speaker placement- distance between bookshelves

[amateur]

Hi All,

what's the distance that should be good enough to get a good soundstage for bookshelf speakers - say for ex: QAcoustics 2020 or Wharfedales - the width of the speakers happens to around 18 cm ,

If I have to place them on a table of 3feet width, 18cm + 18cm = 36 cm used by speakers, leaving 56cm space between them ( ofcourse amp will occupy this space)

Is this space good enough ? or it should be still wider ?

 

[manoj.p]

Ideally, to get wide enough sound stage, the distance between each speaker should be same as distance between listener and each speaker. The speakers and listener should form an equilateral triangle. That will make the angle between speakers and listeners at 60 degrees.

 

[Tanoj]

Hi Friend,

this topic is covered nicely already, and you will find a speaker placement calculator, which will help you get the best numbers... i follow the calculator blindly.

Regards

Tanoj

 

[rohitmusic]

"Experiment!"

There are many "theoretically correct" ways going about it.

But, the problem is every room "sounds" different!
1. A room is nothing but an enclosure. The dimensions of the room may not allow us to follow these principles. Some rooms are longish while some are broader and some not symmetric.

2. There will be different objects in your room that will act as reflectors and absorbers/dampers.

3. Practicality: Many times we need to compromise with just being practical. The best sound my speakers gave after experimenting was keeping them almost 1/4th way in the middle of the living room! Needless to say my audio nirvana lasted on that day and was back to original placement the next morning

For experimenting, try following:
1. Start with a minimum distance of say around 7-8 feet between the speakers. (If your room permits)

2. Leave some space behind the speakers (keep them couple feet from the back wall)

3. Play some music and stand between the two speakers - starting very close to the speakers. Now start moving away from the speakers. Observe the sound stage, etc changing. Keep moving and you will notice that at a point you get best results. (This is usually near the equilateral triangle formed by user and the two speakers)

4. Now experiment with the listening "height". Try to keep your ears at tweeter level of speakers.

5. Experiment with speaker "tow-in". Try to make the speakers face slightly inwards and see how it affects the sound.

6. Feel free to experiment and fine tune and tweak all above parameters. You will find that one combination will works the best than others.

I think this tweaking is very important in any setup to get the maximum sound. You may be really surprised at how different/better the same system will sound with a little tweaking! Try it for yourself and share your experience

Cheers!

 

[apk]

Rohitmusic has given some sensible tips.

Keep at least 5-6 feet between both the speakers unless you are hearing from a nearfield position (for example you listen sitting on your desk, with the speakers also on your desk)

Having recently moved my system to a smaller room, believe me, there is a huge difference that your surroundings (room) make to the sound quality. Hence, a lot of the 'theory' goes wasted under practical conditions. As rohitmusic mentioned, start with a basic isoceles triangle position (2 speakers & you) and then experiment with distance (between 2 speakers and between speakers and you) and toe-in.

Best,
APK

 

[Tanoj]

Hi,

I keep 9 ft distance between my speakers , and the speakers are along the longest wall side

Regards

Tanoj

 

[hydra]

Hi All,

what's the distance that should be good enough to get a good soundstage for bookshelf speakers - say for ex: QAcoustics 2020 or Wharfedales - the width of the speakers happens to around 18 cm ,

If I have to place them on a table of 3feet width, 18cm + 18cm = 36 cm used by speakers, leaving 56cm space between them ( ofcourse amp will occupy this space)

Is this space good enough ? or it should be still wider ?

To answer your specific question, you'll get better results by placing the speakers much wider apart.

The speakers will take up about 1.5 feet on your table, counting for an inch or so of the table left outside the speakers. That will leave only about 1.5 feet between the speakers. This is quite inadequate. This will still play music, but you will not be enjoying even half of what the speakers can do.

These speakers (I'm going by the size of the 2020s) should be placed at least 4ft apart (with you sitting 4 to 5 ft away from them), for them to open up a wide enough soundstage, and a center image that's well defined enough from the rest of the instruments, IMO.

If you can manage it, I think a gap of 5ft between these speakers would be the right point to start from, while you experiment with your seating position, placement width and toeing-in. Moving around these three parameters (and of course more-or-less finalizing the gap between the speakers and the wall behind them before all this) while listening to music should give you the ideal placement of these speakers over some time.

Perhaps you can have stands/tall stools placed on either side of the table and put the speakers on them, at the very least?

Will you be listening to music while sitting at the table? Considering that you said the amp will be between the speakers, I guess that's not the idea, as the amp would take up nearly all of the space between the speakers. If you're listening to music while sitting at the table, even 2.5-3ft between the speakers might work.

 

[balajeem]

thank you all for nice suggestions. the space is a constraint , room size is 10x10 of which cot occupies some space , will be on the cot while listening to music.

Bottomline - I should find some table or bare minimum a stool on which the speakers should be placed to get good sound stage, distance to be minimum of 5 feet, understood - thanks so much for patiently explaining this.

Kudos to this forum!!!!

Though the question is raised by my cousin only , I have answered this..

 

[Shivam]

thank you all for nice suggestions. the space is a constraint , room size is 10x10 of which cot occupies some space , will be on the cot while listening to music.

Bottomline - I should find some table or bare minimum a stool on which the speakers should be placed to get good sound stage, distance to be minimum of 5 feet, understood - thanks so much for patiently explaining this.

Kudos to this forum!!!!

Though the question is raised by my cousin only , I have answered this..

10x10 is a difficult room. Try placing the speakers at different distances from back and side walls. Get dedicated speaker stands.

 

[amateur]

10x10 is a difficult room. Try placing the speakers at different distances from back and side walls. Get dedicated speaker stands.

Hi,

Do you mean to say the QAcoustics 2020 or Wharfedales will be quite overwhelming for that small room ?

 

[magma]

No shuvam
probably means
that square rooms are difficult rooms acoustically

you should be ok in a 10* 10 room assuming you have at least a 10 foot ceiling
otherwise you are gonna need some absorbers
the q acoustics might do better than the wrfedales in this room

i personally would like a sealed speaker in such a room ( or the dali minuet would also be super here)
but anyway we are not discusiing that

there are good speaker mounts availble if you dont have space for stands


Please note : all speakers cannot manage "width"
Most budget speakers will leave a gaping hole in the centre when pushed to more that 8-9 feet
there are few speakers who can manage 11 feet and more

the equilateral triangle rule is good
though i prefer the point of the triangle to form behind my head by about a 1 foot or more in many cases
Though as everyone advices - each room is differnt

for close in listening - hydras advice seems good
Dont toe in the speakers though if you are gonna be listening in close

 

[Shivam]

Hi,

Do you mean to say the QAcoustics 2020 or Wharfedales will be quite overwhelming for that small room ?

I was thinking of room modes and standing waves spoiling the soundstage. You should consider speaker stands, acoustic treatment and experiment with placement.