Another speaker placement question. HELP


I have my system in a 10foot by 10 foot room which could sound horrible but the front and back walls are half walls so the room is actually a lot larger than 10'x10'. I had the speakers about 2 feet from the front wall and 1 foot from the side walls which was OK but we had our floors all redone so when I put back the system I put the speakers about 4 feet from the front wall and a foot and a half from the side walls. This worked but I found I had a lack of focus in the middle. I towed in the speakers which seems to have solved the hole in the middle effect but I thought I would ask advice on what others would do with this type of room. I am 6 feet from the speakers which are 7 1/2 feet apart but are towed so the tweeter frequencies would join somewhere behind my head. I think it sounds good but any advice would be appreciated. I'm running Hales T5's with Pass amp and pre .I have the front corners treated with foam as well as the foam on the side walls to absorb reflections. I have a good soundstage and it works but what would you do with a room like mine? Please do not say you would move the system to another room. My music space is my only option. Thanks.
mitchb

Showing 3 responses by rrog

Judging from the pictures you have an unusual room for sure and learning the room is sometimes the most difficult part of getting our systems to work the way we want.

The rule of thumb for many speaker manufacturers is for the listening position to be equal to the distance between the speakers. In that respect you would be sitting too close.

A speaker should be selected to work best in the environment where it will be used and the Hales T5 is a huge speaker for your room. It is also a huge speaker for how you are using it. With it's angled baffle the designer had a listening distance in mind and I am sure it wasn't 6 feet, so, you may want to play with the tilt angle and the listening distance to dial in the sound.

Your speakers are very close to the side walls and I understand you have a wall on one side and not the other. I think you are on the right track by treating the wall, but I don't know if foam is the right material. As I have mentioned in other postings, I have used Tube Trap products for years with excellent results.

You might try toeing the speakers to cross in front of you along with adjusting the tilt angle. This might work with your unusual room configuration. It never hurts to try.

I doubt that your system is balancing itself out after playing for a while. You are most likely getting used to the sound.

It is easier to get good sound out of small speakers especially in a small listening area. If you continue to struggle with the sound you may want to consider a high quality monitor with a subwoofer. You can select a monitor for near field listening and place the woofer where it will give you the best bass. You will have the best of both worlds.
The room isn't everything, but it's a lot. Every room introduces it's own character to the sound.

Trial and error is the best method to achieve the sound YOU like.