What is Best Distance from Wall with RTiA1
herick
Posts: 3
I have recently bought a pair of RTiA1. I am now wall-mounting these speakers at height 4 inches from the ceiling and 2 inches from the side wall.
Are these good distances from the ceiling and the wall? My floor-to-ceiling height is about 8 feet. The speakers are about 8 feet apart and my listening position is about 12 feet from the speakers.
Thanks in advance.
Are these good distances from the ceiling and the wall? My floor-to-ceiling height is about 8 feet. The speakers are about 8 feet apart and my listening position is about 12 feet from the speakers.
Thanks in advance.
Post edited by herick on
Comments
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I have recently bought a pair of RTiA1. I am now wall-mounting these speakers at height 4 inches from the ceiling and 2 inches from the side wall.
Are these good distances from the ceiling and the wall? My floor-to-ceiling height is about 8 feet. The speakers are about 8 feet apart and my listening position is about 12 feet from the speakers.
Thanks in advance.
Are these used with an HDTV? Seems a bit high if these are your fronts.
I used to run RTiA3 for my fronts - I had them wall mounted but right about ear level and 'even' with my HDTV:
http://erikt.cts.com/Pictures/hometheater/home-theater-valor.JPG
ymmv since every room has its own constraints.
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music. -
4 inches from the ceiling seems high.
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WELCOME TO CLUB POLK!
I have a set of Rti-4s (the previous incarnation)--not wall-mounted...I'd agree, as fronts you want them about ear-height! Mine are on the top of an entertainment shelf a foot or more away from the wall. Although, with the Rear Power port you could probably have them closer to the wall as you do....but I agree with everyone above....that's definitely too high?
Do you just want to have them out of the way? Is that the reason for mounting them in the corners?
cnhCurrently orbiting Bowie's Blackstar.!
Polk Lsi-7s, Def Tech 8" sub, HK 3490, HK HD 990 (CDP/DAC), AKG Q701s
[sig. changed on a monthly basis as I rotate in and out of my stash] -
herick welcome to CP. I agree with the others on your location being less than ideal. What you need to keep in mind is no two rooms are the same and no one hears what you hear. All anyone here can do is offer some sugestions. You need to decide what sounds best to you, even if it goes against all suggestions. Suggestions should only be used as a starting point.
Here are some cut and paste tid bits that may help you a little. The best I can suggest is to try many different locations before mounting anything to the wall, and finalizing your speaker wire lengths, go through a new calibration with each speaker move, then decide what you like best.
Good luck
One rule (guide line) of speaker placement is that the speakers and your listening position should form an isosceles triangle with the distance between the speakers being less than or equal to the distance between you and each speaker.
Another the closer you place a speaker to intersecting room surfaces (corners, wall and ceiling, wall and floor), the stronger the bass output. This can help bass-shy speakers, but it can also add too much bass. Again, just moving a speaker a few inches can often make a big difference in sound.
As to height, in theory each speaker should be placed such that the acoustic centre of its drive units should be at the same height as your ears when listening. With a 2-way speaker this is roughly halfway between the centres of the two drive units. If you listen sitting on a couch, then that's typically 30 inches off the ground or so. Why is this? Treble frequencies have a tendency to 'beam'. It's a bit like tunnel vision when you drive a car faster and faster. Midrange frequencies spread out quite a bit, and bass frequencies are pretty much omni-directional. Supposedly, the source of a signal below 100hz simply can't be placed by humans. This is why the location of a subwoofer can be theoretically anywhere. In practice, this isn't strictly true since the room has its own effect on the sub's frequencies. So this is why, if the speakers are placed on a wall high up, they should be angled down to point at the listening area. Another suggestion in this situation is to turn them upside down such that the tweeter (treble) unit is lower down and therefore closer to your ear. Every bit counts in this situation, and it doesn't cost you any extra! -
Thank you all for your responses and advice. Very much appreciated. I have just returned from business trip and am very excited to see so many responses.
I also think that my speakers are mounted too high. But the most viable mounting place is above the door. So I have very limited choices.
Erik, these are for the fronts. I have not bought an HDTV yet (will do later) so at the moment these speakers are for listening to music. BTW, your A3's are very nicely placed. How are the speakers anchored to the wall-mount? Don't look like they are just sitting on the wall mounts.
cnh, thanks for the comment on Rear Power Port. I was worrying about placing the speakers too close to the side wall will greatly affect sound quality. I mount them near the corners to make the speakers placement look better (my subjective feeling). But if moving a few inches away from the side wall will significantly improve sound quality I will do that.
apphd, thanks for the very detailed advice. Now I know if I feel that there is too much bass I can improve it by moving the speakers further away from the side wall. I cannot move them further from the back wall though because I am mounting them using the speaker's keyhole. Using a speaker wall-mount bracket might help? -
Thank you all for your responses and advice. Very much appreciated. I have just returned from business trip and am very excited to see so many responses.
I also think that my speakers are mounted too high. But the most viable mounting place is above the door. So I have very limited choices.
Erik, these are for the fronts. I have not bought an HDTV yet (will do later) so at the moment these speakers are for listening to music. BTW, your A3's are very nicely placed. How are the speakers anchored to the wall-mount? Don't look like they are just sitting on the wall mounts.
cnh, thanks for the comment on Rear Power Port. I was worrying about placing the speakers too close to the side wall will greatly affect sound quality. I mount them near the corners to make the speakers placement look better (my subjective feeling). But if moving a few inches away from the side wall will significantly improve sound quality I will do that.
apphd, thanks for the very detailed advice. Now I know if I feel that there is too much bass I can improve it by moving the speakers further away from the side wall. I cannot move them further from the back wall though because I am mounting them using the speaker's keyhole. Using a speaker wall-mount bracket might help?
The wall mount is a B Tech BT-77. I secured the RTiA3s to the mount with zip ties:
http://erikt.cts.com/Pictures/hometheater/RTIA3-Mount-1.JPG
http://erikt.cts.com/Pictures/hometheater/RTIA3-Mount-2.JPG
http://erikt.cts.com/Pictures/hometheater/RTIA3-Mount-3.JPG
Snug and safe.
H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music. -
Erik Tracy wrote: »The wall mount is a B Tech BT-77. I secured the RTiA3s to the mount with zip ties:
http://erikt.cts.com/Pictures/hometheater/RTIA3-Mount-1.JPG
http://erikt.cts.com/Pictures/hometheater/RTIA3-Mount-2.JPG
http://erikt.cts.com/Pictures/hometheater/RTIA3-Mount-3.JPG
Snug and safe.
That is a very clever way to mount the speakers. Thanks for taking the pictures and posting them. I'll look for the same or similar wall mounts for my speakers.
