"C" isn't really possible when you think about it. Unless the speakers were no wider than half the width of my head and placed next to each other that is.
My speakers are aimed straight ahead so answer D. (Thiel CS6 spaced 8 feet apart and I listen at ten feet from the center point of an imaginary line drawn between the fronts of the baffles. |
I will tell you this: As a Vandersteen 3A Sig owner, I fretted way too much over the sweet spot early-on when my speakers weren't broken in, moving them a few millimeters this way and that--sometimes 10+ times a session--to calm harshness and increase depth. I now know that the problems weren't caused by bad placement, they just weren't broken in. |
I stopped my wife from answering this post just in time!
Dave |
'D' Totem Tabu's, placed about 8' apart, positioned straight ahead, my listening position in 9' away. |
I'm not telling anyone about my sweet spot until I've been properly wined and dined. I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked. |
Serious answer here. My Shearwater Hot Rods are toed in _just a little_ . Toe in too much (aimed at the ears when seated at midpoint) and the s.s. is so tiny that you need your head in a vice. With the speaks aimed past the head but not parallel, the s.s. is less pinpoint, the transition from spot-on through off to the side to "Is the other speaker working?" is smoother.
All predictable, you say. Yes, I agree, but what surprised me was the dynamics. A broader sweet spot gives slightly less intimacy but more interesting dynamics. As though a bigger "window on the event" also let more air movement through to the listener. Odd. |
Darrylhifi, talk about the straight man in a comedy duo (Jerry Lewis couldn't have dreamed of a better line from Dean Martin!) Since I'm no Jerry Lewis, I'll won't add a punch line to your post! I have actually purchased a cheap laser level (about $20-) that will project a laser dot on the rear wall. This will help to align the toe-in of the speakers pretty accurately! The toe-in is actually dependent on your speaker...ask the manufacturer for recommendations!!! I find that "D" works best in my situation, with the intersection point of the 2 speakers approximately 3-4 feet behind my listening position. |
OK, now for my serious answer: My Acoustats, which beam like a flashlight, are pointed at my ears. I, too, use a laser to aim them. The addition of an Argent Room Lens has widened the sweet spot to the entire three cushion coach. (Until I recently changed to an Ekornes listening chair). |
Well, lets investigate...it is somewhere south of Head City, and north of Knee Drop..but pretty close to DewDropInn.. |
Interesting, early responses straight ahead late reponses seem to have some toe in. Elgorado how does Italian sound with a little Vino ? Fattparrot what did you mean by position {no jokes please } D . ? Gracias. |
Darrylhifi, "D" is the position that was given in the forum post, "D/ run parallel outside of your ears". Actually, after re-reading this, I realize that "D" does not meet the definition of my speaker alignment. And "C" is technically impossible, unless your speakers are only separated by 10 or 12 inches!
Nearfield listening works best for my application. My sofa (material and construction is very sound absorptive) is right against the rear wall, which is covered in recording studio acoustic foam (4 inch thick, with 3 inch deep pyramids on the surface). This set-up eliminates acoustic reflections that would otherwise smear the sound! |
Re The D response ......Duh.....sorry sometimes I read these too quickly in btwn calls at work.....And re C, your right, unless we are talking about dwarfs with tiny speakers ! Thx !! |
Thiels:
8-9' apart, pointed straight ahead or toed in a few degrees (never pointed at the chair). Distance from back wall is about 6'.
Piegas:
Speakers are new to me so I'm still experimenting with these.
In the critical listening position (5-7 feet from back wall, 3+ feet from side walls, 9 feet apart) they are currently toed OUT about 20 degrees [THANKS to Audiogoner Rgs92 for this suggestion]. No left wall to deal with in this position, so they both are moved a bit to the left, which reduces right side reflection. This set-up sacrifices dynamics a bit, but dramatically opens up the soundstage. Need to sit in the middle is heightened somewhat with this set-up.
When pushed (back) out of the way in the casual listening location, they are 2-3 feet from back wall, 9' apart, and criss-crossed. Can't toe them out when they are pushed against the back wall due to side wall interaction, so I tried turning them the other way (same off-axis angle though). Image is remarkably deep even though they are close to the back wall (but not as deep as other location), but not as wide as when they are toed out. Bass is stronger and tighter. Criss-cross set-up reduces some of the "head-locker" issues.
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Speakers 8' apart, 4.5' from back wall, 3' from side walls. Listening position 8' from point midway between speakers with speakers angled in so that those imaginary flashlight beams would cross about 8' behind my head. |
Speakers 10 ft apart slight toe-in crossing 8 ft behind head, 3ft from front wall, 7 ft from side walls, seat position at 11 ft from speakers 6 ft from bak wall. |
I've been playing around with this for the last few days...sigh...(just realized how bad that sounds as I'm typing). I sit in nearfield, and have the lasers meeting at about 4 inches from my forehead (damn, why is it so hard to answer this thread!!).
In all seriousness, I was sort of surprised at how much better they sounded with the extra toe-in. I've been repositioning the speakers since I received the Neuance shelves a few days before, and out of frustration tried that and it worked like a charm. |
My VMPS Supertowers crossfire about two feet in front of me. Works excellently. |
