The manual for my signature 805's says the best location is like Beavis said, at the apex of an equilateral triangle. I always thought I should be farther back. I tried it then and found that it did sound best for me right at the apex.
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Depends on speaker.. some larger speakers must be heard far enough away for drivers to blend properly. I have to sit perhaps 15 feet away from my JBL L-200's. With my Chario Academy 1's I can sit only 6' away and the sound seems to be best even this close. The closer you are to the speaker the less of the "room" you will hear and more of the direct sound of the speaker. I would imagine with something like Klipch Horns you must sit a good 15' away since they use the room itself as loading. |
Here are a few links for your perusal: Immediasound Speaker Set-up and Placement. Immediasound is the distributor for Audio Physics. Audioasylum Article Setting-up Loudspeakers by Audio Physics For surround-setup go to the site below. Click on SACD. Look for the link called "Surround Sound Diagram". This diagram was designed by Emil Berliner Studios, the company responsible for mastering all the DG recordings. Deutsche Grammophon. Good luck. |
yep, all good info above. Basically, it's all situational/system/room/gear dependent! Some speakers need more distance from the listener. Some speakers can be placed further apart ingeneral, all things equal. While others need closer spacing, regardless. I've come across it all. Alot has to do with, yes, crossover desging(gernerally 1st order neeeds more distance from drivers to listener, 4th is the opposite). Also, driver spacing and layout(many small 2 way monitors can let you liten closer often, while multi way, even large Diappolito's need more room to build sound coherently together). And yet, there are more varriables. I often find, with two speakers only, yes, the triangle gets you in the ball park, at the very least, and you can tinker from there. Some speakers let you sit even closer however. So you must try if you like. Another often MOSTLY OVERLOOKED ISSUE is room acoustics and set up!...as hinted at above earlier by others. With a low ceililng situation, or where you're sitting back further, and or you are hearing more reflected sound mixed with direct sound from your speakers, you will be dealing with acoustic issues that will blur and smear your imaging, detail, dynamics, soundstage, and coherency! While in the opposite scenario, if you sit proportionately closer to your speakers, in relation to your room reflection points(walls/floor/ceiling), and thus hear more direct sound than reflective sound mixed with the original signal from the speakers, you will get tremendously better results in the afore mentioned areas!(imaging,focus, detail, dynamics, soundstage, coherency, etc). In fact, many people, especially those who use traditional "tweeter over mid/bass driver" design stereo speakers, are much much much better off if they can either strongly deal with their acoustical reflections in their rooms(thus allowing the original signal from the seakers to be heard with more purity), or SIT CLOSER TO THE SPEAKERS!...all things equal. Other more closed "focused designed" speakers offer more flexibility often. Still, how far that can go depends on speaker design paramaters, and what the manufacture deems is appropriate distancing. It's a balancing act bsically. So, if I'm using speakers that are designed(most 1st order designs need you to sit further back, depnding on driver spacing...my old Electa Amators had drivers sitting right on top of each other, so it didn't matter) to make you sit further back, you must definitely consider acoustical treatments/reflection points much more critically if you can't sit closer! With 4th order crossover designs, this often doesn't matter as much, and you can sit closer to your speakers, as with other designs. Basically, you gotta tinker. Good luck |
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