EMP E55Ti Speaker Placement Suggestions

[Fowl]

Ok Guys, I have had my E55's for about a week now and I must say that the speakers are absolutely gorgeous; they are not real wood but are a beauty to look at.

However I think I am having a bit of trouble with the placement. Before I go any further let me say that my room is almost 12x12, but has been treated with GIK panels.

My seating position is 8ft 6 away from the mains and same for the center channel. I have tried placing the main speakers 10,9,8,7 feet apart in an effort get them sounding the best in stereo-my preferred listening format.

I now have them at 6ft 7inches apart and I think they sound Ok, but still not what I expected. I will attempt to describe what I am hearing. The sound is recessed, it sounds as if the voice is at the speakers instead of coming out or forward and enveloping the listener, which my other speakers had done. I have toed them in and out in an attempt to get it right, but no success.

As per a previous suggestion, I removed all the room treatment and replace them piece by piece to see if that helps, it doesn’t.

I have hesitated to write this as I did not want to give these speakers a negative feedback, as there are members that are quite impressed with them, but I need help. Perhaps this is how they are to sound, if so I am not impressed.

Or it is more likely that I am not doing something right. I thought that they might be lacking power, so I bridged two of my behringer A500 and am playing them separately, with each bridged amp. This increased the loudness but nothing else. Just in case you are asking I have levelled them with my sound level meter.

I am no expert on audio, but I know what I want to hear, and I am not there. Thus I am seeking you guys input/suggestions on what to try. Any and all suggestions welcomed.

 

[XEagleDriver]

Fowl,

How far out from the wall behind the speakers have you been placing them?

Also, what was the speaker make/model and design of your previous speakers (i.e. ported or not, and if so, front ports or rear)?

Looking at the EMP web site, the E55s appear rear ported and I was thinking if different from what you were previously using, that may be a contributor to the problem.

Cheers,
XEagleDriver

 

[Fowl]

My previous speakers were Paradigm Phantoms and had a single front port. The E55's are dual rear ported. I have the E55 27 inches from the side walls and 22 inches from the rear wall.

I must say that these speakers play a lot louder and stay distortion free, over my previous Paradigm. But the sound of the EMP, just does not seem to envelop the listener and let me loose myself in the sound.

I need help to figure this out.

 

[jcl]

Polarity Issue?

Silly question but have you checked your speaker wiring? If the polarity isn't correct it would impact the sound negatively.

HTH

 

[Fowl]

Silly question but have you checked your speaker wiring? If the polarity isn't correct it would impact the sound negatively.

HTH

jcl,

It is not a silly question at all, as I had thought that was the issue as well. So I double and triple checked it from the amplifier right back to the speakers. they are correct.

 

[jcl]

Polarity but a manufacturing defect?

I guess it's possible that there is a manufacturing defect and one speaker has the polarity reversed. As an experiment try flipping the wiring of one speaker and see if that improves the sound.

 

[Fowl]

I guess it's possible that there is a manufacturing defect and one speaker has the polarity reversed. As an experiment try flipping the wiring of one speaker and see if that improves the sound.

I guess anything is possible, I will check it and see what happens, I doubt it but will check.

 

[XEagleDriver]

Still returnable?

My previous speakers were Paradigm Phantoms and had a single front port. The E55's are dual rear ported. I have the E55 27 inches from the side walls and 22 inches from the rear wall.

I must say that these speakers play a lot louder and stay distortion free, over my previous Paradigm. But the sound of the EMP, just does not seem to envelop the listener and let me loose myself in the sound.

I need help to figure this out.

If you don't find any defect, they may just not be right for your room and/or your ears.

If you are you still within the return window, that may be the best option and then continue your speaker search elsewhere.

The reviews on your Phantoms were strong, do you still have them?

XEagleDriver

 

[Fowl]

If you don't find any defect, they may just not be right for your room and/or your ears.

If you are you still within the return window, that may be the best option and then continue your speaker search elsewhere.

The reviews on your Phantoms were strong, do you still have them?

XEagleDriver

That may be so. I think I have passed the return date, also I am overseas and returning them may cost as much as buying new ones.

I do not have my Phantoms, I sold mine to suppliment the cost of the E55.

 

[krzywica]

That may be so. I think I have passed the return date, also I am overseas and returning them may cost as much as buying new ones.

I do not have my Phantoms, I sold mine to suppliment the cost of the E55.

What source device do you have and what material are you playing back as reference?

 

[Fowl]

What source device do you have and what material are you playing back as reference?

I use my Pioneer Elite Blue Ray player to as a CD player, this goes into my Marantz SR 6400, then to my Behringer A500 then to the Speakers.

The Blue ray player is connected to the Marantz by optical cable. I was using a CD that I know very well and have listened to for years. It is my Teddy P, I also used another disc that I have had a long time," The Carpenters".

I know how these sound as I have listened to them for years. I have also used them as Demo CD, when I went to a Paradigm dealer here on island.

I have no doubt in my mind that these speakers have potential as many others have commented on how good they are, but I have not heard that for myself yet. That is why I was wondering if it had to do with the placements. Perhaps what I may need to do it to take a picture of my my setup and post it.

 

[krzywica]

I use my Pioneer Elite Blue Ray player to as a CD player, this goes into my Marantz SR 6400, then to my Behringer A500 then to the Speakers.

The Blue ray player is connected to the Marantz by optical cable. I was using a CD that I know very well and have listened to for years. It is my Teddy P, I also used another disc that I have had a long time," The Carpenters".

I know how these sound as I have listened to them for years. I have also used them as Demo CD, when I went to a Paradigm dealer here on island.

I have no doubt in my mind that these speakers have potential as many others have commented on how good they are, but I have not heard that for myself yet. That is why I was wondering if it had to do with the placements. Perhaps what I may need to do it to take a picture of my my setup and post it.

Yes please take a picture. Also give me exactly what you are listening to so I can give it a listen when I get home.

 

[eddie]

Ok Guys, I have had my E55's for about a week now and I must say that the speakers are absolutely gorgeous; they are not real wood but are a beauty to look at.

Can I ask how you know that? I couldn't find any confirmation of that on their website or in any reviews. In fact this is what their website says, "The finish is offered in a stunning high gloss red burl or black wood finish with an impressive high gloss black baffle."
Some reviews even say they are a wood veneer. I've been wondering about this. It would help me in my decision- making if you could let me know. Thanks.

 

[GranteedEV]

I'm not all that well versed on speaker placement but I think you've got your e55tis too far from the wall for your own likings. They have an excellent depth of stage which does indeed make it feel like vocalists are where the speakers are and behind it. I experimented a bit with having them like 6-7 inches from the wall it seemed to bring everything more forward and lessen that sense of distance-depth.

I do hope you end up liking them though, but where i've got them (~17 inches from the back wall) voices do feel slightly distant. Not recessed like you described, but more or less "that band/person is on the other side of the room and it feels like i can walk over there" instead of, say, the headphone effect of "this person is singing into my face" which i too am kind of used to. It took some getting used to, but now i think i'm prefering them away from the wall than near the wall... it doesn't sound as enveloping as you suggested but it sounds more "real" to me. I guess it depends on what you want to imagine when you're listening to a song... do you want to close your eyes and imagine that the singer is singing across the room front of you, or that the singer is on top of a stage singing into a mic during a concert. For classical music though, i definitely get enveloped.

On that note, though, i'm definitely interested in hearing if you find your phase is correct or not. For some reason I've been paranoid my phase isn't correct since I got these, but i'm just too lazy to bother checking.

 

[Fowl]

Can I ask how you know that? I couldn't find any confirmation of that on their website or in any reviews. In fact this is what their website says, "The finish is offered in a stunning high gloss red burl or black wood finish with an impressive high gloss black baffle."
Some reviews even say they are a wood veneer. I've been wondering about this. It would help me in my decision- making if you could let me know. Thanks.

I can’t definitely say it is not real wood without any doubt. I have multiple real wood furniture in my home and it does not look the same. Don’t get me wrong, these speakers are gorgeous and you will be blown away by their beauty.
But to me it just does not look real. Also, my wife has worked in construction for many many years and when she saw them she said, they are beautiful but don’t seem to be real wood.
Again, I cannot say with absolute certainty that they are not real wood unless I take out one of the speakers and inspect it. But what I can say is that when you see these puppies you will fall in love.

 

[GranteedEV]

I too don't think it's real wood, the laminate they used looks more like marble than wood... but definitely a lot nicer than most non-custom veneers. My center and surrounds are in the black color which looks really ultra-modern and my towers are in the red burl finish which is just the right type of vivid shade to stand out next to all my other stuff... whenever i get to finishing my subwoofer I'm gonna have to take pictures because the impressions series is definitely a nice part of my decor.

 

[Fowl]

I guess it's possible that there is a manufacturing defect and one speaker has the polarity reversed. As an experiment try flipping the wiring of one speaker and see if that improves the sound.

I checked the polarity and they are correct from the factory, when I reverse the wires you can tell that they are out of phase so that is not it.

 

[Fowl]

I'm not all that well versed on speaker placement but I think you've got your e55tis too far from the wall for your own likings. They have an excellent depth of stage which does indeed make it feel like vocalists are where the speakers are and behind it. I experimented a bit with having them like 6-7 inches from the wall it seemed to bring everything more forward and lessen that sense of distance-depth.

I do hope you end up liking them though, but where i've got them (~17 inches from the back wall) voices do feel slightly distant. Not recessed like you described, but more or less "that band/person is on the other side of the room and it feels like i can walk over there" instead of, say, the headphone effect of "this person is singing into my face" which i too am kind of used to. It took some getting used to, but now i think i'm prefering them away from the wall than near the wall... it doesn't sound as enveloping as you suggested but it sounds more "real" to me. I guess it depends on what you want to imagine when you're listening to a song... do you want to close your eyes and imagine that the singer is singing across the room front of you, or that the singer is on top of a stage singing into a mic during a concert. For classical music though, i definitely get enveloped.

On that note, though, i'm definitely interested in hearing if you find your phase is correct or not. For some reason I've been paranoid my phase isn't correct since I got these, but i'm just too lazy to bother checking.

I think you have hit the nail right on its head with your discription of how they sound. For me though I like to hear the sound of someone singing right infront of me. As you said I would like to close my eyes and think that the singer is standing before me, singing to ME.

I accept the correction that they sound distant/Far away instead of close up. I will try to attach a picture to this post so that you may see how my lay out is.

 

[Fowl]

Here is a higher resolution picture, the camera is a crappy one but it is better that my phone picture.

 

[Fowl]

I spend quite some time last evening moving things around, took the sub out of the corner ( A bear to move) and move the speakers around. I moved them closer to the side walls- didnt help-and even tried them closer to the back walls, again not to my liking.

What I did not do is to bring them out more into the room, perhaps instead of having them 8 feet away, I may try 7 1/2 feet and see what happens.

I am hoping that I end up liking these speakers as well. The pictures that we see of them truly does not do them justice.

Well back to work.