OP, did you try pulling the speakers out further into the room?
speakers that are a little laid back in the mids
I'm just curious what full range speaker people have found where the mids, voices etc are not so up front. I have had my share of speakers and some I considered to be very good but over time seem to be on top of you. Not necessarily harsh however. My room is 13 x 16 and I have used tubes and ss.
Showing 5 responses by soix
@immatthewj Yeah, I know Cardas also has their recommendations for placement as well among others. I’m of the opinion these are just guidelines and that every room and speaker are different and need to be positioned best for your specific room and personal tastes. To me, it’s a balance of getting enough wall reinforcement for adequate/balanced bass while giving the speakers enough room to breathe to fully open up to show their 3D soundstage potential. So I used a lot of trial and error until I found the “sweet spot” where the sound was balanced and the soundstage/imaging blossomed and where the speakers completely disappeared as a sound source. Once you get all that I think you’re done and the speakers end up where they end up. My room is about 26’ x 13’ with untreated walls, and my medium-sized floorstanding speakers ended up with their fronts about 5’ from the back wall, 3’ from the side walls, and 6’ apart with the speakers aimed so they point just outside my shoulders at the listening position — not that this has anything to do with your room/speakers/tastes but just for context and as an example. Any closer to the walls and the bass became a little too prominent and the soundstage lost size/depth/3D imaging, and any further out and I didn’t get enough bass. Anyway, that’s how I do it and what’s worked for me in case it’s at all helpful in some way. |
You’ve had some excellent speakers, and I’ve heard models from all of them and none sounded like the vocals were too upfront or on top of me. If they all don’t sound right to you I suspect there’s something going on with your room/setup. What you’re describing sounds like it could be that your speakers are too close to the back wall and pulling them out further could achieve a more desirable balance and a deeper soundstage. What speakers do you have now, and how far are they from the back/side walls? Also, are you currently using any room treatments? |
Looking at your system I’d highly suspect your Mac preamp as they are known to be midrange forward and lush sounding, and that’s been my experience with their gear as well. Do a demo of the new Spatial Audio Raven or Aric Audio Motherload preamp and your world will likely be completely changed. I know the Aerial 7B doesn’t sound like what you’re saying, which leads me strongly to your preamp being the culprit here. |