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I've got to say set up. And not my own set up. I worked with my gear in my room for over 2 years and it always felt like something was off or being left on the table. I kept doing down gear research rabbit holes. Then Skip came over one afternoon and spent about 3 hours working on the set up, and I have to say he accomplished more in those three hours than I did in 2 years. It did require a few tools I didn't own (nothing crazy, mostly just various leveling tools beyond a bubble level), but no new equipment was brought into the equation.

I can completely agree with this! I have the tools he uses, plus some more to get exacting placement for my speakers. Once you get the speakers truly set up, it is amazing just how sharp and focused everything gets with imaging. It can make a jumbled mess sound so much more precise and everything just falls into place. Here is what Skip and I use;

DigiPas DWL-1300XY 2 axis precision digital level
Takamine GM160 Pro self leveling 16 line laser
Bosch Professional GLM20 digital tape measure
Stanley Powerlock tape measure
Johnson 40-6184 laser level

Once you get the general location for optimal bass and the least amount of room nodes at your listening position (Jim Smith's book, "Get Better Sound" can help you out with that, if you aren't familiar with the process), Forget measuring by using the walls. Walls are almost never plumb. Use the 16 point laser to align the speakers parallel to the wall and find your exact sweet spot. Double check distances to your ear location with the digital tape measure to within 1/16", then use the Digi-Pas to level your speakers to within .001 degrees. Then double check all measurements again.

It does take time, as one slight adjustment of the spikes alters another measurement but when you hit it perfect, the end result is ear candy that sound SO much better than simply placing a speaker where you think it would sound good and playing with toe in. There is much more to it, and this is just the condensed version of what I do for speaker placement but I will tell you this. I can definitely tell when something is off now. When something doesn't sound just right, I'll break out the Digi-Pas and 10 times out of 10, the speakers got bumped or moved out of alignment. A quick readjustment and I'm back to business.

As for toe in? Please allow me to share some notes I have on the subject. This part is completely free. All it takes is your time.

Here are four simple techniques that will make your speakers sound better than you thought possible—without costing you a dime.

1) The relationship between the loudspeakers and the listener is of paramount importance.
The listener and speakers should form an equilateral triangle; without this basic setup, you’ll never hear good sound staging and imaging. The listener should sit exactly between the two speakers (called the “sweet spot”), at a distance away from each speaker that’s slightly greater than the distance between the speakers themselves. If you don’t have this fundamental relationship, you’ll never hear good soundstaging.

Setting the distance between the speakers is a trade-off between a wide soundstage and a strong center or “phantom” image. The farther apart the loudspeakers (assuming the same listening position), the wider the soundstage. As the speakers are moved farther apart, however, the center image weakens, and can even disappear. If the speakers are too close together, the soundstage narrows.

Speakers placed the optimal distance apart will produce a strong center image and a wide soundstage. A musical selection with a singer and sparse accompaniment is ideal for setting loudspeaker spacing and ensuring a strong center image. With the speakers fairly close together, listen for a tightly focused image of the singer exactly between the two speakers. Move the speakers a little farther apart and listen again. Repeat this move/listen procedure until you start to hear the central image become larger, more diffuse, and less focused, indicating that you’ve gone slightly beyond the maximum distance your speakers should be from each other for a given listening position.

2) Proximity of loudspeakers to walls affects the amount of bass.
The nearer the loudspeakers are to walls and corners, the louder the bass. You can reduce excessive bass by moving your speakers farther out into the room. How far into the room the speakers are positioned also affects the clarity of the bass because certain speaker locations don’t excite the room’s resonant modes as strongly. You can reduce these resonances by following the “rule of thirds” which states that, for the best bass response, the distance between the speakers and the wall behind them should be one-third the length of the room. This is often impractical, but one-fifth the room length is generally the next-best location.

3) The farther out into the room the loudspeakers are, the better the soundstaging—particularly depth.
Positioning loudspeakers close to the wall behind them can destroy the impression of a deep soundstage. Acoustically reflective objects such as a television or fireplace near the speakers can also degrade sound staging. A deep, expansive soundstage is rarely developed with the loudspeakers near the front wall; pulling the speakers out a few feet can make the difference between poor and spectacular sound staging.

4) Toe-in affects tonal balance, soundstage width, and image focus.
Toe-in is pointing a loudspeaker inward toward the listener rather than aiming it straight ahead. Toe-in is a powerful tool for dialing-in the soundstage and treble balance. There are no rules for toe-in; the optimal amount will vary greatly with the speaker and the room.

Toe-in increases the amount of treble heard at the listening seat. You can fine-tune a speaker’s treble balance by adjusting the amount of toe-in in small increments and listening after each adjustment.

Toe-in also increases soundstage focus and image specificity. When toed-in, many loudspeakers provide a more focused and sharply delineated soundstage. Images are more clearly defined, compact, and tight, rather than diffuse and lacking a specific spatial position. The optimal toe-in angle is often a trade-off between too much treble and a strong central image. With lots of toe-in, the soundstage snaps into focus, but the sound is often too bright. With no toe-in, the treble balance is smoother, but the imaging is more vague. You can find the best balance simply by listening and adjusting.

Toe-in also affects the sound’s overall spaciousness. No toe-in produces a larger, more billowy, less precise soundstage. Instruments are less clearly delineated, but the sound is bigger and more expansive. Toeing-in the speakers shrinks the apparent size of the soundstage, but allows more precise image delineation. Finally, identical (and I mean identical) toe-in for both speakers is essential to realistic soundstaging. There’s no substitute for a listen-adjust-listen process to realize ideal speaker placement.

I hope this helps someone who may be still struggling with imaging. As mentioned before. All it takes is your time. Measuring everything, using the tools I have just makes the process go much quicker, with more precision....but you don't necessarily need them. The good thing is, if you do decide to invest in these tools, it's a one and done deal. Then you can use them for the rest of your life, and help others out who may be in need of assistance with their rigs. In general, it takes me a good 3 plus hours to make sure all parameters are correct. It's definitely worth it though!

Tom

I've got to say set up. And not my own set up. I worked with my gear in my room for over 2 years and it always felt like something was off or being left on the table. I kept doing down gear research rabbit holes. Then Skip came over one afternoon and spent about 3 hours working on the set up, and I have to say he accomplished more in those three hours than I did in 2 years. It did require a few tools I didn't own (nothing crazy, mostly just various leveling tools beyond a bubble level), but no new equipment was brought into the equation.

While plenty of other gear has made big impacts, and is certainly more fun than a set up, I encourage everyone to seek out a professional you trust to bring their expertise to your room set up. You can read every strategy on the planet, but it's hard to beat good ol' fashion experience.

And for those that want tips on where to find someone to assist with a set up - go to shows. If a dealer can make a hotel room sound pretty good with only an evening or two to work with, they can probably help make your room sound pretty good as well.

The USPS, the undisputed champions of doing it wrong.

3 shipments from 3 different places and all 3 are, as of right now, somewhere unknown. How is that even possible!?!

He's mastered that upright bass!

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So sorry for your loss:-(