How do you listen your system? Front, mid or back

Thank you for your advice, Don. I appreciate it.

In all honesty, being the typical neurotic audiophile, I have done all of these things already. This is by far the liveliest room I have ever had a system in. But, I don't want to really react until I get the sofa, rugs, drapes, and everything else in there...

As an aside, my daughter and I recently completed building our DIY Room Tunes for the room that houses the main system. We used burlap and long hair carded wool, and due to the fact that the burlap kept breaking needles in the machine, it was 98% sewn by hand. It has had a tremendously positive effect on the sound. The harshness I was experiencing in the presence region, which overrode a lot of the other parts of the spectrum abated, and the mid - upper bass became tighter, punchier, and more focused. I began moving the speakers around, which has really impacted the sound, but have yet to dial it in as we have been busy with the aforementioned home improvement project. Ah, hopefully, soon things will quiet down, and I can get my bearings on the two rooms.

Trelja,

I've had a couple of well known acousticians (e.g. presidents of the Acoustical Society of America) as colleagues. A common practice both use to get a feeling for the liveness of a room is to clap and listen to the magnitude and decay of the reverberation. It may be quick and dirty, but it is effective. A room with too much reverberation will not image well; too little reverberation is repressive. You want to hear a sharp clap, but have it die quickly.

db

Thank you, Distortion.

In all honesty, it's going to be a bit weird, as with the new hardwood floors the room seems more than a bit shouty and forward, just with me talking to my wife. Hopefully, when I move the furniture in over the next week, and put down an 8' X 11' wool rug that will calm down. We're also going to put in drapes, replacing the blinds we have always used.

Hosting an audio group meeting in about 3 weeks, and I have no idea how that is going to sound...

I like to integrate music into my greater life, so near-field makes no sense for me. My SuperAbbys literally fill the 14x22 room with music, which doesn't mean I'm causing the walls to pulsate, and this allows me the freedom to be anywhere in or near this room to enjoy what I've got in the player. Both the dining room and kitchen are adjacent, so this allows even more movement. I suppose one could argue that this compromises/degrades the musical experience, but actually it allows me to enjoy the music I own in different ways. I used to do near-field, some years ago, but it exhausted me, kept me tethered to a small area. No more of that for me.

Nearfield mostly, I prefer it that way ...and my 2 channel room is only 11 x 11. I really dont have much choice in that room.

Nearfield, IMO, is more dynamic and immediate. Which are qualities I appreciate. However, I agree with a previous poster, that driver integration plays an important role in how well any given speaker will sound nearfield. I also agree that nearfield can more easily provide a wide soundstage.

Trelja, good luck with your new room. I hope it sounds terrific.

I listen in the nearfield. Pretty much big time. A buddy who comes over quite a bit once asked, "Why do you sit so closely to the speakers?" Well, for one, in my rooms, with the speakers out far enough into the room (both on the long wall of 13' X 15' and 16' X 21' rooms) that they satisfy me, I don't have much choice BUT to listen that way. I guess it just sounds better to me this way...

I am putting together a new room for the second system which will be putting us much farther away than I have been in a long time, more than 10' in all probability. I am sure that, along with a few other factors (first time in this room, no room treatments, a hardwood floor versus wall to wall carpet, etc.), things are going to take me a little while to get my bearings.

Totally system dependent in my opinion. I would listen to B&W Signature 805's with some classe gear up close and personal. However, I would listen to JM Labs Grand Utopias with YBA passion monoblocks in the far field. I wouldn't want to sit right on top of the Utopias.

Many spkrs do not gel at less than eight feet, it's all in the design. Some say if you're not in the concert hall, it's All NF!

I prefer nearfield. I've tried farfield in my room, but it doesn't work nearly as well. The biggest advantage of nearfield, IMO, is that it takes a lot of the room and ceiling height (if you have a low ceiling) out of the equation--which is good for those of us who don't have custom-designed rooms. Knowing what I know now, I'd be hard-pressed to listen any other way.