Loudspeaker Room Placement -- A Slight
Return
I keep getting letters on this subject, so I thought I'd
return to it one last time and address two elements of fine tuning your speaker placement.
First, people seem confused over the whole subject of
speaker toe-in. I was deliberately vague about this because there are no hard and fast
rules for toe-in. That said, toe-in accomplishes two things: 1) it solidifies the image
and 2) it has an effect on the perceived tonal balance of a speaker. Since most
loudspeakers sound brightest directly on-axis, toe-in helps dull-sounding speakers most --
speakers with a bright sound work best pointed straight ahead.
Since most speakers sound neither overly bright nor
oppressively dull, toe-in is generally a trade off between solidifying the center image
and preventing the tweeter from overpowering the rest of the sonic spectrum. And like most
compromises, you'll have to decide for yourself which attributes are most important to
you.
I love a tight, solid center image, myself. The problem is,
I love tonal accuracy even more. I generally establish toe in the speakers until I get a
rock-solid center image and then I back them off until I achieve the tonal balance that
sounds most realistic.
That sounds simple, but it means I overshoot in both
directions as I convince myself that one position is right, become dissatisfied, change it
and repeat the whole process a time or two.
Of course, toe-in also affects the ratio of direct to
reflected sound, so you need to keep this in mind as well. When I had the Thiel CS 7.2s
set up in my living room, I tended to sit about a foot closer to them than would have been
optimal if the room were a dedicated listening room. This meant that I got the best sound
with the Thiels ever-so-slightly toed in, thus changing the point of their first
reflection from the room's walls. Toeing the 7.2s in eliminated the first reflection's
blurring of detail.
The one rule that is hard and fast concerning toe-in
is that the two speakers should have an equal amount of it. You'll find as many methods of
determining this as there are audiophiles. Some folks like to measure the distance from
the front wall to each of the rear corners of the speakers, but as a former carpenter I
have no faith in any wall actually being true.
I do it by sight, which seems on the face of it less
accurate but needn't be. Simply examine how much of each of the speakers' sidewalls is
visible and make the pair match. And, if you have a laser level, you can check your
accuracy by aligning the level with each speaker's inner sidewall and aiming the laser at
your listening chair. If the two speakers are misaligned, the laser will show it.
Speaking of levels, you should always level your speakers.
This doesn't sound as though it should be a big deal, but you'd be amazed at how much
better your speakers will focus if their tweeters aren't cocked at strange angles. Even
small adjustments can make a huge difference.
And one last caveat. If you're using speaker stands, make
sure they are the right height. Some speakers work well within a range of heights, others
don't. Listen carefully for center fill, image solidity and tonal balance. If any of these
seems off, try listening with your ears well below and well above your normal listening
position. If the speakers focus better when you slouch down in your seat, you need a
taller stand. If you get the best sound when you're standing, you need a lower stand.
Again, you'd be amazed at how much better your speakers will sound if they are on the
right-sized stand -- I was once ready to pan some mini-monitors I was reviewing until I
moved them from (the manufacturer-recommended) 24-inch stands to 30-inch stands. The
subsequent review was a rave.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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