Adjusting speaker positioning. What, if anything, to expect?



I am going to adjust my Magico A3’s positioning a little bit to try to optimize their performance and the listening experience. Due to the logistics of the room they’re in, there’s only a limited amount I can move them. I’ll describe the room and what I can do within those limitations. I’m wondering what improvement I might be able to achieve with adjusting positioning.

The room is approximately 14’ x 22’. There is a high vaulted ceiling. about 15’ at it’s peak centered in the room on its horizontal axis. Picture how kindergarten child draws a house. That’s the shape of a cross section of the room and vaulted ceiling.. The speakers are located about 8’ apart centered on the long wall. The front of the A3’s are only out 22" from the wall, the rear of the speakers only 9" from the wall. That can’t be helped. The prime listening position is on a couch about 10’ out from and facing the same wall, also centered. The components are on shelves centered and built into the same long wall the speakers are on. There are some other furnishings, and books above built-in cabinets, line most of the other three walls.

I can move the speakers about a foot farther apart or closer together, and I can change their toe-in. What changes, if any, might I be expecting or hope to achieve moving the speakers within these limited parameters? Could the sound-stage be affected? I’m not sure what the sound-stage should be like anyway. Should it extend to the left or right outside the speakers, or be mainly between the speakers? Right now depending on the recording the vocals and instruments are usually between or no further apart than the actual speakers. Could the treble, midrange, or bass response be augmented or diminished depending on positioning? Are there any other factors that may be affected by positioning alone? Thank you for any guidance and please feel free to ask any questions. Thanks,

Mike
skyscraper

Showing 3 responses by richopp

If you really wanna have fun. buy some actually accurate speakers from Magnepan that only reproduce what you send them and set those up in a given room.

Cheers,

Richard
@skyscraper Well, man, sometimes the truth hurts, right?

Being openly prejudiced is one of my many, many failings in life, but hey, you only go around once, right (as far as we know, anyway,,,) so you might as well have the best!

Obviously this is all meant as lighthearted fun...whatever speakers you have will need to be set-up carefully IN YOUR ROOM, and you should audition whatever equipment you are thinking of buying in that same room.

Speaker set-up is sometimes difficult, and the various ways presented here are probably OK.  Stereophile had a CD for setup at one time, I believe, and even my Denon home theatre system came with a microphone to help me set it up IN MY ROOM, although I made some manual changes later.

The point is, obviously, use whatever you can to help you obtain the sound of the music that YOU love.

It just happens that Maggies are the only way to get the BEST sound...uh oh, here we go again!

Cheers,

Richard
@skyscraper Sorry to hear that you were not able to get into Maggies due to size.  I completely understand as this occurred many times back in the day when I had my shop.  We also made solid wood cabinets and furniture for housing equipment, and I can tell you that there were many "discussions" in the shop about what was acceptable and what was not.

Today, Magnepan has many different models of various sizes, but I get that you are keeping what you have.

I am sure you will eventually get them positioned to your satisfaction and be sure to keep enjoying the music, which is what this is all about.

Cheers,

Richard