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Speaker distance and tow in?????/

My room is big / 18x30. But due to arrangement I can only bring out my speakers 2 ft from back wall..... side walls not an issue. My 2 main L-R are 8 1/2" apart ( center to center of speakers ) . How far back should my seating be? I "think" there is some "basic" math to work from for far field seating. In my "near fields" it is all equal.... as a rule of thumb. Tow in is another adjustment. I am just looking for some "basic" good info and hope I don't start something... You guys have spent a lot of time on these issues..... and I am glad to have your suggestions!
mlbattey
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
can you place your seating area (ear) 12' from the speaker wall? That's where I would start, giving you a greater distance from the speakers that they are apart. the ceiling and angualar shape will help in many regards, but the 1/3 rule will still give you the best starting point.
iseekheils
131 posts
 
If pulling them further out into the room is a problem, I would consider a different brand of speakers. A friend of mine has NHTs and they like it close to the wall.
It's either that or....how long have you been married?
Sonny
nrenter's avatar
nrenter
766 posts
 
Anyone else toe their speakers *out*? Because I sit (much) farther back from my speakers than the distance between my speakers, I toe them out just a bit.
bufus
149 posts
 
If you are toeing your speakers OUT, you are not really getting the on-axis frequency response that the speakers were designed for. i.e., if your speakers are 8 feet apart and you are 16 feet away, the speakers are already at a 14 degree angle if they are facing straight ahead. Even if you were 24 feet away, the speakers would still be at a 9.5 degree angle. This means that you could still toe them IN ever so slightly. The more you toe them OUT, the more reflected sound from the side walls you will hear. (which smears your soundstage!)
jadem6's avatar
jadem6
1,074 posts
 
I'm thinking you may be on a secondary node if the system sounds best with the speakers toed out. It reminds me of an old system I had years ago where I needed to tip the speakers up, they sounded best there, I have now come to believe this is because they sounded badly because they were not good quality, and thus the secondary node, as created through the room was less treble, thus a better sound. I figure that is not the issue with your speakers, so I'd try a number of possitions to see if there is a second place that sounds good, start with the speakers at 90 degrees.
Also the XLO burn in disk, or some of Sereophiles early disks, had tracks of white and pink noise to help determain node locations. When I first set up my system "by the book" the listening position had a node, it was 15-20 db lower than everywhere else, that's when I started to learn about the room and it's interaction with the system.
It can take a long time, but eventually you will find magic!
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