Speaker Placement Issue/Thoughts


I'm not sure if it's my hearing, my rooms (I've had the stereo in three different ones over the past few years), or a recording bias, but I consistently hear my image being biased slightly left of center.

I've had to resort to balance controls to fix this issue, but have also tried various speaker placement solutions (Thiel 1.6s and now 2.4s). When thinking about how to address the problem, I regularly get stuck in what feels like a logical paradox.

So, to shift the center image to the right, I can alternatively convince myself either that I should A) make the right speaker louder by moving it closer to me, or B) move the right speaker further away to shift the actual center of stereo speakers. Unfortunately every time I try to test this, so much ends up changing (the damn spikes are so hard to deal with) that I never figure out which is the appropriate solution.

Maybe I just need to pay a professional to come in and place everything for me...
cal3713

Showing 1 response by ths364

If you've already tried swapping left/ right inputs to eliminate a mismatch at the source/cabling, try swapping the leads from the amp to speaker- in other words- remove the cable from the left speaker terminals and move them to the right speaker and vice-versa, leaving the connections at the amp end the same.
If your speakers are toed-in at all, try changing the toe-in angle on one speaker only, leaving the distance from the inside-rear corner of the speaker to the back wall the same-in other words:pivot on the inside front spike. See if the image moves. Don't be afraid to try a drastic change to make it obvious.If there's an equipment rack between the speakers check the distance from it's edges to the speaker- this was messing up the center image on my system at one point- making the distance equal took care of it. I put blue painters masking tape on the floor before I make these adjustments so I can always get back to where I was. If all else fails, move the listening chair a bit.