2. speakers
  3. 1412403243

perfect placement for your speakers

Have you ever tried challenging yourself to get the perfect placement for your speakers?

I have been trying to do this for my floorstanding Tannoy Cheviot (12 inch) speakers with a testing CD called 'XLO Reference Recordings Test and Burn in CD'. There are two tracks for testing in-phase and out of phase. While playing the in-phase track, a human voice reads out 'My voice should be centered between your 2 loudspeakers, tightly in focus'. Are we supposed to be able to hear the voice with a sharp focus, like a human standing right in the middle between 2 speakers speaking that sentence?

I only hear a human voice coming from the front of the room, not able to 'see' someone standing right in the middle. What should I do? I heard Tannoy's are easy when it comes to placement yet I've been moving my Tannoy's around yet still can't get it done.

Many thanks
Chris
chris_9
zd542
5,339 posts
 
" The out of phase voice is thin sounding and kind of floats around your ears. You should be able to tell the difference using the method Zd542 mentioned."

On a recording that normally has a very strong, vocal center image when everything is in phase, will sound like its coming from one of the side walls. You can't miss it.
chayro
2,976 posts
 
You should hear the voice totally centered and sharply focused. You shouldn't need absolutely perfect (to the inch) placement to hear that. If you don't, something is wrong somewhere. I assume you are sitting equidistant from both speakers, right?
zd542
5,339 posts
 
I forgot to ask if this problem only happens when you play the test CD, or does it happen on all CD's?
chris_9 OP
11 posts
 
You mean this one?
http://www.nordost.com/products/accessories/test-cd/test-cd.php
chris_9 OP
11 posts
 
Hi guys,

Thanks so much for the overwhelming replies.

In response to some of you, here's the layout of my listening room. Due to computer graphic limitation, I couldn't draw the speakers in a toed in position, yet they are toed in approximately 15 - 20 degrees.

http://s1152.photobucket.com/users/chris983/media/layout/smyroomlayout_zpsa97dc7f9.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

I've tried to draw in a close proportional as possible to my actual room measurements. Yet, if in doubt, the figures in the layout should apply. Regarding the material inequality on each side of the walls, I have hung up curtains covering all the windows and glass door so they will reflect sound waves in a roughly similiar fashion as the wooden walls.

Still, I can't get a tightly focused image of the voice, not even close. What I get is a very general voice from the front plane. The speakers didn't disappear completely. Yet, as I listened to the out of phase track, the sound obviously does not come from any particular side/ direction of the room;instead, the sound comes from everywhere in the room. So it's obvious that the out of phase sounds right.
More to discover