LsiFX Upside down

Airplay355
Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
Lately I've been feeling like my surround field is too high. Move the speakers down you say? I can't really, because they're mounted on the side walls of slanted bonus room walls so they become prime head smashing targets. So I had an idea...

Would it help to move the tweeters to the bottom of the speaker by flipping the power ports upside down so they can still be mounted properly and swapping the left and right speakers?

I noticed the front drivers are considerably louder for some reason, regardless of dipole or bipole mode, so I think the last bit would be important to keep the louder drivers facing the listening position.

Could this help or is it a waste of time? How could I flip the powerports upside down, from the inside most likely?

Comments

  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    Methinks it will mess with the mid range phase alignment, but it's very possible it will pull the imaging down a bit and also widen it a bit if I'm visualizing the mounting and room configuration correctly. Not familiar with how the power port mounts, so I can't help with that, sorry.
  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    Pictures are in this thread http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/177945/bonus-room-placement#latest

    How come you think it would mess with the mid range phase?

    I probably should have gone with in-walls but the guy I picked up my Lsi15 also had these so I grabbed them as well.
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    In the current placement, the image is facing more vertical, by way of the driver coil alignment. Draw a straight line from tweet coil to MW coil, then come out 90° off that line and that's where your speakers are facing. Now there's also an arced phase shift between that line and the on axis line. If you flip the speakers, the line move accordingly. Now since these are surrounds and not being critically listened to, the phase shift won't be noticable, but the image shift will. You should easily hear that, especially if you don't recalibrate after the move.
  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    Oh I think I see what you mean. So currently the tweeter is farther out than the woofer but I would switch that and put the tweeter farther back. If that's not what you meant then all this phase shift stuff is way over my head haha
  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    Alright so I did it. It wasn't as hard as I thought. A little tricky unscrewing the powerports from inside the speaker without accidentally hitting the XO or knocking down a port tube but I managed to get it done.

    For anyone else attempting to do this, it's really not that bad. One thing I didn't consider was, do I have enough wire in the wall to go to the new location of the binding posts (luckily I did). Also, you can't turn the tweeter upside down to make the logos look correct. There are notches in the MDF that match the top of the tweeter only. Maybe you could take apart the tweeter and switch the plastic cover but I'm not that concerned. The grills go on upside down just fine.

    This moved the center of the tweeter down around 6" but I think will help shift the image back and more towards the listening position. I'm going to play around with them tonight to see if they sound any better.

    Pics are from the listening position.

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    ulga1p9cg0m7.jpg
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,124
    Ya' know it's all about what suits you. Look at my Dynaudio C1's

    In my listening room I have a pair of chairs the swivel and you can adjust the height and lean in the chairs.

    You can dial about 1/2" and hear a little different. My sound stage is great in that room, but there's that really sweet spot

    Enjoy ;)
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
  • Airplay355
    Airplay355 Posts: 4,298
    Thanks! It definitely made a positive difference. The rear is filled in better and blends a lot better with the front. It’s not perfect but much better than before. Since this isn’t a dedicated bespoke movie room I’ve gotta make due when it comes to placement. Worth the effort for sure.
  • FestYboy
    FestYboy Posts: 3,861
    Glad the change was positive.