Addicted to near field.

Ricardo

That's all. Listening closer to the speaker's plane than the distance between the speakers. It sounds soooo good with an incredible depth.

I listen like this when I'm working in my listening room.

Try it.

dorokusai

Ricardo wrote: »

That's all. Listening closer to the speaker's plane than the distance between the speakers. It sounds soooo good with an incredible depth.

I listen like this when I'm working in my listening room.

Try it.

That's why I bought really nice loudspeakers/equipment for my computer rig ages ago as I spend a good amount of time there. Near field listening is always undersold and even less appreciated because most folks look for the concert instead of the accuracy.

steveinaz

Ricardo,
I've noticed this when occasionally moving up to the system to press a button, or some such. You'll hit a spot where you go "wow" but it's much closer than normal. I'd say it's maybe 1.5ft in front of my 8ft spaced speakers. I know what you mean, very cool affect. The midrange and soundstage just gel.

punk-roc

dorokusai wrote: »

That's why I bought really nice loudspeakers/equipment for my computer rig ages ago as I spend a good amount of time there. Near field listening is always undersold and even less appreciated because most folks look for the concert instead of the accuracy.

+1 to this - It took me a long time to figure out why I always gravitated to listening to my relatively subpar computer-based system versus my "main" stereo. But now the goal has been to just make my main rig better, since before it was just some big speakers against a wall with a random amp

Jason

FTGV

I like the near field experience using a pair of small accurate monitors with my puter rig.The influence of the room is taken out of the equation for the most part.

Face

It's like headphones but with an actual center image.

cnh

I've noticed this same effect on a very LOWLY computer setup. Two old Ratshack Minimus 7s and an old Aiwa AVR run at lower or moderate volumes--USB unit out from the laptop to RCAs on the Aiwa.

While this is not going to blow out any REAL system....it is surprisingly pleasing to the ear...the desk is 6 ft long and I am a couple of feet from the speakers' plane on either end of the desk.

Low end system, to be sure. But I think Jstas had some interesting demos in that range at PFest.

cnh

ben62670

I modded my sound card just a little with better OpAmps and I am running a modified "amp deal of the centry" amp with some custom Tang Band full range drivers. I have been spending very little time with my main rig lately. I do want to go with a better speaker setup. I just don't know what I want yet.

dorokusai

Face wrote: »

It's like headphones but with an actual center image.

Hopefully I get what you mean Face as I'm a big headfi nut as well but the near field experience is totally different when it comes to actual image. Some say you can't get more near field than a headphone yet near field imaging is totally different and much more engaging....focused even....although it's not on your head. Am I tracking with your comment?

Face

As for focus, do you mean image definition? My head-fi experience is limited compared to yours(AT ATH-700, Shure SE-420). As mentioned above, it's like having the room removed from the listening experience. And the images are a few feet ahead of you, not in your skull. But I've never experienced a center image with headphones, only near field rigs. Overall, I do find a nearfield setup more enjoyable. I only resort to headphones when I don't want to disturb anyone else, or when I don't want to be disturbed myself.

treitz3

Very interesting subject you bring up, Ricardo. While I don't have "near field" speakers [you know the ones I have, as you owned them before], I sometimes play with my son on the floor and at a closer distance than that of the listening position. I find myself stopping at times while my son is off doing his own thing and just enjoying the music. It's completely different. Same music, but you know what I mean. There is just something about it that I can't really describe in words at this given moment but I know what you mean.

I noticed on someone's website......Richard Green or something like that [can't remember off the top of my head as it's been years since I have visited the site], that the room was tuned to the speakers. When pursuing many of the photographs of the work he has done, I noticed that many of the systems had what I would consider a near field type experience. In other words, the sweet spot was no where near the sweet spot. The speakers were wide, pushed way out from the wall they were broadcasting from, and the listening position was way against the wall in back. Close to the speakers, sometimes very close. Looked rather strange, given all of the knowledge/advice I have gained/received over the years but upon trying it myself in a couple of different scenarios, somehow it works.

Not all the time, mind you but when it does, it's wonderful.

Ricardo

Tom, there's no such thing as "near field" speakers. I do this with my main speakers. MMG's at this time, but I also did this when I had the 1.2 TL's.

Glad to hear others have experienced this. There are no words to describe the intimacy you reach with the music. It's magical.

treitz3

Ricardo wrote: »

Tom, there's no such thing as "near field" speakers.

Well, dang. Of all of the years I have been in this hobby, I never bothered to look that up. I guess you you learn something everyday as I always thought there were such things.......just was never interested 'cause when I saw speakers advertised as near field, they were always bookies. When I get my own dedicated stereo room, I will explore this to the inth degree. Seeing as how the rig is currently in my living room? Eh, not a very good idea.

That said, yes. Of course there have been others that have experienced this. I mean, I don't know this for a fact but it's noticeable enough for even the novice in this hobby to recognize.

dorokusai

Face wrote: »

As for focus, do you mean image definition? My head-fi experience is limited compared to yours(AT ATH-700, Shure SE-420). As mentioned above, it's like having the room removed from the listening experience. And the images are a few feet ahead of you, not in your skull. But I've never experienced a center image with headphones, only near field rigs. Overall, I do find a nearfield setup more enjoyable. I only resort to headphones when I don't want to disturb anyone else, or when I don't want to be disturbed myself.

Yes, especially depth. The image created by headphones is a given for the most part but when it comes to near field you get much more depth that to me is much more engrossing. The best way to....easiest way is to talk about it is expectations first. I've always loved bookshelf speakers for what they do and disliked floor standers for what they don't do.

When you get floored by a smaller footprint, it means more to me and engages me musically. I expect a floor stander to sound good yet have been disappointed by way more of them than the other.

When it comes to near field listening, for me, its almost surround sound in a way as it's all about me at that point. There's barely any room interaction, outside imperfections and issues that it allows one to get deeper into the media.

Does that makes sense? My segway into near field started with my computer rig that I originally bought from Hoosier and Russman back in 2003. It was a NAD pre/amp combo with a pair of Mission loudspeakers. I've talked about it before but I've been hooked on it more than the main 2ch system since for the most part.

Big hifi is and has become easy to do for me so the smaller aspects are what fascinate me the most. That coming from an SRT owner might sound odd but it shouldn't and isn't to the other hardcore folks on this forum, like you but a bunch of folks here have smaller rigs that they enjoy. They just don't get talked about much.

Rev. Hayes

I used to occasionally take my Lsi9's and place them on either side of the recliner and basically use them as loudspeaker headphones at a distance of about a foot and severely toed in. :redface:

It's a completely different experience. It's like the sound stage is huge but floating just above the bridge of your nose. Good stuff when you're really in the "mood". :biggrin:

dorokusai

Rev. Hayes wrote: »

I used to occasionally take my Lsi9's and place them on either side of the recliner and basically use them as loudspeaker headphones at a distance of about a foot and severely toed in. :redface:

It's a completely different experience. It's like the sound stage is huge but floating just above the bridge of your nose. Good stuff when you're really in the "mood". :biggrin:

That's near field Rev....your way ahead here and cool that you were experimenting.

RuSsMaN

Just think if you guys had more than one set of ears.

Ricardo

Or maybe two or three ________. That would be even better.

Ricardo

treitz3 wrote: »

Well, dang. Of all of the years I have been in this hobby, I never bothered to look that up. I guess you you learn something everyday as I always thought there were such things.......just was never interested 'cause when I saw speakers advertised as near field, they were always bookies.

To be fair, there are monitors designed for near field listening. My point is that you don't really need these to experience what near field brings. You can do it with any speaker no matter the size.

treitz3

dorokusai wrote: »

There's barely any room interaction, outside imperfections and issues that it allows one to get deeper into the media.

Does that makes sense?

It does to me as that's what I experience. Good way to define the observations, Mark.

dorokusai

treitz3 wrote: »

It does to me as that's what I experience. Good way to define the observations, Mark.

Cool Tom. I'd bet that more ppl never really thought about it as near field at all....just speakers too close. Russman showed me the real neat factor of near field at the first Polkfest with a pair of Norh loudspeakers, which as Ricardo stated....are more NF oriented than anything. They sound awful in anything BUT NF listening.

FTGV

treitz3 wrote: »

I noticed on someone's website......Richard Green or something like that

.

Michael Green of Room Tunes fame?

Ricardo wrote: »

Tom, there's no such thing as "near field" speakers.

There are Near Field monitors that have been developed for near field duties in the studio enviroment.Generally speakers in which their crossover design combined with a driver layout that have been optimized to behave more like a point source(better blending of individual drivers) are better performers for near field listening.

ben62670

LOL Russ:biggrin:
At Jerry's I heard what a little setup can sound like. A small Stromberg tube amp and some little DCM bookies really has my wheels spinning. Also just a little side step. I see a lot of setups with the speakers too close to each other. The way it is setup at Jerry's house the speakers are ridiculously looking spaced apart. You would guess by looking at some of the setups that there would be no center image. Some toe their speakers way too much and have them close to each other. Having the speakers pointed at you in most cases has been a big fail. Stores tend to do this. I still want a set of Vandy's to try. The tone and sound stage was awesome. What does half of this have to do with nearfield? I think a lot of it is the speakers are proportional spaced further apart in a lot of nearfield setups. I hope to have some extra time in GA to build a nice set of nearfield speakers for my puter.
Cheers
Ben

dorokusai

ben62670 wrote: »

LOL Russ:biggrin:
At Jerry's I heard what a little setup can sound like. A small Stromberg tube amp and some little DCM bookies really has my wheels spinning. Also just a little side step. I see a lot of setups with the speakers too close to each other. The way it is setup at Jerry's house the speakers are ridiculously looking spaced apart. You would guess by looking at some of the setups that there would be no center image. Some toe their speakers way too much and have them close to each other. Having the speakers pointed at you in most cases has been a big fail. Stores tend to do this. I still want a set of Vandy's to try. The tone and sound stage was awesome. What does half of this have to do with nearfield? I think a lot of it is the speakers are proportional spaced further apart in a lot of nearfield setups. I hope to have some extra time in GA to build a nice set of nearfield speakers for my puter.
Cheers
Ben

I'm not sure if I'm misreading Ben, so forgive me but when I think near field...I'm thinking bookshelves and never a floor stander. Moreso, flat out sitting on a table, directly in front of me, not a room based system at all.

Ricardo

FTGV wrote: »

There are Near Field monitors that have been developed for near field duties.

Yes. Post # 19.

ben62670

Yeah I am thinking bookies too on my puter desk. My reference to the floor standers is why I think nearfield sounds so good when compared to floor standers that are setup too close together. That and the bad reflections a room can influence SQ you pointed out earlier. Sorry about the poorly conveyed post you quoted.
Ben

treitz3

FTGV wrote: »

Michael Green of Room Tunes.

Yes, that's the cat. Thank you.

FTGV

Ricardo wrote: »

Yes. Post # 19.

Yep I was typing when you posted.



Coaxials like these from SEAS https://www.madisound.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=35_40_402_275&products_id=8767 and KEF's UNI-Q designs should work very good for near field use.

dorokusai

ben62670 wrote: »

Yeah I am thinking bookies too on my puter desk. My reference to the floor standers is why I think nearfield sounds so good when compared to floor standers that are setup too close together. That and the bad reflections a room can influence SQ you pointed out earlier. Sorry about the poorly conveyed post you quoted.
Ben

OK, got ya'

ben62670

I am using these with some pretty good results. I need a sub for games though.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=264-828

treitz3

I just thought of this and it may not be near field but hear me out....maybe it is....

We were at an audio event late last year and we had a rig that we didn't have any room for inside. We were gonna move the pool table downstairs to set it up but....long story short? Wasn't gonna happen.

So, a buddy of mine were drinkin' a cold one trying to think of what we could do. Nothing came to mind due to space limitations and it became cigarette time, so we went outside. Just for **** and giggles, I had mentioned that we should set it up on the porch. "Not that anybody would listen to it" was my comment but it was determined that we just didn't have any other spot to set it up.

Well, we set it up and this was [in our opinion] definitely NOT the best location for said rig. The speakers were about 7-8 feet apart and due to the porch railings being so close, the furthest you could sit back was at tops 4 feet away. It was just a simple rig with tubes, a run of the mill CDP and SDA's.

As soon as it was set up, nobody left that deck for three hours straight until we had to go do something else. The sound stage was 8 to 10 feet out from the edge of the speakers and the depth was something I had experienced before with SDA's, however, there was something positively different about it.

Call me crazy but that was one of the best sounding rigs at the event. Not bad for a rig that was thought of as nobody would listen too.

Still don't get how this would work with an SDA speaker but it did. Rather well too, no matter the tube amp we put on it.