Will Monitor 40 sound OK if positioned on side?

Deslock

The Monitor 40s are too tall to fit on my bookshelves. Will they sound OK if placed on their sides? I googled and found one 3rd-hand account that said they sound off if not upright, but I'm looking for a second opinion.

F1nut

Ummm....no.

HTaddict

Use yor ears..best way to tell for your self because yor gonna hear all kinds of opinions on that and i personally think there a bunch of stoned thoughts..No different in my oppinion,,have 4 of them

RuSsMaN

Without a cascaded crossover its not a good idea to have drivers in a horizontal array playing the same midrange frequencies. You can get weird lobing artifacts and an overall muddled sound.
Cheers
Russ

rooftop59

When I bought my first pair of M30s (my first real speakers) I was only able to buy them by telling my wife I would lay them on their side in the cabinet (I didn't have a clue). Bottom line: sounded like crap. Worse than the setup in Circuit city! Took them out and set them upright on TV trays and it was night and day. The point is no, they will not sound good. But the plus for me was that taking them out of the cabinet allowed me to move along in the audio journey, so who knows?

HTguru1982

It won't sound like it should. I tried placing my RT7 on its side for use as a center speaker and it no longer blended well with my other RT7's.

Deslock

Thanks for the replies. No one near me sells them (or TSi200s), so I can't do a test myself. M30s would fit and they'd be fine for movies, but not music. So I'm playing it safe and getting floor speakers.

And of course if I'm gonna buy somewhat unsightly towers that take up space, I might as well go for M70s (with a CS2, PSW110, and yet to be determined rear speakers).

Glowrdr

Don't waste your money on the PSW110.... just my .02 - the 70's will handle anything that sub would. Get the 505 if you want to stick with Polk, otherwise look for another brand.

Deslock

Glowrdr wrote: »

Don't waste your money on the PSW110.... just my .02 - the 70's will handle anything that sub would. Get the 505 if you want to stick with Polk, otherwise look for another brand.

I already have the PSW110 (picked one up on sale for $125 a while back).

wbogart4

I honestly have to go with use your ears between the two positions. The speakers are designed to stand vertically but my experience with the M30's has made no difference to me vertically or horizontally. Please keep in mind that this could very well be because I am using them as rears in a 5.1 setup. I have not attempted horizontal speaker layout for the front two.

Deslock

Deslock wrote: »

I already have the PSW110 (picked one up on sale for $125 a while back).

... which I now need to sell. Since I got the AVR-2112 discounted and TSi500s used on craigslist, I decided to splurge when I saw the $230 PSW505 newegg deal :biggrin:

Glowrdr

That's how we roll around here! If you get to the point where you are happy, quit coming here. lol - we have a knack for changing your mind real quick.

mstum

Glowrdr wrote: »

Don't waste your money on the PSW110.... just my .02 - the 70's will handle anything that sub would. Get the 505 if you want to stick with Polk, otherwise look for another brand.

I don't know about the PSW110, but I have a M70 setup (btw, good choice picking them @OP!) and a PSW10 sub which is generally considered underpowered over here. However, the sub adds a LOT to the M70s (which are rather weak at the low end). Of course, the PSW505 is the better choice, but the other often have sales (the PSW10 is $99 everywhere ATM)

Glowrdr

mstum wrote: »

I don't know about the PSW110, but I have a M70 setup (btw, good choice picking them @OP!) and a PSW10 sub which is generally considered underpowered over here. However, the sub adds a LOT to the M70s (which are rather weak at the low end). Of course, the PSW505 is the better choice, but the other often have sales (the PSW10 is $99 everywhere ATM)

Yeah, I guess I made kind of a blanket statement there. It really depends on what you're using to power the speakers. They can handle quite a bit, and if powered decently - I've found they can really rock. But yes, almost any sub will certainly help to pick up the low end. You just have to find a happy medium between price and performance (which really is why the 505 is so popular)

john2nhoj

People do come up with the most interesting questions, as well as answers sometimes, but the factual answer to your question is NO, it will not make any difference as far as the speakers themselves are concerned. This is why Polk supplies the little rubber stick on pads separately instead of applying them at the factory, which allows the user to decide where to put them.

A psychological only fix would be to remove the drivers, turn them (the drivers) in the direction you wish to position the speakers and then reinstall the drivers that way.

What will make a difference in the performance of the speakers is the type of bookcase you are using. A bookcase with open areas in the sides and back are best, while a bookcase with solid sides and back can cause problems because of the tuned port in the rear of the speakers.

The shelf level will also make a difference. You will want to use the bookcase shelf that is most level with your ears when you are in your most normal listening position for the best results.



I forgot to add that your speaker fronts should at least be perfectly even with the edge of the shelf itself or over-hang a little if need be to avoid any unwanted sonic reflections (ricochet) off of the shelf itself.

tonyb

You do realize this thread is 10 months old....right ?

Aside from that, it would matter laying them on their side, if sound quality is of any importance to you.

john2nhoj

unless you are stuck in a state of arrested development it should be obvious that new people still join up and read these older threads for the sake of learning about something they are interested in. Adding the facts when they are missing because some other posters are ill informed or whatever is worth the time in my opinion.

I myself am new here and have read many of the older threads and have learned a good deal without having to ask anyone questions that have already been answered.

Thanks for your concern though.

tonyb

Welcome to the club John.

Out of curiousity, who exactly are these "ill informed" people you talk about ?

john2nhoj

Thank you for the welcome Tonyb.

Read the posts above, which offer incorrect advise/responses to the OP's question.

Note: the same exact drivers are used in Polk's center channel speakers, which are in a cabinet that sets wide instead of tall and it has no effect on the quality of sound nor does it damage the drivers in any way. The same fact holds true when the Monitor 40s (or any other loudspeakers are set on their sides in order to conveniently fit into a desired space.

teekay0007

Ha ha! A newby with feudin' words for F1, Russ, etc......

This is gonna be great!!.....where's my popcorn? :eek:

cnh

RuSsMaN wrote: »

Without a cascaded crossover its not a good idea to have drivers in a horizontal array playing the same midrange frequencies. You can get weird lobing artifacts and an overall muddled sound.
Cheers
Russ

john2nhoj wrote: »

Thank you for the welcome Tonyb.

Read the posts above, which offer incorrect advise/responses to the OP's question.

Note: the same exact drivers are used in Polk's center channel speakers, which are in a cabinet that sets wide instead of tall and it has no effect on the quality of sound nor does it damage the drivers in any way. The same fact holds true when the Monitor 40s (or any other loudspeakers are set on their sides in order to conveniently fit into a desired space.

Welcome to Club Polk!

Take a look at Russman's post above yours then stick around and find out who "he" is? Before talking about misinformation?

cnh

F1nut

john2nhoj wrote: »

The same fact holds true when the Monitor 40s (or any other loudspeakers are set on their sides in order to conveniently fit into a desired space.

Ummm....yeah, as already pointed out your perception is incorrect.

tonyb

John my good man, while we value all opinions, it may serve you better in the future to research a tad before calling out 2 members, on your first post no less, who have a collective experience greater than probably everyone you know put together.....especially with Polk speakers, and telling them their full of dodo. Just sayin' is all.

bansheesho

That's how we roll around here! If you get to the point where you are happy, quit coming here. lol - we have a knack for changing your mind real quick.

This is so true... This forum is very dangerous to my wallet

tonyb

bansheesho wrote: »

This is so true... This forum is very dangerous to my wallet

Maybe so, but at least you get something in return. Unlike other things in life.

john2nhoj

Tonyb I've been doing this for over 40 years and I'm well aware that there is a lot of nonsense in this hobby, which gets repeated so many times it only takes on the look/sound of being true. Your heroes on here are merely reciting junk information that has been around a long time.

F1nut

john2nhoj wrote: »

Tonyb I've been doing this for over 40 years and I'm well aware that there is a lot of nonsense in this hobby, which gets repeated so many times it only takes on the look/sound of being true. Your heroes on here are merely reciting junk information that has been around a long time.

If you have been in this for 40 years and can make the statement that turning a speaker on its side doesn't affect the sound, then you still have much to learn. I knew that wasn't true my first year into this hobby, over 40 years ago.

michael1947

This is fun, can't believe someone else stepped in it also. I sit here sheepishly putting in my 2 cents worth once in a while so here goes again. It's your speaker, do with it what you want and listen. I jack things around all the time sometimes it doesn't matter sometimes it does. You must fit your space with your stuff. I'm sitting here right now listening to some very old SDA-1A's which are each in one corner of my book room and sitting in front of each speaker is a large wing back chair...I can only see 1 tweeter on each cabinet...the chairs vibrate some when the volume is jacked and my dog usually sleeping in one of the chairs seems to like it. Do the chairs affect the sound..Yup, is it a detriment to sonic bliss..Yup, do they fit the space..Yup, do I care..Nope.

Tbone289

Not knowing and not caring are two very different things Michael.