What is nearfield listening?


I had someone "in the industry" who some of you have bought products from tell me that nearfield listening doesn't have to do with actual distance from the speakers, that it refers to whether you are sitting inside or outside a 60 degree angle from the speakers.

Secondly, what are the drawbacks to sitting close to your speakers? I figure that there are advantages like being able to pull your speakers far out from back and side walls and also that the listening seat can also be far from the back wall.
b_limo

Showing 2 responses by onhwy61

Has nothing to do with the angle formed by the speaker. Near field is simply listening close enough such that the direct sound from the speaker is more than the room reflected sound.
SOund artifacts that require room acoustics and reflected sound to be heard, like imaging, soundstage, and "air" are not a consideration.
I disagree. Imaging, soundstage and air do not require reflected sound. The can be enhanced by reflected sound, but it is not required.