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Soundstage and the effect of the rear wall

I'm a little confused about how the distance that a speaker is from the rear wall will effect the quality, depth, etc of the soundstage.
Due to practical considerations my speakers are placed on shelves, which are mounted to the wall. There is only about 1"-2" between the back of the speaker and the wall. I realize that this will tend to enforce (or maybe exaggerate) low notes to a degree, but with these speakers I am not all that concerned about this. I am more concerned with trying to optimize this system's soundstaging/imaging abilities and how the close placement to the rear wall might effect that, if in fact it does. Or does that low note enforcement effect soundstaging in some way?

Should I treat the rear wall behind the speaker in some way? If so, would it be better to absorb or diffuse for this purpose?
Thanks, Jb3
jb3

Showing 1 response by sbank

sbank's avatar
sbank
3,382 posts
 
I agree with Elevick, but want to emphasize that getting great sound isn't always the most practical. Speaker placement is the most important issue relative to almost any tweak/isolation move you might make.
To know for sure, try borrowing some decent speaker stands 24-30in height, and listen for a weekend with speakers in optimum position. Check FAQ(room acoustics) or rives.com, for detailed advice, but I'd try 3-4 ft. away from the wall, as a guesstimate. If it doesn't work, fine..,no worries; if things sound great...then you've got some thinkin' to do.
Good luck, Spencer
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