Speaker placement suggestions

Early B.

Below are some pics of my den (13’ x 20’) that houses my HT setup. I’m exploring ways to improve on my sub-optimal speaker placement.

Here’s the problem – due to aesthetic reasons, my front speakers must be placed near the wall on each side of the windows (see pics). When they arrive, my “new” floor standing speakers will be rear ported. If I move them forward about 18 inches, they’ll be conspicuously present in the room which won’t pass the WAF. She doesn’t want the room looking like a home theater. That’s one reason why I sold my Rti10’s a while back – they looked nice and sounded good, but they had too much presence in the room.

The other problem is that the speaker on the right side of the TV will be corner loaded (yuck!). The only option I can think of is moving the speakers out from the wall every time we watch a movie, then place them back against the wall when the movie is over. I’d like to avoid doing that, if possible. If I do that, they’ll be about 8 feet from the listening position.

Anyone have other ideas? Is there a way to tame a rear port that’s too close to the wall?

Thanks.

Early B.

Another...This is the dreaded corner of boominess...

Early B.

Finally, a wider angle shot...

danger boy

that's a tough one guy.. i'd say then.. move your speakers close to the TV.. it's not optimal, but that may work better than having to move them every night.

Moreants

I don't like that arrangement either. Have you tried other walls in that room? Maybe better off with sofa/chairs by windows and move setup to other side. Either that or get them as far from the walls as you can and/or toe them in.

As far as diverting rear port, I did this to some Athenas:

Moreants

And ended up with this:

http://gallery.audioreview.com/showphoto.php?photo=1053&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

Dennis Gardner

Wow, that photo threw me for a loop. It just didn't process in my brain until I looked again at your port diversion baffle photo.


Nice look though!

Moreants

Made from plywood and mdf. Enclosure filled with a bag of salt for damping/anti-resonance.

Close-up of diverter:

Early B.

Have you tried other walls in that room? Maybe better off with sofa/chairs by windows and move setup to other side.

Nope. I'm stuck. It's a WAF thing. And even if I flipped the setup to the other side, I'd still have the same problem. Besides, it's poor feng shui. You don't want your back to the windows if you can avoid it.

Wow, Moreants -- those are some pretty creative speakers you got there. How does it sound? Seems to me that stacking speakers from two different manufacturers would sound kinda weird.

Now, your baffle design is intriguing. I thought about making my own "power port." What was your motivation? How does it affect the bass?

Early B.

i'd say then.. move your speakers close to the TV..

That's a good idea. Thanks. I'll try that one. Only minor issue is that AC vent on the bottom right side of the TV. I'll have to be careful not to block it.

Moreants

quote:
"Wow, Moreants -- those are some pretty creative speakers you got there. How does it sound? Seems to me that stacking speakers from two different manufacturers would sound kinda weird.

Now, your baffle design is intriguing. I thought about making my own "power port." What was your motivation? How does it affect the bass?"



The Athena's brighten up the RTi8's nicely. The baffle has tightened up the bass response. I run the Athena's as mains most of time with the loudness on and can play them at high volumes without affecting neighbors. I'll admit that part of the reason for the baffle was aesthetics to match depth of Polks, but it works and looks great.

The RTi8's are wired as backs to my Pioneer 1015 so I can use the 2 sets in any combination I want.

Early B.

The RTi8's are wired as backs to my Pioneer 1015 so I can use the 2 sets in any combination I want.

OK, I get it. So both speakers aren't producing the same information. Interesting.

Yeah, you're right, it looks good. It took me a while to figure out what you did.

Early B.

This may be a dumb question, but since I ain't the brightest star in the sky when it comes to audio, I'll ask it --

Has anyone ever tried toeing out their front speakers slightly for HT to create a wider soundstage? I'm just trying to think about danger boy's suggestion and moving the speakers adjacent to the TV.

Moreants

Toeing out wouldn't be a good idea. You would lose much of the high end and the highs you would hear would reach listeners at different times.

danger boy

agreed toeing out would not help with the soundstage. what center are you using? sorry i can't quite see from your pic.

i'd say if possible put your fronts about 6 to 12" from your TV. shooting straight ahead.. how far are you from your TV set?

is the TV and your seating in direct line? or off to the side?

It's also possible to place plants next to either side of the speakers.. giving it a more balanced look. Maybe your wife might enjoy adding some plants to the room?

I wouldn't worry to much about the AC vent. if it does create a problem. they sell clear air deflectors at Home Depot for just that purpose.

Early B.

how far are you from your TV set?

The listening position is about 8-9 ft. directly in front of the TV.

The other problem is setting the speakers closer to the TV will place them directly in front of the windows. Very good for HT, very bad for WAF.

scottnbnj

hard to say before you hear the speaks in the room, but, a few short sections echo/bass busters or diy's might help.

if you experiment and find a treatment really works between the tv and speak, you can route the ac duct right through or below it if the plastic deflector from hd doesn't cut it.

in addition to lf, i'd be surprised if the mid and high frequency image didn't pull towards the close sidewall too without toe-in. i can see where treatments on that sidewall could be difficult. i don't know if it'll pass waf, but, i've had success catching reflections after they hit sidewalls with a full coatrack (it actually works very well over a wide frequency range). obviously an echo/bass buster would work too.

for toe-out, i don't see it helping acoustically with your sidewall situation. even if the math did work, i doubt it would grade well on wa and fs (feng shui) factors.

oh yeah,.. there's opening the window too.

)

Early B.

Yeah, Scott, you're right. I have a lot of issues to deal with. I guess the best thing for me to do is manually pull the speakers out from the wall every time we watch a movie. Damn -- suckers weigh 80 lbs. each. I can see the headlines - "Home theater enthusiast strains back for better bass."