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
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?
I forgot to ask if this problem only happens when you play the test CD, or does it happen on all CD's?
You mean this one?
http://www.nordost.com/products/accessories/test-cd/test-cd.php
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.
TO Zd542:

I got these gears a while ago so have only listened to a couple of pop songs.Yet, I also tried the testing CD by Nordost besides the XLO one and the same results - can't get a focused image, sound is coming from the front only.

I have also tried hooking the speakers with my brand new CD receiver and the results the same! Does it mean it has to do with the speakers?