question about speaker placement. dead end room?


sorry for what may seem like a stupid question but here it is anyway. my "hi-fi mentor" came over yesterday to give a listen to my new system upgrades and tweeks. recently upgraded my power lines and cords along with IC's and speaker cable (still waiting for one final IC and power cord but i'm 90% there).

he stated that regardless of what i upgrade and how good i think it sounds, my speaker placement is too close to the rear wall. he said i shouldn't bother upgrading anymore until this can be resolved (waste of money until i get the speaker position right in his opinion) my aerial 7b's are about 14 inches off the wall measuring from the rear port and 28 inches if measuring from the front woofer. the room is such that even testing the aerial's at a "good distance" off given wall is impossible. my listening position would be way too close.

i use a velodyne dd12 which comes with a very useful/in depth tuning kit. spent many hours with this kit and finally got a pretty flat curve in the end (which also happened to sound right/good to my ears). it did take alot of work to get rid of a few huge base peaks, but i did get them hammered out eventually.

there is no way to put the aerial's in a postion that meets the general guidelines of speaker placement...per the cardas web site and other resources. would need to relocate the entire system to a different room and install a new dedicated ac line. neither of which is something i want to do.

my question is....

do i really have a "dead end room" where i've basically gone as far as i can go?. am i wasting my money on these IC and power source upgrades when such a glaring "sin" is present in my system.

like i said before....i think my system sounds pretty good. just wondering if i'm spinning my wheels (and tossing money away) by pushing forward with small, incremental upgrades and tweeks.
levy03

Showing 6 responses by levy03

thanks Reubent. should have mentioned that my speakers are about 10 feet apart due to a doorway and HT. if i move the 7b's 4 feet off the rear wall, i'd be about 6 feet away listening, but they would still be 10-ish feet apart. take a look at the pic's of my system and maybe it will become clearer (large wood coffee table is usually where my gaming seat is in the pic). and yes....the speakers would be almost in the center of the room. not something i could pull off while still enjoying the room. my buddy said i was trying to make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t, with regards to this room. lol!
looks like i've got some more reading to do.

pulled out my old Boston Acoustic VR60's. they'll be perfect for HT front use. already have a nice leather chair for the new listening position too. will keep the couch aimed at the TV.

plan on moving stuff around next weekend.

i have a feeling this is gonna work out great. a fantastic idea that won't cost alot. can't thank you enough Rich (and your Dad)
thx Rich. over the fireplace was my initial plan when i moved in but man does it get hot (i'm a pyro maniac come winter and go threw 2 cords of wood per year =) ) plus...it would put the TV pretty darn high.

to answer some of your questions.....

ceramic tile floor with some carpet in center

left speaker is 4 feet from side wall while right one is about 7

8 foot ceiling. **ceiling is wood** (yet another dagger)

dd12 x-over is set at 65

7b's are getting full bandwidth. using the sub for low base only (7b's have great mid bass imo)

system sounded real boomy at first. used the dd12 "tuning kit" (including mic and graphic link to TV) and sorted it out. nice flat-ish curve now that also sounds good in real listening. many hours of fiddling with the kit seemed to pay off in the end.

i've got a big array of windows right behind my listening position....about 10 feet wide.

and don't forget my monstrosity of of a fireplace sticking out.....brick and mortar to add insult to injury

neighborhood is pretty good. moved in last year so i need to stay put for a while lol!
oooops....forgot. room is 12x25 with the fireplace sticking out about 3 feet into the 25 foot length. this makes for two 3'x4' covey holes at each corner next to fireplace.

the only possible option i've come up with is putting everything opposite the fireplace. but then the fireplace would be behind me (not good for a pyro like myself. i really enjoy the flames)

could always seal off that PITA doorway but then i'd have to wear dirty cloths all the time =) (doorway leads to laundry room)
second set of speakers just might work Rich. you're a genius!. question is...will in need to pull the speakers out 4 feet in front of fireplace or the back wall?.

4 feet in front of fireplace would put it in front of TV. 4 feet from back wall would work near perfectly. just need to reposition some equipment so my speaker wire will reach.

make listening to music a priority?? such a simple answer. your dad was smart man!
Br3098, i totally agree. my concern isn't really about how good my system sounds. like you said...i like it and am enjoying it. no problem there. the issue is with my obsession to improve and "make it better". seems a few folks have the same problem around here =)

the best analogy i can use is this. putting a tricked out suspension into a car with all season tires (upgrading IC's, speaker wire, power supply on a system with non-optimal speaker placement). even though the suspension will help the cars handling (new upgrades did sound better to me), would it be smarter to address the tire's instead or first? (speaker placement)

it does seem like a silly question though (and i say so right off the bat). should i stop trying to improve my systems various "connections" due to room constraints and speaker position. am i wasting my effort/money here and should i focus on the room and placement first.

Larry's reply hit it spot on. the room in question is not just a listening room. it's my family room where we watch TV, play games and just hang out. i do not want to/can't make it a place where only i go to hear music. the room must be comfortable and inviting while still sounding "good". i have no plans to dedicate the room to hi-fi. once i get the speakers into a decent location, window treatments and some additional carpet is all i plan/am willing to do.

Rich was also spot on by pointing out that if music is a priority, it needs to treated as such. that's why his suggestion of adding a set a speakers really appealed to me (and my budget since i already have an extra set of decent speakers). it will still be a family room but can become a good listening room too (by sitting somewhere else in the room to listen).

my life has always been one big compromise lol!. finding the right balance, as opposed to perfection has become my calling card. this is just another example.

i'm back on course for now. thanks to all for the great advice/input!