Front L-R Spacing for RTi-A7
Is there a recommended spacing for the front left and front right for the RTi-A7s? Currently they are sitting on either side of the TV about 6' apart. I couldn't find anything in the manual that came with it. Any insights appreciated!
Comments
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Ideally, the front L&R speakers should form an equilateral triangle with the main listening position. Just a rule of thumb. In many cases, room size and layout dictate actual distances.
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6 to 8 feet apart is likely ideal for most rooms. Toe in from your listening sweet spot you should just see the inside edge of each cabinet.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
Mine are usually about 8to 10 ft apart, I sit equally far back. 1 to 2 ft off the back wall, minimum.
Do not forget tilt, I find tilt has a huge impact on sound. My preference is to aim the tweeters slightly above and past my ears.- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
do you mean tilt the cabinet? The Rti-A7s in my place need to be up against the wall however since they are in a corner they are angled 45 degrees to the wall. Is being so close to the wall an issue?Mine are usually about 8to 10 ft apart, I sit equally far back. 1 to 2 ft off the back wall, minimum.
Do not forget tilt, I find tilt has a huge impact on sound. My preference is to aim the tweeters slightly above and past my ears. -
Yes, raise the front slowly until you find the sweet spot, maybe 1/8 inch.
I personally wouldn't put them against the back wall, maybe 6 inches off minimum- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
The main issue with ported speakers being close to the wall is the frequency response gets out of whack with the design of the speakers. Bass is very likely to sound boomy. The problem gets worse when they are too close to two walls in a corner and something called room gain affects the low frequencies.
Having said that, everyone has to live with the space they have. If you do think the bass is boomy, chances are it is not the speakers but the space they are in. The floorstanding speakers simply perform better when they have more room around them. But not too much. It may look better to have speakers pressed up against a wall, but that is not how the speakers are designed to perform at their best.
Front ported speakers are easier to place than bottom or rear ported speakers. Polk tried to get around this with the LSiM 703 where the port includes a dispersion plate on the back. When placement is a major concern, a speaker like the 703 may be ideal. They greatly outperform the RTi speakers. They are now my favorite Polk speaker of them all. -
The RTiA series have a power port on the rear, so being close to a rear wall isn't too big of a concern.
45 degrees of toe in is a lot.Political Correctness'.........defined
"A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."
President of Club Polk -
The main issue with ported speakers being close to the wall is the frequency response gets out of whack with the design of the speakers. Bass is very likely to sound boomy. The problem gets worse when they are too close to two walls in a corner and something called room gain affects the low frequencies.
Having said that, everyone has to live with the space they have. If you do think the bass is boomy, chances are it is not the speakers but the space they are in. The floorstanding speakers simply perform better when they have more room around them. But not too much. It may look better to have speakers pressed up against a wall, but that is not how the speakers are designed to perform at their best.
Front ported speakers are easier to place than bottom or rear ported speakers. Polk tried to get around this with the LSiM 703 where the port includes a dispersion plate on the back. When placement is a major concern, a speaker like the 703 may be ideal. They greatly outperform the RTi speakers. They are now my favorite Polk speaker of them all.
do you mean the LSiM 705? the 703 is a bookshelf speaker -
The RTiA series have a power port on the rear, so being close to a rear wall isn't too big of a concern.
45 degrees of toe in is a lot.
I dont mean they are toed out 45 deg. The 45 deg is because they are in a corner and in relation to the wall they are at 45 degress so that they aim directly at the seating position -
do you mean the LSiM 705? the 703 is a bookshelf speaker
The 703. They're more the size of monitor speakers than ordinary bookshelfs. Sometimes a monitor sized speaker on a good quality stand is a better option than a big floorstander when the listening space is limited and the room may get overloaded with bass.
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makes a lot of sense. I have a 4500ft3 room 18x20 and one side is partially open to another 4500ft3 area. I listen to 100% movies, cable tv an streaming video. Im sitting 12ft from the TV. Do you think the RtiA7 was good for that or should I have considered LSiM 705. I was told the 705 was more music oriented and the RT or Room theater was designed for home theater..obviously.do you mean the LSiM 705? the 703 is a bookshelf speaker
The 703. They're more the size of monitor speakers than ordinary bookshelfs. Sometimes a monitor sized speaker on a good quality stand is a better option than a big floorstander when the listening space is limited and the room may get overloaded with bass.
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At the pricing on the 705s now, those would be my preference. But, nothing wrong with the A7s for what you are using them for either. Looks like you have a good sized room for floorstanders and a subwoofer too. I would recommend if you can to use more space for the system and get the speakers away from the walls if you can get away with it. Move them so they are closer to your seating area a couple feet away from the walls and more of an equilateral triangle setup. I know the room size doesn't necessarily mean an owner has free reign with setting up a system and dominating the whole space. But, maybe you could try a different speaker placement as an experiment and see what results you get. If you don't notice a meaningful difference, easy enough to put the speakers back where they were.
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At the pricing on the 705s now, those would be my preference. But, nothing wrong with the A7s for what you are using them for either. Looks like you have a good sized room for floorstanders and a subwoofer too. I would recommend if you can to use more space for the system and get the speakers away from the walls if you can get away with it. Move them so they are closer to your seating area a couple feet away from the walls and more of an equilateral triangle setup. I know the room size doesn't necessarily mean an owner has free reign with setting up a system and dominating the whole space. But, maybe you could try a different speaker placement as an experiment and see what results you get. If you don't notice a meaningful difference, easy enough to put the speakers back where they were.
sure. Its easy enough to experiment with and move the speakers out. But for a permanent placement it wont work. But the experiment is a good idea because if I don't find a meaningful difference then ill wont feel Im cheating myself by not having the best HT experience and dont need to continue the search for speakers.
I have the RTis 705s, RTi-A1s and the CSi-A6 for 60 days from Crutchfield and can return them for some small cost if I feel I want to replace them. So this is why I can consider other speakers. thanks for the help!
