Speaker Setup.....

@sharri Thank you for your contribution. If it can be used to set up in hotel rooms for shows it can work anywhere. To others, isn’t it worth the time and effort to achieve the best way to have the speakers play the room with all the furniture and odd walls?  I think so. 

Hello, my name is Steven Harrison and I wrote the description of Master Set in the link in the first post. I wrote this about 10 years ago and sent it to Arthur Salvatore, who later passed it on and now it shows up in a lot of Google searches.
Master Set is a term coined by Rod Tomson of Soundings HiFi in Denver. I learned what I wrote in the article from talking to Rod, who is a long time audio acquaintance.
Rod went thru the MASTERS certification program at Sumiko many long years ago and Master Set is Rod's vision of that speaker training. It is not really proper to call my write up Master Set, but it happened nonetheless. I did get most of the main points correct though.
I can tell by some of the above comments that the posters are not understanding what goes on.
In simplified terms, one speaker is set, according to certain protocols, and the other speaker is then set to be in perfect phase with the first speaker. It is all done by ear and by listening to the noted set up song. There is nothing random or trial and error in the process. It requires tremendous focus and attention in the listening and making the small movements with the second speaker to get the setup perfect. There is only a small point where the second speaker is perfectly matched to the first speaker, where ever the first speaker may be set.
The end result is sound in perfect phase and very clear with no distortion. It will sound natural, especially acoustic instruments and voices. The area of best listening will be much larger than you've known before, thus you do not have to sit still in just one spot for best listening.
This can be done in any room. This procedure does not require the perfect room that nobody has but most setup methods, like say Cardas, assume you have. It can be done with any box speaker. It can be done by just one person, with a lot of practice. And the only cost is acquiring the set up song.

Can’t say this would be my preferred method, especially for digital playback.  I’d rather set up the speakers symmetrically and then use Roon DSP to tweak the balance or to tame a room mode under 200hz.  I think you’ll get better imaging and soundstage that way.

Pdf? Really? In 2019? Don't they know we all use smart phones? Make your info screen adaptive.

You have a smartphone in 2019 that can't open a pdf?  What is it, one of those iphones?!

As mentioned earlier, and in the video, speakers likely won't be perfectly spaced apart. If aesthetic isn't important, it's the way to go. You simply focus the speaker position to your ears. 

I use Cardas.
http://www.cardas.com/room_setup_calculators.php
Acceptable  sonics throughout the room. YMMV.

Here's a little something they may grab someone's attention.

When you listen to music in your present setup, do you have a sweet spot of about 1 or 2 persons wide, and does the music move with you when you move out of the sweet spot? This is pretty much a yes or no question.

With Master Set, the sweet spot is eliminated, and you can sit anywhere with the same sound, and better sound than before when you had the sweet spot.

@all..........Further..........


https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=64320.0

Everybody and his brother knows there is only one fool proof method for obtaining the absolute best speaker locations. Any speaker, any room. All other methods, calculations, trial and error, lasers, what have you, can only find local maximums.

This hardly sounds like a scientific or even an efficent method for speaker placement. It's essentially move your speakers around in 1/16" increments until they sound right?

Pdf? Really? In 2019? Don't they know we all use smart phones?  Make your info screen adaptive. 

I'm kind of wondering if this isn't what one might eventually end doing either intuitively or by trial and error?

Anyway, I'd like to try it methodically as described but my speakers weigh 130 pounds and are on spikes. It would take a significant physical effort to do it in the tiny increments he recommends. May get some furniture sliders and try it.

The only thing "wrong" with  Master Set is aesthetics of the speaker position. 

You may have find the second speaker more forward/rearward  in relation to the "anchor" speaker to balance the sonics.

Visually, it may look lopsided. Great sound once found.

Box speakers and planars have different set up needs I do believe.

Yup. Audiogon on a phone. 

Classic double post by @tgrisham

Classic double post by @tgrisham

It isn’t new but is still worth mentioning to those new to audiophilia. I’ve used it every time I set up a new pair of speakers. It never fails. Better than any formula or calculation. Highly recommended. 

It isn’t new but is still worth mentioning to those new to audiophilia. I’ve used it every time I set up a new pair of speakers. It never fails. Better than any formula or calculation. Highly recommended. 

@moWell?

Master Set has been around for over 10 years now. Nothing new.