Speaker toe-in & stereo imaging

If you go to our resource page there's a link to an article we wrote on speaker placement titled "Loudspeaker Placement Guide". One of the issues is toe in. It agrees with Newbee and Sean, just gives you another method of accomplishing the goal.

Rives Resource Page

Rives, your website has grown and improved substantially since last I visited (which has admittedly been some time). Thanks for providing a nice resource.

I think you're correct to assume that this would be speaker specific, but as others have mentioned don't limit yourself strictly to the manufacturer's recommendations either.

I have three different pairs of ProAc speakers and in their manuals they recommend toeing in the speakers so that only the front baffles are visible from the listening position. I've found this set up to yield a very precise center image without sounding bright, but I have always preferred to have them angled out a bit so that I can see roughly an inch of each speaker's inner sides. In my room, this creates a wider soundstage without sacrificing focus very much.

I've heard 104/2s facing straight out and wondered if toe-in would help them. I also felt that they needed a sub. How is the HGS working with them?

Where a loudspeaker has a line array configuration, like a Magnepanar, and the tweeter section is on the outside, (per Magnepanar instructions) this has the effect of toe in, so you may want to keep the speakers physically straight. But then I have heard some people say that they like their Maggies with the tweeters inside, which would be toed out. Go figure.

When I ran Uni-Q equipped KEF's, zero toe-in provided locked in, pinpoint imaging across and within the soundstage. Watching the KEF's images was almost as much fun as listening! Toed in, the KEF's treble seemed a little too much in my face.