Placement of Martin Logan s

I have Requests and I find that slightly toed in with the outside 36 in from the back wall and the inside 32in from the back wall seems to give me the best sound. They also are about 36 in from the side wall. this may work for you as has been stated MLs are very placement sensitive so keep working at it. good luck Gary

Placement is very sensitive, but it's not nearly as simple as Musicnut put it. It depends on several factors including: size of panel, separation of speakers, distance of listener to speakers, and distance of speakers to sidewalls (probably in that order--but not necessarily if one item is out of whack--such as being too close to the sidewalls). There is no straight forward formula. There are a few things to keep in mind that will help place the speakers. One is the bass and panel should be seamless--if you are too close or too far from the rear wall it will not be seamless. So try to get this part right first--its the simpliest. Second is imaging--this is where these speakers shine. I like to use female vocals (Patricia Barber or Janis Ian) to do this part. The voice should appear central and should not spread across the soundstage. There are two critical positions here. The first is the distance between the speakers. In general it can be no more than about 5 to 6 times the panel width. You can get away with a little more with smaller speakers--but this is still a good rule of thumb. Then the toe in is important. To do this start with the speakers aimed straight out--the image will be difuse. Then start moving toeing the speakers in until the voice is central and easily identified (spatially). Go a little farther, then reverse the process. When the voice becomes diffuse you know you've gone just a little too far--toe it back in a bit and you're there. Lastly, be sure you aren't too close to side walls--at least a couple of feet and I would definitly put some sound absorbers on the adjacent walls for 1st order reflections. Another tip--use a tape measure to insure symmetry--it's pretty important for these speakers, and it's a lot easier than trying to eyeball it. Have patience--and good luck.

My CLS's are 5.5' from the front wall and 5' from the side walls. Panels are 8.5' apart (center to center) with slight toe in (no more than 2 to 2.5"). They actually worked -- well focused sound stage/center image -- farther apart, but I've added SW800 sub towers and had to move the panels a bit closer together. Listening position ranges from 9 to 11 feet, depending on material and mood. I have a fairly large, asymetrical room so reflections are not a major issue. I suspect they are with your speakers and room (based on the position/dimensions you stated).

Notwithstanding the fact that the Aerius is smaller, I think your speakers need more air, if this is feasible in your room. Best of luck.

I have a pair of Quest Z's. Once you think you have the placement dialed in there is another thing you can do if your preamp or integrated amp has a phase switch. If you can change the phase sit in your listening position & toggle back & forth on the phase; if you hear a difference in volume or sound micromove the speakers until you cannot readily tell the difference between in & out of phase.

I also own Martin Logan Arieus i,s and toeing them in about 2 inches seems to help.

I had a pair of Aerius speakers and found that it was very difficult to place them. It took several weeks of adjustments to achieve the best mix of accurate bass reproduction and maximum soundstage imaging. There are many factors involved in speaker placement, so my suggestion is to play around with the speakers until you achieve a sound with which you are happy. You will know when you get it right because these speakers will sound phenomenal. Good luck!

Well I think that as far as placement, toe in is the most important issue, unless your experience bass boomy ness, in which case it'll be much more difficult and you need to play around more. But I've found that with my Ascents, to get the best sound toe in the speakers so you can just barely see the inside of each speakers. Also 2 ft from the back wall should be fine for the aerius i

A lot of great posts here. ESL hybrids are fussy to set up. Patience is key but placement experimentation in your room is required. It usually takes me three weeks to a month to set up ESL's just right. I try to enjoy the process, listening to a given speaker set-up for a few days at different volumes before trying something new. For each set-up I record the distance of each speaker from; speaker to speaker, speaker to back and side-walls, and the distance from the speakers to the listening position. I keep a record of the placement measurements and my impressions of changes in the sound-stage and musical presentation. Remember, there is no accounting for taste and sometimes there are trade offs to be made. (ie.. when the speakers are moved beyond "X" inches apart sound stage extends beyond outside speaker edge, yet holes appear in the interior of the sound stage.) As I get closer to the musical presentation I'm looking for, these placement notes give me clues of what to try next. All of this can be frustrating and I make a conscience effort to remember to try to enjoy the process. You'll know when you nail it by the grin on your face. Regards; -Jerie