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Speaker placement Quandary

Where to begin here? My question is that in my experience with speaker placement I "think" that it is best to have your speakers well out into the room to achieve the best in soundstage width and especially depth? For example my Legacy Focus XD's are 6.5 feet into the room from front baffle to front wall. I messed with them quite a bit but never went closer to the front wall than that in fear of losing that well spaced out soundstage or emphasizing bass.. Imagery seems rather good as well. The "sound" comes from deep into the front wall not near the speaker plane. I see many listening rooms (in forum members setups, you tube, etc) that seem to follow this thinking and I also see some rather sophisticated expensive high end systems (in dedicated rooms so no WAF effect) that have their speakers just 1-2 feet off the front wall between the rear of the speaker. Is this an element of a different preference in listening? Wouldn't the soundstage become flatter? Is there some tonal advantages to this? I realize some speakers are designed to be closer such as some Wilsons and it seems many the the B&W's end up like this.  I understand that locating speakers is room dependant and a huge variable too. 

 

My speakers weigh 140 pounds each and I have them sitting on Via Blue decouplers so I cannot move them by myself and replace them on the footers, so I have not tried to move them closer to the front wall. Additionally they are rear ported and as I understand it's best to keep them away from the wall. 

 

As many of you have probably experimented with speaker placements, what have you found that gives you that nice expansive soundstage and imagery  in your rooms? 

Also is it more an issue with room modes too?

 

My room is 14w X 18L x 7H  My speakers are 6.5" out, 39" off side walls and 8 feet apart measured from center of front baffle.. My listening position is 9.5 feet (Of the side triangle measurements) from the front baffles and I sit about 4 feet off the rear wall. I have side wall treatments, rear wall diffusion, front wall diffusion and bass absorption. 

 

I am not really looking for placement suggestions unless you see a real flaw here. I just wonder how so many different configurations work so well regarding less distance between speakers and the front wall? Thoughts?

128x128fthompson251
terry9
2,239 posts
 

I have a purpose built listening room and simply could not make it work with conventional wisdom. In desperation I tried speakers on the long wall, 4 ESL's ( two T-configuations) close to the wall but angled, backed by records, the T's 4' apart. Seating is 5' from the speaker face. Good but no bass.

Then I played with Magnepan bass panels, DWM's to fill in the missing two octaves and an isobaric sub in one corner.

Magic. Now it's the best room I've ever heard. Smooth and enticing. I've actually heard cymbals from the corner of the room, far outside the angle of the speakers.

Like @ghdprentice and @stringreen  said, try everything.

yyzsantabarbara
4,530 posts
 

Do you use ROON? If so, then look at this company. Genius level stuff that is measured and setup remotely.

Digital Room Calibration Services, Convolvers, Headphone Filtersets (accuratesound.ca)

Send me a DM if you want to get more details, though the principle at that company, Mitch, will give you a great explanation.

I had a small room and crappy sound, so I looked into this book, by Mitch, and then decided to get him to do all the work for me.

Amazon.com: Accurate Sound Reproduction Using DSP eBook : Barnett, Mitch: Kindle Store

I no longer use the tech that I am suggesting here because I adjusted my room's contents along with some ugly acoustic panels from GTT (sp?).

 

 

macguy's avatar
macguy
24 posts
 

I like long wall not short wall.  Stay away from those sidewalls. They really do reflect the sound.  It can almost be like a third speaker.

waldenpond
17 posts
 

+1 on getting the sliders. 

Many references to Jim Smith's Get Better Sound on other threads here. 

Book, DVD

www.getbettersound.com 

Jim also does direct consultations. 

Highly recommended. 

emergingsoul
947 posts
 

I really love the red room light and curious to know how you achieve it. Because it’s getting closer to Christmas maybe you should enhance the room with some green lighting too . My thought is to introduce a few pieces of furniture into the room to get rid of the open space and you have a lot of acoustical stuff going on in the room especially in the rear wall. I think furniture spread throughout the room is the best diffuser in the world.  I've always wondered what a few diffuser panels on the wall really really do, most of the time it's a waste of effort unless you can find something looks really nice on your wall. I think all the acoustical stuff may be deadening the sound.  My basement wall offers lovely texture from a plaster cement finish and that's an amazing place for the system but the ceiling height is 7 feet, the materials that were used the ceiling tiles compressed board fiber material have done really well for me.  Maybe remove some of the acoustical stuff.

Maybe the rear speakers should be closer to the back wall with a gap of three or four feet.

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