Importance of Speaker Placement

[AP@1992]

Biggest sound upgrade !!

Chain - DMP A6 (ME) ----Weiss Minerva -----Cayin AT 88 mk 2 (PS Vane EL34C, PSvane UK6NS7 (OR Tungsol 6SN7 GTB), Russian NOS 6sl7)

IC- Mogami 2803 (Mogami 2479 is used in case I swap UK6ns7 with Tungsol 6NS7 GTB). Speaker wire: Tellurium Q Black 2.

Speakers: Dali Oberon 5


The biggest sound upgrade I have ever heard had nothing to do with the above chain at all. The above chain sounded great, sometimes out of the world depending on source. Warm, smooth and organic (albeit not very dynamic or precise in bass delivery) and really suits my choice of songs.

Few days ago, late into my night listening session, I decided to remove the center table. Closed the curtains to improve damping and put a wing chair to form a perfect equilateral triangle listening position (63 feet) (photos attached). The effect was immediate and unbelievable.

Sound became more intimate, more of the 3d/holographic effect and in general their was a homogeneity to the sound. The SQ had objectively gone various notches above for sure.

This really goes on to show, speaker positioning, room acoustic etc etc have so much impact on our sound.

This now begs the question as to how many equipments we all must have upgraded/sold without first *addressing the real elephant in the room* (quite literally)

Correcting the acoustics/ speaker positioning etc has real tangible improvement in sound.

A lesson learnt. Better late than never.

Hope all of you must have had similar experience in past. Would love to know about it.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Biggest sound upgrade !!

Chain - DMP A6 (ME) ----Weiss Minerva -----Cayin AT 88 mk 2 (PS Vane EL34C, PSvane UK6NS7 (OR Tungsol 6SN7 GTB), Russian NOS 6sl7)

IC- Mogami 2803 (Mogami 2479 is used in case I swap UK6ns7 with Tungsol 6NS7 GTB). Speaker wire: Tellurium Q Black 2.

Speakers: Dali Oberon 5


The biggest sound upgrade I have ever heard had nothing to do with the above chain at all. The above chain sounded great, sometimes out of the world depending on source. Warm, smooth and organic (albeit not very dynamic or precise in bass delivery) and really suits my choice of songs.

Few days ago, late into my night listening session, I decided to remove the center table. Closed the curtains to improve damping and put a wing chair to form a perfect equilateral triangle listening position (63 feet) (photos attached). The effect was immediate and unbelievable.

Sound became more intimate, more of the 3d/holographic effect and in general their was a homogeneity to the sound. The SQ had objectively gone various notches above for sure.

This really goes on to show, speaker positioning, room acoustic etc etc have so much impact on our sound.

This now begs the question as to how many equipments we all must have upgraded/sold without first *addressing the real elephant in the room* (quite literally)

Correcting the acoustics/ speaker positioning etc has real tangible improvement in sound.

A lesson learnt. Better late than never.

Hope all of you must have had similar experience in past. Would love to know about it.

Lovely room and seat there

Iam similarly sitting with speakers along the long wall, in a equilateral triangle of 8.5 feet. I have raised the speaker height to get the mid range driver at ear height, and tilted the speakers slightly forward. So the tweeter is actually well above the listening plane, but still pointing towards the ears due to the forward tilt. I love this configuration, as I get a great sense of height too. I moved the speakers after being in their previous position for almost two years. Did'nt expect there was more to be had with a position tweak, but I was so wrong. The new position really improved things further. Having gone really wide with the tweeter to tweeter distance at 11.5 feet, Iam using a little bit of toe-in to get a tight and steady center image. My toe-in might be close to 10 degrees I think. After 10 years of crappy sound, this along with a few other additions have finally got me completely satisfied with the sound, and off the upgrade merry-go-around.

 

[AP@1992]

Lovely room and seat there

Iam similarly sitting with speakers along the long wall, in a equilateral triangle of 8.5 feet. I have raised the speaker height to get the mid range driver at ear height, and tilted the speakers slightly forward. So the tweeter is actually well above the listening plane, but still pointing towards the ears due to the forward tilt. I love this configuration, as I get a great sense of height too. I moved the speakers after being in their previous position for almost two years. Did'nt expect there was more to be had with a position tweak, but I was so wrong. The new position really improved things further. Having gone really wide with the tweeter to tweeter distance at 11.5 feet, Iam using a little bit of toe-in to get a tight and steady center image. My toe-in might be close to 10 degrees I think. After 10 years of crappy sound, this along with a few other additions have finally got me completely satisfied with the sound, and off the upgrade merry-go-around.

Would really love to see a picture of your listening space. It sure sounds interesting.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Would really love to see a picture of your listening space. It sure sounds interesting.

Haha...it looks very funny like the speakers are going to fall over. Iam travelling presently, and cant find any older pics where this forward tilt is evident. Will share some once Iam back home.

 

[shibashis]

This is no secret really, more than our equipment what we hear is the room, as the old cliche says.
Fantastic to see that you have found that sweet spot and realized the true potential of your system, for some of us it is the never ending cycle of upgrades and changes in equipment, without investing into the effort required to optimize the space for sound.
To be fair, most of the time we are not always lucky to have the space completely at our mercy to be able to customize it the way we want.
Having said that my own experience was, not surprisingly, exactly like yours, it was eye-opening.

 

[reignofchaos]

You can achieve what you did there by pulling the speakers further into the room as well. The thing that works best for me i the rule of the thirds

Speakers at 1/3rd of the room (both length and width) and listener at 2/3rd or thereabouts - this is slightly flexible. In my case where I have a slightly bigger room, this works perfect. It reduces the room involvement to a minimum.

 

[spirovious]

The logic is simple.
When we like the system in the demo room. We bought but didn't like at home, then certainly it's the room.

 

[edjamesx]

Correcting the acoustics/ speaker positioning etc has real tangible improvement in sound.

A lesson learnt. Better late than never.

Hope all of you must have had similar experience in past. Would love to know about it.

Yes ,Correct. I had similar experience . After did trial and error of various positions of Speaker+Sub , found a good sweet spot and it was sounding better than before. I thought Audyssy will help in correcting most of the room issues. But actually it's not. Placement + Room acoustics also matter.

 

[RRR]

Next remove the tv and see the difference.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

Next remove the tv and see the difference.

I would beg to differ

TV screens reflect light. I think as far as sound is concerned, window panes, TV screens and a bare wall are all the same. They also reflect back sound.

Adding absorption or diffusion in place of the TV, or on top of the TV will be a definite improvement. But otherwise as far as sound is concerned, both the TV and a bare wall are the same in my opinion.

Window panes are a problem with deep bass, which makes them rattle due to their rigidity.

 

[jenson]

speakers on wheels! such a nice touch and stand...so much fun/convenience when it comes to placing speaker...with that solo chair you are almost in center of the room...instead, pulling speakers further into room and a slight toe-in can do wonders.

 

[Phani24]

I want to place my speakers on wooden stands of app 20cms.
Speakers klipsch 620f towers. Is it changes sound signature.
Reason: Half the left speaker is covered by sofa edge.

 

[jenson]

I want to place my speakers on wooden stands of app 20cms.
Speakers klipsch 620f towers. Is it changes sound signature.
Reason: Half the left speaker is covered by sofa edge.

it may have an effect for sure...not an expert here...but a cork/rubber sheet/mat sandwiched between 20cm wood and a thin marble/granite slab may provide a more stable/neutral base..

 

[AP@1992]

speakers on wheels! such a nice touch and stand...so much fun/convenience when it comes to placing speaker...with that solo chair you are almost in center of the room...instead, pulling speakers further into room and a slight toe-in can do wonders.

Yes, it's fun. Regarding toe-in, IME, with this particular speaker, it work better when they are firing straight.

Pulling speakers lil closer than this reduces the bass albeit the sounds more intimate.

 

[kratu]

This really goes on to show, speaker positioning, room acoustic etc etc have so much impact on our sound.

This now begs the question as to how many equipments we all must have upgraded/sold without first *addressing the real elephant in the room* (quite literally)

Correcting the acoustics/ speaker positioning etc has real tangible improvement in sound.

A lesson learnt. Better late than never.

It is great to know you have realised this. It takes almost nothing to make an "upgrade". Unfortunately, folks switch gear without realising the main issue. Losing money in the process. A simple change in the room acoustics can significantly improve the sound quality. Objective measurements with REW software + Calibration mic can clearly visualise where the issue could be and also helps in evaluating that change.

 

[Hari Iyer]

Window panes are a problem with deep bass, which makes them rattle due to their rigidity.

In my setup I get deep bass when the window is open than with window closed.

it may have an effect for sure...not an expert here...but a cork/rubber sheet/mat sandwiched between 20cm wood and a thin marble/granite slab may provide a more stable/neutral base..

I have placed my H- frame woofers on 3x10mm SS hexnut. This gave me very low compliance, isolation and rigid foundation.

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

Speakers at 1/3rd of the room (both length and width) and listener at 2/3rd or thereabouts - this is slightly flexible. In my case where I have a slightly bigger room, this works perfect. It reduces the room involvement to a minimum.

Whenever I’ve heard this, I wondered, what about standmount/bookshelf speakers like mine with rear ports and without a sub woofer? If I draw them more than a foot away from the front wall (also the distance recommended by the manufacturer), they start losing the bass response and are no more engaging to listen to despite the improvements in clarity and soundstage. If you feel the music and not just listen to the sound, this matters a lot. A 1/3rd placement, even in say an average 12 feet long room, would mean drawing them 4 feet from the front wall!

Pulling speakers lil closer than this reduces the bass albeit the sounds more intimate.

Exactly! One needs to keep finding other ways to reduce the boominess.

Few days ago, late into my night listening session, I decided to remove the center table. Closed the curtains to improve damping and put a wing chair to form a perfect equilateral triangle listening position (63 feet) (photos attached). The effect was immediate and unbelievable.

All of these would have helped. I prefer to do as much room arrangement as possible without affecting the aesthetics and convenience, and then leave the resultant sound to let be. Umpteen experiments with cables, connectors etc have only led me to conclude they give an illusion of improvement while they actually take some frequencies away. Don’t want to try the DSPs for the same reason. The speakers should get as much signal as the chain can produce. Once you believe your components and speakers have natural synergy, and the sound signature is to your liking, preserve it.

 

[amit11]

In my experience, i have seen that anything in centre of the speakers, impacts the sound.
Whether it is some wooden table, whether it is the rack with equipments, or tv , or anything else. The impact will vary based on how cluttered the centre space is, what is thevmaterial etc

So i keep the center space open. The amp and rack is to the right of right speaker.

 

[Yelamanchili manohar]

In my experience, i have seen that anything in centre of the speakers, impacts the sound.
Whether it is some wooden table, whether it is the rack with equipments, or tv , or anything else. The impact will vary based on how cluttered the centre space is, what is thevmaterial etc

So i keep the center space open. The amp and rack is to the right of right speaker.

Thanks...This is something I've read time and time again on the forums. Though the reasoning beats my logical thinking, everyone claims better imaging with nothing in between. Yet to try it out, as it will take some serious re-cabling to achieve the same.

 

[Hari Iyer]

In my experience, i have seen that anything in centre of the speakers, impacts the sound.
Whether it is some wooden table, whether it is the rack with equipments, or tv , or anything else. The impact will vary based on how cluttered the centre space is, what is thevmaterial etc

I choose to disagree with the above.