walls.

My small room has made me a nearfield believer. I auditioned many two-way speakers because they generally have the best integration, but I craved more bass than any two-way could deliver. With three-way speakers, integration is tougher, but some designs/brands make this a priority and should be checked out. Even in a larger room, a nearfield setup can be excellent, since the basic point is to remove room reflections as much as possible at the listening position by having the direct sound from the speaker arrive long before any reflections. Look for 4th order crossovers and the designer's emphasis on driver matching for best results. I've also found that bi-wiring can be helpful in smoothing out transition fron driver to driver. Audio Physic, Totem and Aerial tend to be good nearfield brands, among others, although this brings me to the issue of side-mounted woofers. My experience is that the side-mount can create lots of problems loading small rooms, so, as always, take your time and try everything.

Dds_hifi,

I was able to pick up some acoustic panels wrapped in fabric from a local company. They had just finished treating a auditorium and sold me the extras for dirt cheap! My neighbor and I treated both of our rooms for $200.00! I am amazed with how much more information and detail I know get out of this little room... Good luck in getting your room treated. I am still searching for the best nearfield speaker.. have heard Merlin and AP are great but no local dealer;(.