Speaker Placement Question

[timster]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

[Millennial]

Wow, nobody brave enough to tackle this one

[PhotoMax]

You might want to go ahead and do a test experiment with the speakers you have? Take measurements and see how the sound improves or degrades? Then when you get your new speakers you repeat the process and see how the results compares? Your test sample will be double. Still only two sets but a comparison is always useful.

A guy I know has a very expensive system with Vimberg speakers. One speaker backs up to a bookcase and the other into an open hallway. A bit of a struggle I think? I have not heard this system but the photos of one speaker with its back to open space just looked awkward to my eye...

[Newton_John]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

In my old house, I coudn't avoid having an alcove behind my left speaker. I always felt everything sounded lop sided. This problem was aleviated by the first version of sound optimisation that compensated for the shape of the room. Maybe, it was all psychosomatic. At least I was happy.

Since moving to the new place, my dealer told me to put the speakers wherever convenient and let SO sort out any problems. I found that did work, but I got slightly better results by finding the optimal position with tune dem before applying SO.

This may only be applicable to Komris, but I find it's better to keep my speakers well away from side walls.

In a small room, that brings the speakers close together. I needed to compensate for this by moving the listening position nearer to the speakers. It's probably good to have the listening position away from the back.wall anyway.

[timster]

You might want to go ahead and do a test experiment with the speakers you have? Take measurements and see how the sound improves or degrades? Then when you get your new speakers you repeat the process and see how the results compares? Your test sample will be double. Still only two sets but a comparison is always useful.

A guy I know has a very expensive system with Vimberg speakers. One speaker backs up to a bookcase and the other into an open hallway. A bit of a struggle I think? I have not heard this system but the photos of one speaker with its back to open space just looked awkward to my eye...

I can't currently move them as the positions they could occupy are taken, plus being floorstanders and living alone, with a dicky right arm to boot (it's practically useless at the moment, hoping some physio will help), not easy. Space will only be available when I can reconfigure everything with the Kudos. It's amazing how one box less (fewer?) can change everything!

Your last comment is also a concern. Looks aren't everything but still important. I think the psychological negative effect may outweigh any sonic benefits.

Thinking about it, the speakers are currently 2.8m apart (listening position 3.2m from front). Moving them closer would make them 2.3m apart so it's not much different at the end of the day.

The other option is to keep the right where it is and only move the left away from the corner. However this would mean the listening position will be even less central than it currently is.

I think I'm trying to convince myself that I should just leave them as they are!

[timster]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

In my old house, I coudn't avoid having an alcove behind my left speaker. I always felt everything sounded lop sided. This problem was aleviated by the first version of sound optimisation that compensated for the shape of the room. Maybe, it was all psychosomatic. At least I was happy.

Since moving to the new place, my dealer told me to put the speakers wherever convenient and let SO sort out any problems. I found that did work, but I got slightly better results by finding the optimal position with tune dem before applying SO.

This may only be applicable to Komris, but I find it's better to keep my speakers well away from side walls.

In a small room, that brings the speakers close together. I needed to compensate for this by moving the listening position nearer to the speakers. It's probably good to have the listening position away from the back.wall anyway.

Thanks for the insight. SO has helped with the corner position for sure. I also asked a guy from Kudos at the Bristol show and he said they can cope with it too.

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

[Moomintroll]

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

Bear in mind that some aim to set their speakers up to the nearest millimetre. Moving them by 500mm should make a significant difference. As ever, you’ll only find out by trying and not discussing. My advice? Wait until you get your new speakers, find where they sound best and put those positions in SO as the “ideal”, then put them where you want them and put these positions in SO as “practical”. Run an Optimisation. Enjoy.

[timster]

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

Bear in mind that some aim to set their speakers up to the nearest millimetre. Moving them by 500mm should make a significant difference. As ever, you’ll only find out by trying and not discussing. My advice? Wait until you get your new speakers, find where they sound best and put those positions in SO as the “ideal”, then put them where you want them and put these positions in SO as “practical”. Run an Optimisation. Enjoy.

I tried the ideal before, I couldn't get it to work. Ended up with no ideal in SO sounding best!
I appreciate moving speakers that much would make a difference in itself I was more than wondering if the ratio of the ideal 'triangle' of separation and listening distance would be significantly improved.
I can but try, as you say. Having raised stonework on which they are placed does make moving them difficult though.

[Millennial]

Moving my M140 further apart in my room and listening position made a huge difference (for the better).

Still using space of to combat some of the key room modes though.

[timster]

Moving my M140 further apart in my room and listening position made a huge difference (for the better).

Still using space of to combat some of the key room modes though.

Interesting. I'm quite happy with mine as they are but I wonder if the Super20s will need different placing.

[Moomintroll]

Moving my M140 further apart in my room and listening position made a huge difference (for the better).

Still using space of to combat some of the key room modes though.

Interesting. I'm quite happy with mine as they are but I wonder if the Super20s will need different placing.

For any given room, ideal speaker placement is likely to be fairly consistent with speakers of the same type, ie infinite baffle, ported etc. Their position obviously won’t be identical, but will be in the same ballpark. Differences will depend upon their relative bass output and how they excite dominant (bass) modes in the room. What you are aiming to achieve by using Tunedem is the position that excites those modes the least.

[Newton_John]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

In my old house, I coudn't avoid having an alcove behind my left speaker. I always felt everything sounded lop sided. This problem was aleviated by the first version of sound optimisation that compensated for the shape of the room. Maybe, it was all psychosomatic. At least I was happy.

Since moving to the new place, my dealer told me to put the speakers wherever convenient and let SO sort out any problems. I found that did work, but I got slightly better results by finding the optimal position with tune dem before applying SO.

This may only be applicable to Komris, but I find it's better to keep my speakers well away from side walls.

In a small room, that brings the speakers close together. I needed to compensate for this by moving the listening position nearer to the speakers. It's probably good to have the listening position away from the back.wall anyway.

Thanks for the insight. SO has helped with the corner position for sure. I also asked a guy from Kudos at the Bristol show and he said they can cope with it too.

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

Those distances seem roughly ok. There’s a school of thought that distance between the speakers should be 83% of the distance from ear to tweeter. I find that is good starting point. The optimum seating position is best found by listening.

[timster]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

In my old house, I coudn't avoid having an alcove behind my left speaker. I always felt everything sounded lop sided. This problem was aleviated by the first version of sound optimisation that compensated for the shape of the room. Maybe, it was all psychosomatic. At least I was happy.

Since moving to the new place, my dealer told me to put the speakers wherever convenient and let SO sort out any problems. I found that did work, but I got slightly better results by finding the optimal position with tune dem before applying SO.

This may only be applicable to Komris, but I find it's better to keep my speakers well away from side walls.

In a small room, that brings the speakers close together. I needed to compensate for this by moving the listening position nearer to the speakers. It's probably good to have the listening position away from the back.wall anyway.

Thanks for the insight. SO has helped with the corner position for sure. I also asked a guy from Kudos at the Bristol show and he said they can cope with it too.

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

Those distances seem roughly ok. There’s a school of thought that distance between the speakers should be 83% of the distance from ear to tweeter. I find that is good starting point. The optimum seating position is best found by listening.

3.6m to tweeter (I was measuring from ear to line directly in front). So they should be 3m apart, actually more than the 2.8 they currently are.

All things considered then, best to keep them where they are

[Newton_John]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

In my old house, I coudn't avoid having an alcove behind my left speaker. I always felt everything sounded lop sided. This problem was aleviated by the first version of sound optimisation that compensated for the shape of the room. Maybe, it was all psychosomatic. At least I was happy.

Since moving to the new place, my dealer told me to put the speakers wherever convenient and let SO sort out any problems. I found that did work, but I got slightly better results by finding the optimal position with tune dem before applying SO.

This may only be applicable to Komris, but I find it's better to keep my speakers well away from side walls.

In a small room, that brings the speakers close together. I needed to compensate for this by moving the listening position nearer to the speakers. It's probably good to have the listening position away from the back.wall anyway.

Thanks for the insight. SO has helped with the corner position for sure. I also asked a guy from Kudos at the Bristol show and he said they can cope with it too.

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

Those distances seem roughly ok. There’s a school of thought that distance between the speakers should be 83% of the distance from ear to tweeter. I find that is good starting point. The optimum seating position is best found by listening.

3.6m to tweeter (I was measuring from ear to line directly in front). So they should be 3m apart, actually more than the 2.8 they currently are.

All things considered then, best to keep them where they are

I recently changed the listening seat from a heavy sofa to an armchair on gliders that slides easily on the carpet, so I can move forwards and back to more easily find the position that I like best.

[timster]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

In my old house, I coudn't avoid having an alcove behind my left speaker. I always felt everything sounded lop sided. This problem was aleviated by the first version of sound optimisation that compensated for the shape of the room. Maybe, it was all psychosomatic. At least I was happy.

Since moving to the new place, my dealer told me to put the speakers wherever convenient and let SO sort out any problems. I found that did work, but I got slightly better results by finding the optimal position with tune dem before applying SO.

This may only be applicable to Komris, but I find it's better to keep my speakers well away from side walls.

In a small room, that brings the speakers close together. I needed to compensate for this by moving the listening position nearer to the speakers. It's probably good to have the listening position away from the back.wall anyway.

Thanks for the insight. SO has helped with the corner position for sure. I also asked a guy from Kudos at the Bristol show and he said they can cope with it too.

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

Those distances seem roughly ok. There’s a school of thought that distance between the speakers should be 83% of the distance from ear to tweeter. I find that is good starting point. The optimum seating position is best found by listening.

3.6m to tweeter (I was measuring from ear to line directly in front). So they should be 3m apart, actually more than the 2.8 they currently are.

All things considered then, best to keep them where they are

I recently changed the listening seat from a heavy sofa to an armchair on gliders that slides easily on the carpet, so I can move forwards and back to more easily find the position that I like best.

Certainly easier than moving the speakers!

[Newton_John]

I'm thinking of moving my speakers but am unsure if it's wise.

The advantage would be that the left one would no longer be in a corner, although it will still have to be close to the back wall. The speakers would also be more central and closer together, which is better as they are currently quite wide apart and not the ideal.

But to maintain symmetry and to accommodate other equipment the right speaker would have to be in front of an alcove rather than the wall - basically free air.

My instincts tell me this may not be a good idea, but would SO be able to compensate or would it not matter?

I can't currently experiment as the move requires that I get my Kudos Super20a's first.

In my old house, I coudn't avoid having an alcove behind my left speaker. I always felt everything sounded lop sided. This problem was aleviated by the first version of sound optimisation that compensated for the shape of the room. Maybe, it was all psychosomatic. At least I was happy.

Since moving to the new place, my dealer told me to put the speakers wherever convenient and let SO sort out any problems. I found that did work, but I got slightly better results by finding the optimal position with tune dem before applying SO.

This may only be applicable to Komris, but I find it's better to keep my speakers well away from side walls.

In a small room, that brings the speakers close together. I needed to compensate for this by moving the listening position nearer to the speakers. It's probably good to have the listening position away from the back.wall anyway.

Thanks for the insight. SO has helped with the corner position for sure. I also asked a guy from Kudos at the Bristol show and he said they can cope with it too.

Is 2.8m apart with 3.2m to listening position too far apart? Would 2.3 make that much difference?

Those distances seem roughly ok. There’s a school of thought that distance between the speakers should be 83% of the distance from ear to tweeter. I find that is good starting point. The optimum seating position is best found by listening.

3.6m to tweeter (I was measuring from ear to line directly in front). So they should be 3m apart, actually more than the 2.8 they currently are.

All things considered then, best to keep them where they are

I recently changed the listening seat from a heavy sofa to an armchair on gliders that slides easily on the carpet, so I can move forwards and back to more easily find the position that I like best.

Certainly easier than moving the speakers!

[Lanark]

I just read through most of this thread before realising that SO was not being used as an abbreviation for Significant Other

[timster]

I just read through most of this thread before realising that SO was not being used as an abbreviation for Significant Other

No, that would be SWMBO