Go to Vandersteen.com and click on to the 5A's owners' manual. In there they will give you specific measurements and graphs for speaker placement. I found this to be very valuable and can attest that following these suggestions make a very real difference. You need to measure, and do the math, but its worth it.
Placement question
I'm setting up my listening room again after some remodeling. The room allows 15' from (a damped and treated) wall to a railing that opens into a large common area. Seating is a sofa which, for decor reasons, must be flush to either the treated wall or the railing. This allows 2 possible set-up schemes:
1) The speakers can be backed up right to the railing. In this case there is a huge distance from the back of the speaker to the "phantom front wall" in the common area adjacent to the room and the speaker to listener distance is app 14 feet. However, the listening position is less than 1 foot from the treated rear wall.
2) Alternatively, the speaker can be placed app 4' from the treated front wall and the listener seated app 10' away -against the railing- with a great distance to any reflective surface behind him.
I'd appreciate any comments for the pros/cons of these 2 placements as you may have them for various speaker types. I'm curious mainly about which reflective surface (behind your head/behind the speaker) people focus on and the 10' vs 14' listening path, which I understand is speaker type dependent.
Thanks in advance
Marty
1) The speakers can be backed up right to the railing. In this case there is a huge distance from the back of the speaker to the "phantom front wall" in the common area adjacent to the room and the speaker to listener distance is app 14 feet. However, the listening position is less than 1 foot from the treated rear wall.
2) Alternatively, the speaker can be placed app 4' from the treated front wall and the listener seated app 10' away -against the railing- with a great distance to any reflective surface behind him.
I'd appreciate any comments for the pros/cons of these 2 placements as you may have them for various speaker types. I'm curious mainly about which reflective surface (behind your head/behind the speaker) people focus on and the 10' vs 14' listening path, which I understand is speaker type dependent.
Thanks in advance
Marty