Five feet from the front wall


Just what does "X" feet from the front wall mean? Is this from the front of the speaker or the back of the speaker?

 

 

 

 

dsper

@mijostyn 

Good information.  My data came from a "good source" 30+ years ago,  Lots of charts and graphs and beautiful illustrations.  I was unmarried at the time and didn't have to "sell" someone on the concept of putting hand-built, 6'-4" tall, Alpine white (line source) speakers in the Living Room.  Now my wife just accepts them as part of me being me.

Thanks for the technlogy refresh.  Good to know I'm still trainable.

OMG, does no one on here actually read the OP's question? I have long wondered the same thing; When a reviewer says they placed the speakers 2 feet from the wall, are they talking front or back of the speakers? Almost no one on here seems to actually know the answer to this question. 

For the best playback clarity, it’s advisable to position your speakers at least 3 feet away from the nearest wall, measured from the tweeters. This spacing minimizes sound reflections, which can otherwise be perceived as part of the direct sound and adversely impact listening experience. Human hearing tends to distinguish reflected sounds less than 5 milliseconds apart as part of the direct sound. With the speed of sound measured at approximately 1100 feet per second at sea level, the minimum spacing required for reflected sound to be longer than 5 milliseconds is calculated as (1100 x 0.005) / 2, resulting in 2.8 feet, which is rounded up to 3 feet.

OMG, does no one on here actually read the OP’s question? I have long wondered the same thing; When a reviewer says they placed the speakers 2 feet from the wall, are they talking front or back of the speakers? Almost no one on here seems to actually know the answer to this question.

These threads start out about the OP but then the OP becomes non-relevant IMO.

Reviewers typically reference the back or side wall of the speaker when communicating distance....speaker designers normally mean the acoustic center of the driver for a measurement.

One challenge with going out 5 feet is that you are pushing down the frequency at which SBIR occurs in a box speaker. A SBIR dip at 50hz would take massive bass "traps" to bring up the dip...or multiple subs calibrated with DSP timings. 

If the speaker is 2 feet from the front wall, the SBIR dip may be around 100hz, which can be treated with bass traps behind the speakers...a 5 inch thick trap from GIK with a 5 inch air gap will give you almost 10 inches of depth, which should do well from around 90hz and up.