Electrostatic positioning 1A

I had a similar situtation in a previous home. I built two wooden panels that were placed behind the speakers so that the reflection was shorter than the distance I had to have, due to other restrictions from the rear wall. I also made the panels able to be tilted slightly and found that tilting them up a bit gave the best soundstage. The wood panels were about the same size as the electrostatic panel. The whole set-up was aesthetically very ugly--which may not work for you--but it did bring the vocals back into focus.

If you are asking about Soundlab A-1 speakers, there are separate controls for bass, mid and highs that are adjustable from each other. Add to that, the placement of RPG panels and tube traps greatly increase the ability to adjust the tonal balance and imaging of all types of electrostatic speakers.

I know from my own experience, that Soundlab speakers are best set up with the slider button on the bottom, rather than a spike. This allows you to position to within one fourth inch, without help from all your friends. Once long term listening has determined the precise and exact location you are willing to live with, replace the slider buttons with the spike.

Through much trial and error, I found that I could obtain my desired tonal tweaking with electrostats by adjusting both toe-in and tilt. Abstract7's suggestion also affords the ability to play with different sound absorption material on the rear panel which can be very beneficial as well as fun. Other "room tune" devices can help as well. With electrostats, it truly is a labor of love. Good luck.

The one thing I found out on very early on was make sure
the distance from the rear wall is different from the side
walls. For my Acoustats in a room 20 X 30, the distance from the back wall is 4 feet(sometimes 6 feet or greater, depending on whether my wife is out of town, but definitely not on a long term basis for sure!!) and the side walls 5 feet(10 feet separation between speakers seems about right, 8 feet sounds reasonably good, less not so good, greater than 10 feet, the imaging seems to be more imprecise). I try for live end/ dead end room acoustics with tube traps, rugs,curtains, book shelves, brick wall,etc. Toe in varies with the music, but usually very, very small(<15 degrees, if at all). Hope this helps.

I have Quad ESL 63's, and have placed 2' x 2' RPG Omniffusor clones (my DIY design, using Styrofoam, ask for details if you want my instructions for them) raised on stands to be right behind the panels. They worked beautifully, but for tall electrostatics, maybe Argent Digital Lenses would work better. One way or another, I believe you're suffering from reflections of thatvery strong back wave, and could indeed "have it all" with enough effort. Good luck, and do get in touch if you want any DIY literature: I have it for Argent Room Lenses too.

I second the notions of experimenting with toe (and even distance between the speakers) to try and correct the situation you've described. This proved to do the trick with my CLS's.

Tom's point regarding diffusers directly behind the panels is also a viable possibility as this is something that is commonly done over the years with CLS/SW800 systems. I haven't gotten around to it yet, though.

Aren't esl's a hoot when it comes to placement,(not to mention associated equipment)? A labor of love, indeed.

Perhaps this will help #1=Distance from the front wall: measure the hieght of your ceiling(inches)and multiply that fiqure by 0.618 that should be your distance from
the front wall... as for the side walls:measure the width of your room in inches and divide by 18 Next,multiply that by 5. That will give a good distance from the side walls.Electrostatic speakers do like to be on a tilt upward in the front of the speaker Toe in is very ,very important with these speakers
Hope this helps .If you find somthing better and it works, please feel free to share the info

I don't know if it's coincidence, but my Electrostatics are pretty close to Mp10019s recommendations. They aren't quite that far off the out side walls, but that's because of the projector screen, they actually do sound better a little closer in. How did you come up with that formula? Also, I measured from the top of my panel to the ceiling--is that valid or should it have been from the center of the panel?

Soundlab makes an acoustical device called the Sallie for just such situations - check their website and call to ask more specifics - they helped my image on some ML and Quad 989's. They are not cheap 975 or so per pair but it beat changing positions constantly ot upgrading things that made little or no difference in this area.