Best Speaker Placement for stereo listening

crazy

I was wondering what is the best speaker setup for 2 channel listening.

I tried experimenting with speaker placements yesterday - when the speaker were closer to the listening area (PLACEMENT 1), they seemed to generate better bass response, better sound-stage etc.

However, when I pushed them further back against the well and seperated them further (PLACEMENT 2), the bass response seemed reduced and the sound-stage wasn't that crisp.

The room size is around 14x14

tryrrthg

no one can tell you the best set-up for your room. It takes time and a lot of patience and listening. Here are some set-up procedures to help:

http://www.audioasylum.com/scripts/d.pl?audio/faq.html#speakers

I followed the Audio Physics method and it works out pretty well in my small room.

reeltrouble1

I would say you should of experienced the opposite of your findings, with a better stage and bass when you moved them back to the wall and wider apart, you can lose some focus as they get wider apart but you should not lose soundstage. Maybe that is what you are trying to say when you say they are not as "crisp".

You hear what you hear. The old equilateral triangle is where you start then work from there, just keep at it.

RT1

organ

How close to the wall did you place them? You should get a bigger soundstage and more bass in placement 2. Maybe they were seperated too much. Try it again with the speakers closer together. Make an equilateral triangle with the two speakers and your sweet spot.

unc2701

reeltrouble1 wrote:

I would say you should of experienced the opposite of your findings, with a better stage and bass when you moved them back to the wall and wider apart, you can lose some focus as they get wider apart but you should not lose soundstage.

Most setups have given me the opposite. Unless you're very lacking in bass you want to move them away from the walls/ corners. The equilaterial triangle is very true, but the distance is a balancing act. Idealy closer is better. You have the whole first watt sounds the best thing going for you and you can produce much larger dynamics before the amp is tapped out (halving the distance is like doubling the volume). On the flip side, B&W's tend to come apart at low wattage, so a little volume/ distance is good.

So- I would move them as far out into the room as the WAF allows, then vary the distance between them, moving the couch to complete the triangle and find what sounds best. If moving them into the room isn't an option, then read up on room treatments.

You spent a lot on those B&W's and you want to get the most out of them

organ

I bet those Beemers kicks serious ****. What are you powering them with?

audiobliss

Krell 400xi, iirc.

crazy

organ wrote:

I bet those Beemers kicks serious ****. What are you powering them with?

Krell 400Xi integrated amps.

organ

Sweet. You've got some serious power behind them.

reeltrouble1

Moving them closer to the walls will give emphasize bass response, stop confusing him.

Closer to wall more bass
Wider apart larger stage/less focus

Its not effin rocket science. Put the speakers where you like, I am out, rest of the peanut gallery have fun.

RT1

dorokusai

I would place them directly to the left and right of your listening position....approximately 4 inches from each ear.

crazy

dorokusai wrote:

I would place them directly to the left and right of your listening position....approximately 4 inches from each ear.

That would indeed be recipe for disaster!

crazy

Time to do some experimenting today ... thing is that those B&W's are so heavy that moving them around is really TOUGH!!

organ

It's all good. Just think of it as a good workout. Just becareful with your back when moving those heavy monsters around. Keep us posted on your results.

crazy

That's actually a good question - what's the best way to move heavy speakers? The Polk Audio LSi's look heavy as well. Any thoughts/ suggestions?

audiobliss

Just don't pick 'em up next to a window and let them fall through it! :eek:

organ

That's tough. I've modded my RF's which added probably an extra 10 pounds on each speaker so they're damn heavy right now. I still had to pick them up when moving the speakers around. Really hurt my shoulders for a few days the last time I did it. Get a good stretch before your speaker moving workout.

Tour2ma

unc2701 wrote:

... the distance is a balancing act. Idealy closer is better. You have the whole first watt sounds the best thing going for you and you can produce much larger dynamics before the amp is tapped out (halving the distance is like doubling the volume).

Ding Ding Ding... SPL drop occurs as the square of the distance. Double the distance between your listening psotion and the speakers, and the SPL reduction is a factor of 4, or 6 dB.

ab,
When you did your listening test, did you increase the volume during the near-wall portion to make the SPL equal at your listening position to what you heard during your nearfield portion? Important to do, as within reason, we tend to think that louder sounds fuller or better.

As for soundstage, there are a lot more competitive room effects/ reflections in play in your near-wall set up since the path to your ears of reflected sound is not much longer than the direct path to your ears, so the SPL of reflected sound is close to that of the direct and "muttles" the soundstage.

By contrast the distance direct sound has to travel during the near field test is much shorter than even the shortest relected path. So the SPL of the direct sound waves will overwhelm all reflections occurring during that test and the resulting image will naturally be more precise.