Imaging Problem: Blinding Flash of the Obvious

Here's where a cheap electronic room correction device like a Behringer, etc... can work wonders. You can either install it into the system permanently and let it do its' thing OR use it to take readings and then adjust the speakers to minimize the amount of correction needed. If you don't notice the sonic effects of having the Behringer hooked up in the system, there's no sense in removing it and having to perform more manual labor. In a case like this i.e. where both the ceiling and side walls are quite different, you might find that the sonic intrusion of leaving the Behringer operating all the time outweighs the drawbacks. That's because you may never be able to correct for the room's odd acoustics even with fully optimized speaker placement and / or changes in your seated listening position. The fact that you can take the Behringer ( or similar device ) with you wherever you move to and that they can be found at quite reasonable prices is far more advantageous than trying to treat a room / listening area that is far less than a permanent residence. Hope this helps... Sean
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Good points and ideas by all.

RHL, I hadn't thought of the open wall issue, but it's important here because the right wall runs the length of the room (the exterior wall of the house), while the left wall is only 5 feet long before it opens into the dining room area. The drivers sit four feet from the back wall, so the left speaker only has a foot of side wall in front of it.

I think the first thing I'll try (if I understood Greg's advice correctly) is to push the left speaker back a foot and see what happens.

Any other ideas based on the lack of a left side wall are greatly appreciated!

Any ideas on how to fix this imaging problem cheaply?

Uhhh, how about moving you listening position to the middle of the image?

>> Any ideas on how to fix this imaging problem cheaply? <<

Uhhh, I know this sounds kind of obvious, but why don't you adjust the balance to the left until it sounds right to you? That's about as cheap as you can get...

-RW-

Not likely your problem. My ceiling height is 8 ft on the left side and 11.5 ft on the right and I have a perfect center image. A bigger detriment would be if you have an opening on one side wall and not the other. If all connections are correct, I would suspect you have a channel level imbalance. Try swapping channels and speakers and see if it shifts to the other side.

A slight variation on Ozz. Try placing spkrs at an angle to their back wall, bringing the right one (where the ceiling is 8) further out. Reposition your sitting area accordingly (it'll move to the left and will be slightly angled, accordingly).
Bring the spkrs parallel to each other at the optimum distance b/ween them (i.e. where they couple best -- which you obviously know by now). Then start toeing in by degree (i.e. very little) until you get acceptable imaging w/out bringing the highs too forward -- or any other phase pbs.

Hopefully that would help. Of course, IF slightly repositioning the sitting area is acceptable! Suggest you clear the matter first with the General (i.e. what many of us call the wife):)

Greetings, i have used foam from wallmart or any other department store and wrapped material around it. You can leave it flat or rolled to your needs.
Also, have you tried setting your speakers up by finding the center point of your room dividing the width in half and placing your speakers that distance from your seating position at 45 deg. You should end up with your speakers in an arc. Everything should be relative to room size and this should take care of imaging