Nearfield listening - once more


I have a small nearfield pinpoint satellite speaker system, as well as a large floorstander speaker system, at home. I am intrigued by the fact that the small system does some things as well or even better than the big system. How can that be. A few questions:

1 - how can big speakers be tuned /positioned towards optimal nearfield listening?

2 - what are the main things to consider, to get optimal nearfield sound, with smaller speakers? (I already know that speaker stands and positioning are key elements).

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Showing 1 response by dutchdutchna

I suspect that there's some confusion over what the term Nearfield actually means.

Nearfield and Farfield are acoustic terms to describe the ratio of of direct vs reflected sound. If in the listening position you get more direct sound from the source than reflected sound from your environment (walls, floors, etc.) you're in the acoustic nearfield. If the opposite is true, you're in the acoustic farfield. In acoustics, there is no such thing as midfield.

If you're in an appropriately sized or damped space, you can still sit a great distance away from your speakers and be in the acoustic nearfield, vice versa.

As opposed to thinking about it in terms of of linear space or distance, I believe it's better to think of it in terms of arrival times. This is because whether or not your sitting near or farfield, both the direct and reflected sounds will ultimately reach your ears. The key difference is that your ear/brain knows to ignore late reflections that arrive after the initial source.

As for speaker manufacturers and the terminologies that they employ, it's pure marketing. Any speaker can be nearfield or farfield. None can be midfield.