2. speakers
  3. 1275595741

Using balance to compensate for speaker distance

Hi.

I recently installed a couple of shelves in my room to hold my Paradigm Atom monitors. They're on a wall perpendicular to the amp, which means that the speaker cable to one monitor is longer than to the other (I know that ideally, they're equal lengths, but for that to happen I'd have to buy more...). One speaker is also a bit further away than the other. Is it ok to use the amp balance to correct for this? And while I'm at it, is it ok to connect two speaker wires using butt connectors?

Any responses would be greatly appreciated
therearegoats

Showing 1 response by audiokinesis

audiokinesis
2,763 posts
 
The ears localize sound sources by two mechanisms: Arrival time and intensity. If the arrival times of the two speakers are not simultaneous, good soundstaging can be maintained by correspondingly increasing the intensity (loudness) of the farther speaker. So to answer the original question, yes it's perfectly legitimate to use the balance control to offset the effects of having one speaker closer than the other. The results won't be perfect, but they'll be better than if you do nothing about the difference in arrival times.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer
More to discover