Nearfield listening - once more

I suspect that there's some confusion over what the term Nearfield actually means.

Nearfield and Farfield are acoustic terms to describe the ratio of of direct vs reflected sound. If in the listening position you get more direct sound from the source than reflected sound from your environment (walls, floors, etc.) you're in the acoustic nearfield. If the opposite is true, you're in the acoustic farfield. In acoustics, there is no such thing as midfield.

If you're in an appropriately sized or damped space, you can still sit a great distance away from your speakers and be in the acoustic nearfield, vice versa.

As opposed to thinking about it in terms of of linear space or distance, I believe it's better to think of it in terms of arrival times. This is because whether or not your sitting near or farfield, both the direct and reflected sounds will ultimately reach your ears. The key difference is that your ear/brain knows to ignore late reflections that arrive after the initial source.

As for speaker manufacturers and the terminologies that they employ, it's pure marketing. Any speaker can be nearfield or farfield. None can be midfield.

Very important clarification for all here ... Thanks and welcome here by the way ...

Nearfield and Farfield are acoustic terms to describe the ratio of of direct vs reflected sound. If in the listening position you get more direct sound from the source than reflected sound from your environment (walls, floors, etc.) you’re in the acoustic nearfield.

It is why i always observed and mark in my posts that nearfield listening dont spare us of treating at least the acoustic corner or even the small room where we sit ... Because in nearfield or in farfield as well , what differ is the ratio of reflected waves versus the direct waves and the way the frontwave win over the reflected waves in some critical amount of time ...in the two cases there is reflected as direct waves anyway, but the way the brain/ears interpreted them is function of time and from the direction of the incoming  direct or reflected waves...

Reflections are not all bad by the way and i used them to create a three D holographic soundfield ...Timing is the key and the time  ratio between the source ( ceiling or wall or floor ) of the reflected waves versus the direct waves ... ...

The listener position head and ears is the primary factor analysing the timing ratio ...

Eagledriver, yeah it takes careful positioning through trial and error.  I've had best results with nearfield listening by positioning the speakers a few feet away from any walls (to minimize reflections), about 6 feet apart, sitting only about 1 or 2 feet away from them, tweeters at ear height and nearly pointing directly at my ears -- pointing just a little behind them.  The detail and clarity are almost like good headphones, but you also get the 3D soundfield of good speakers.  The instruments and vocals seem to be hanging in space out in front of you.  Optimal positioning and results I'm sure will vary depending on speakers and listener.  

@hiphiphan

Yes, sitting closer to the speakers, my face/head blocks more of the sound from the other speaker. Do you find that the best result is related to the toe-in of the speakers?

@steve59

> 2 to 1. 2 ft apart for 1 foot back.

Interesting rule - will try.

@o_holter Every speaker whether it is small or or large has a critical listening distance independent of the electronics or room. For an example, speakers with first order crossovers require one to sit at least 8 ft from the center of the two speakers. Why? because the output from three drivers (tweeter, mid-range, and woofer) needs that distance to merge. Now Horn speakers and monitors may not need 8 ft for the sound from different drivers to merge.

So near-filed and far-field are basically relative to the speaker design, but they all have a minimum critical distance to the sweet spot. Impact of "early-reflections" and "reverberations" from the room can be minimal for so called near-field listening. This is one advantage and may be the reason why it is appealing to certain listeners. For those who sits 8 ft or more form the speakers need room treatment to control "early reflections" and "reverberations." Essentially near-field listening gives you a listening experience similar to that of headphones, but with imaging and perhaps sound-stage.

One thing to keep in mind is that smaller speakers are limited to frequencies 45-55 Hz and above. Big floor standers will give you the bottom octave, but you need to sit away from the speakers. For an example double bass can go low as 30 Hz, and the piano down to 27 Hz. You will miss this kind of information with smaller speakers with near-field listening. Laws of physics dictate what you can get from small speakers versus large speakers and critical listening distance, etc.